Archived decisions

ITEM 2

AT A MEETING of the STANDARDS COMMITTEE of the HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 28 January 2003.

PRESENT:

Councillors: P.A. Pierce (Chairman); Mrs. S.E. Allbright; Mrs. S.M. Glasspool, DL;

M.J. Kendal;

Independent Member : Mr. J. Chester; Dr. B. Spender

Also in attendance: Councillor A.W. Rice, TD

32 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

Councillors Pierce, Mrs. Allbright, Mrs. Glasspool and Kendal declared an interest in the item "Members' Allowances" referred to in Minute 40. The Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer advised them that this did not amount to a personal prejudicial interest as there was an exemption which would enable them to take part in discussion on the item.

33 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 22 October 2002 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to the amendment of the date in Minute 28 to read "2003" instead of "2002".

34 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman reported that he, together with the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer, had attended a Standards Board presentation in London, but reported that Government Regulations on procedures for the investigation of complaints against Councillors were still awaited. He added that so far there had been no complaints received against Hampshire County Councillors.

35 DEPUTATIONS

No deputations had been notified.

36 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer and Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book). The County Treasurer gave a detailed explanation of the CIPFA/SOLACE framework for corporate governance, defined as the "system by which organisations are directed and controlled". Corporate governance ranged much more widely than existing financial controls and covered such areas as risk management, health and safety and codes of conduct. A local code setting out policies and procedures applicable in Hampshire would be developed and published. Monitoring and compliance would be the ultimate responsibility of the Standards Committee who would need to satisfy themselves that proper systems were in place. Members considered that the responsibilities for corporate governance should be assumed by the Standards Committee on behalf of the County Council, and that consequently the assurance statement should be signed by their Chairman.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the Standards Committee:


(a) be responsible for the Code of Corporate Governance and adopt the draft Code of Governance (Appendix C) with immediate effect;


(b) approve the statement of assurance outlined in Appendix A and the framework in Appendix B;


(c) agree that the assurance statement on corporate governance should be signed by the Chairman of the Standards Committee;


(d) receive reports from the County Treasurer about audit strategy, planning and delivery;


(ii) That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the County Council:

That the terms of reference of the Standards Committee be amended to include the following:-


(a) The adoption, review and amendment of the Corporate Governance Framework for the County Council:


(b) To receive and consider reports from the County Treasurer on internal audit strategy, planning and delivery

37 STANDARDS BOARD CONFERENCE

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the annual conference.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Pierce, Councillor Ludlow and Mr. Chester be authorised to attend the Standards Board 2003 conference on 9/10 June 2003 in Birmingham, and that their conference and travel expenses be paid.

38 AUDIT STRATEGY 2003/04 AND BEYOND

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer (item 7 in the Minute Book). Arising on the report Members expressed their concerns regarding an apparent reluctance on the part of the Constabulary to investigate and prosecute alleged frauds against the County Council, and they therefore asked that representations on the subject should be made to the Chief Constable. They also drew attention to questions of accountability and control where County Council funding was spent under partnership arrangements with various other organisations, and the County Treasurer undertook to report back on corporate guidelines, liabilities and responsibilities in this area.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted, and that representations be made to the Chief Constable expressing the Committee's concerns that not all cases of frauds against the County Council would be investigated and prosecuted.

39 REGULATION OF INVESTIGATORY POWERS ACT 2000

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 8 in the Minute Book). The Committee noted the arrangements whereby powers of surveillance already exercised by the Trading Standards Department might in future be exercised by other departments of the County Council when undertaking investigations. They requested a modest rewording of the second section of paragraph 2.1 in the procedure notes appended to the report.

RESOLVED:

That the Standards Committee

(i) Agrees to the adoption by the County Council of the policy and procedure applying to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 as referred to in Appendix 2 to the report.


(ii) Requires all Chief Officers to adhere to the authorisation procedures whenever covert surveillance or the use of covert human intelligence sources are contemplated or are carried out.


(iii) Authorises the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer to develop and implement a policy and authorisation procedure for the monitoring of staff e-mails and use of the internet, following the publication by the Information Commissioner of a code of practice on the same issue.


(iv) Authorises the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer to be responsible for auditing and maintaining the centrally held records for all authorisations granted under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.


(v) Agrees that the Office of Surveillance Commissioners be informed of the policy and procedures now in place in respect of all requirements under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

40 MEMBERS' ALLOWANCES

The Committee received the Minutes of the meeting of the Independent Remuneration Panel held on 8 November 2002 (Item 9(a) in the Minute Book) together with a report of the County Treasurer (Item 9(b) in the Minute Book). Minor adjustments would be made to the figures quoted in the Appendix to the County Treasurer's report to ensure that all allowances were consistently rounded up to the nearest £10. It was reported that draft regulations for Members' allowances had been published, covering areas such as Fire and Rescue Authorities, independent and co-opted Members, and Members' pensions. The implications would be assessed and referred in due course to the Independent Remuneration Panel and to a future meeting of the Standards Committee.

RESOLVED:

That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the County Council:

(i) That the scheme of Members' Allowances be approved as set out in the Appendix to the report (as amended) with effect from 1 April, 2003.


(ii) That the approach adopted for Special Responsibility Allowances outlined in paragraph 3 of the report be endorsed.


(iii) That the approach to travel and subsistence allowances outlined in paragraph 6 of the report be approved.

41 THE CONSTITUTION - REVIEW AND UPDATE

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 10 in the Minute Book). In the interests of sustainability and e-government, the suggestion was made that a loose-leaf version of the updated Constitution should be promulgated to Members by e-mail in the first instance, giving them the option to ask for and collect a hard copy if they wanted one.

RESOLVED:

That the amendments made to the Constitution since 1 September 2001 be noted, and that approval be given to a loose-leaf version of the Constitution being published and distributed to Members, with notification by means of an e-mail alert in the first instance.

42 CALL-IN PROCEDURE

That Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 11 in the Minute Book).

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted and that the Committee endorse the view that the call-in procedure is being operated responsibly and that there is no need for any recommendation for change to be submitted to the County Council.

43 ELECTION FEES AND DISBURSEMENTS

The Committee received and noted the report of the Chief Executive (Item 12 in the Minute Book).

5JM84103

Appendix

Hampshire County Council

Councillors' Allowances Scheme

Figures in brackets denote where the current office holder already qualifies for a higher allowance.