Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council Standards Committee Meeting

Apologies were received from Camilla Proctor.

The Chair confirmed that she had received two resignations, Paul Mahoney with immediate effect, and Camilla Proctor effective from 30 June 2023.

Councillor J Slimin was appointed as Vice-Chair for the 2023/24 municipal year.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent matters.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2023 were confirmed by the Committee and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the report which sought the Committee’s approval of its Annual Report attached at Appendix 1. The report was previously considered by the Committee on 13 March 2023 when some amendments and additions to the draft report were requested by Committee members.

Resolved: The Committee:

1.    Approves the Annual Report for publication in the form appended in appendix 1.

2.    Recommends presentation of the Annual Report to Council for consideration.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the report which provided an update to the Committee on the progress in determining Code of Conduct complaints received against Borough, Parish, and Town Councillors.

She confirmed that there had been one email enquiry since the last meeting on 13 March 2023, to which no formal complaint form was received.

Resolved: The Committee:

1.    Notes the progress made on complaints received and the learning derived from the consideration of complaints.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the report which updated the Committee on the timetable for the appointment of two Independent Persons and three Independent Standards Assessors. She stated that the job adverts had been published on the Council’s website and was about to be advertised on the Basingstoke Gazette.  

The Monitoring Officer also sought approval from the Committee to recommend to Council that Verity Murricane’s four-year term as an Independent Standards Assessor be extended from 31 December 2023 until 30 April 2024 in order that she could continue as Chair of Standards Committee until the end of the municipal year.

Resolved: The Committee:

1.    Notes the timetable for the recruitment of two Independent Persons and three Independent Standards Assessors.

2.    Recommends to Council that Verity Murricane’s term as Independent Standards Assessor be extended for 4 months from 1 January 2024 in order that she can continue as Chair of Standards Committee until the end of the municipal year.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the report which informed the Committee of the proposed learning and development on the Councillors’ Code of Conduct for Borough and Town and Parish Councils for 2023/24. She outlined that Code of Conduct training had been arranged for Borough Councillors.

She also informed the Committee of the National Association for Local Councils (NALC) launch of the Civility and Respect Project, which encouraged Town and Parish Councils to take a pledge to treat councillors, clerks, employees, and members of the public with respect. She highlighted e-learning modules on the NALC website alongside an e-learning suite on the Local Government Association (LGA) website.

The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments which included:

·         It was acknowledged that over half of the Parish and Town Councils had adopted the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Model Code of Conduct. Therefore, the importance of training was highlighted for all existing Parish and Town Councillors.

·         It was queried when the training for Parish and Town Councils would be. The Monitoring Officer proposed an online session to take place in July and that she would email Parish Clerks about training following the meeting. 

·         Disclosing information about training to chairmen as well as clerks was discussed.

·         A discussion took place on the possibility of E-learning modules on the LGA and NALC websites and whether it would produce a certificate of completion.

·         It was asked whether Parish and Town Councils should participate in the Borough Councillors Code of Conduct training. The Monitoring Officer advised the training for Parishes needed to be tailored as the guidance would be different.

·         It was highlighted that co-opted Parish Councillors hadn’t come across the Nolan Principles of public life in their training.

Resolved: The Committee:

Notes the contents of the report and provide the Monitoring Officer with views, particularly in relation to training provision proposed in paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3.

The Committee reviewed and agreed its work programme with the following comments:

·         The Monitoring Officer stated that she would provide an update on the recruitment of independent persons and independent standards assessors in November, and to inform the Committee further about Code of Conduct training.