Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Centre, High Road, Wood Green, N22 8LE. View directions

Contact: Michael Kay, Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager 

Items
No. Item

13.

FILMING AT MEETINGS

Please note this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method.  Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting.  Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on.  By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

 

The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual, or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

Minutes:

The Chair drew attendees’ attention to the notice on the agenda regarding filming at meetings.

14.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr McNamara.

15.

Urgent Business

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business.

Minutes:

None.

16.

Declarations of Interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

 

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

 

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

 

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

None.

17.

Minutes of the last meeting pdf icon PDF 140 KB

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meetings of the Standards Committee held on 6 July 2017.

Minutes:

The minutes of the Standards Committee held on 6 July 2017 were agreed.

18.

Adoption of Planning Protocol (2017) into the Constitution pdf icon PDF 121 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ben Burgerman, Regeneration Lawyer, introduced the paper that recommended the Council’s Planning Protocol be inserted into the Constitution, which would provide it greater weight and support efficient, open, accountable and lawful-decision making by the Planning Sub-Committee.

 

Following a discussion by Members, it was agreed that the Committee recommend to Full Council the Planning Protocol be included in the Constitution.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Standards Committee recommend Full Council adopt the Planning Protocol as part of the Constitution.

19.

Update on work programme - review of procedures and Members' Allowances pdf icon PDF 231 KB

Minutes:

Michael Kay, Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager and Victoria Barman Principal Corporate Lawyer introduced a report that set out progress in the review of the Constitution and Members’ Allowances, agreed at the last meeting.

 

In relation to the review of the Constitution, Members noted that the procedure rules were being reviewed and an update would be presented at the next meeting. Members noted a proposed outline for the Protocol on Member-Officer Relations, where a full redraft had been agreed. In discussing the proposed outline, Members agreed that it would be helpful for the document to refer to relations with Veolia and Homes for Haringey officers. They also agreed it would be helpful for the new document to be presented at an all-Member briefing, and that it would be important to ensure the Councillors returned at the May 2018 elections could readily understand the new Protocol as part of their induction.

 

Following a presentation on how Haringey’s allowances scheme compared with the guidance of the Independent Panel on the Remuneration of Councillors in London, averages across London and Haringey’s statistical neighbours, Members discussed possible proposals to be brought to them at the next meeting. This would help ensure the allowances scheme set for the municipal year following the elections would be valid whatever outcome of the election, and also take account of developments since the last fundamentally review. Members asked for the following matters to be considered, with the objective of broadly maintaining the current level of expenditure on allowances:

              How a third party could be incorporated in the allowances scheme

              How other boroughs provided for principal opposition parties’ deputy leader and whip

              Whether opposition parties’ allowances could be proportionate to their size

              What the equivalent allowance for the Corporate Committee Chair would be, given it is effectively now an audit committee

              Whether the Vice Chair of Regulatory, who is expected to regularly chair Licensing sub-committee meetings, could attract an allowance

              Consider whether the statutory co-optees on the Scrutiny Committee, would normally attract an allowance, and whether it could be reduced or withdrawn if nominees do not attend regularly

              That the dependents’ carers’ allowance should be listed as being at the London Living Wage, rather than setting a figure that can become out-dated

              That the one per cent uplift recommended by the Panel should be followed to reduce the risk of having to make significant increases when allowances fall far below expected levels

              Whether Cabinet Members’ allowances vary in other boroughs according to the Cabinet Member’s portfolio

 

RESOLVED

 

That further work be done to review the Constitution and the Members’ Allowances Scheme in line with the Committee’s recommendations

20.

New Items of Urgent Business

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

Minutes:

None

21.

Dates of Next Meetings

16 November 2017, 8 March 2018.

Minutes:

16 November 2017, 8 March 2018

22.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for consideration of Items 11 and 12 as they contain exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); paras 1 & 2; namely information relating to any individual, and information likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

Minutes:

Resolved.

23.

Minutes of the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee held on 6 July 2017

To confirm the minutes of the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee held on 6 July.

Minutes:

The minutes of the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee held on 6 July were agreed.

24.

New items of exempt urgent business

To consider any items admitted at 3 above.

 

Minutes:

None