Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mughal.

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

The Chair agreed to admit a new item of urgent business in respect of the appointment of new independent members of the Board.

RESOLVED

That a new item of urgent business be agreed to and considered at Item 10 of the agenda.

A member with a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered must disclose to that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of that consideration, or when the interest becomes apparent.

A member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter if the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the member's judgment of the public interest and if this interest affects their financial position or the financial position of a person or body as described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct and/or if it relates to the determining of any approval, consent, licence, permission or registration in relation to them or any person or body described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct.

The Chair highlighted to members the revised declaration statement that appeared on the agenda. There were no declarations of interested declared at this stage of the meeting.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meetings of the Standards Committee held on June 12^th 2007.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the previous meeting, 12 June 2007, were agreed and signed by the Chair as a correct record subject to the following amendment:

STCO02.        - to include apologies from Carol Sykes.

There were no announcements.

To consider any referrals received from the Standards Board for England.

There no referrals to report.

To consider the outcomes of recently held Haringey Council Determination Hearings.

There were no hearings to report on.

(Report of the Monitoring Officer)  To provide an update on the training given to Members and Officers on the revised Member Code of Conduct and to make proposals for ongoing training.

The Committee was advised on the training given to Members and officers on the revised Member Code of Conduct and proposals for ongoing training in follow-up to that already received. In respect of future training, the Committee was further advised that when details of the new complaints procedure come into affect on 1 April 2008, appropriate training will need to be implemented in order for members to effectively administer the new arrangements.

The Committee discussed some of the logistics around impacts of the new filter for complaints and recognised that it could potentially amount to a significant change on dealing with complaints. The Committee was informed that the cooperation of Whips from both parties was given in arranging future training sessions.

RESOLVED

(i)                 That the progress made so far in training on the new code be noted;

(ii)               That the proposals outlines in 7.2 of the Report be agreed; and

(iii)             That options for future training on the new filter arrangements from 1 April 2008 be noted subject to further government guidance.

(Report of the Monitoring Officer)  To update the Standards Committee of developments since the adoption of the revised Members Code of Conduct at the AGM of 21 May 2007.

The Committee was advised of developments since the adoption of the revised Members Code of Conduct at the AGM on 21 May 2007; namely the incorporation of the revised state of declaring personal interests  on all agendas; and the new arrangements for the registration of gifts and hospitality worth £25 or above. The Committee noted that any gifts or hospitality received more than 28 days before the adoption of the revised code would not need to be placed on the members’ register of interests. It was agreed that the Monitoring Officer would write to all Members to clarify the new arrangements.

In respect of Committee Members observing the proceedings of other council committees, the Committee was advised that this was not necessary. Instead, a forum for the committee chairs to feedback their views on their experiences under the revised Code so far was deemed more appropriate. However, the Committee felt that if individual Members wanted to “observe” council committees, they should arrange this with chairs and report back their findings formally to the Committee. The Committee noted that the Standard Board for England bulletin would be sent to members from now on, and to committee chairs.

RESOLVED

(i)                 That the proposals to amend the register of gifts and hospitalities in light of Standards Board advice be agreed and that the Monitoring Officer would advise all members of the Council accordingly.

The Committee considered the selection process for independent members of the Standards Committee for May 2008 and was advised, by the Monitoring Officer, of the likely recruitment timetable for this process. The Committee noted its responsibility to establish a short-listing and interview panel consisting of two elected members and one independent member for the process of recruitment new independent members. The Committee was further advised over the need to agree how many independent members would be recruited in May 2008, and of the option to adopt a rolling system whereby one new member is appointed in the May, and then more once the adoption of  the local filtering system for complaints is introduced next year. This would ensure a balance between the consistency of experienced independent members, and the responsibility to replace those members who had served their maximum time on the Committee. The Committee also noted and agreed to the advert, draft job description, person specification, and application form for the use during the recruitment campaign.

RESOLVED

(i)                 That the timetable as set out at paragraph 8 of the Report be agreed;

(ii)               That the job description, person specification, and application form  as attached at Appendix One of the Report be agreed;

(iii)             That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to place the advert attached at Appendix Two;

(iv)              That the establishment of a short listing and interview panel  to consider the selection of independent members be agreed;

(v)                That the appointment of one independent member in the first instance be agreed followed by further members in the New Year.

RESOLVED

That the next meeting of the Committee be 10 January 2008, at 7:30pm.