Archived decisions
ITEM 2
AT A MEETING of the STANDARDS COMMITTEE of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 26 October 2004.
PRESENT:
Councillors: J.W. Stocks; (Chairman); Mrs S.E. Allbright; B.D. Dash (Deputising for Councillor Ludlow); Mrs. C.A. Leversha; A.W. Rice, TD
Independent Members: Mr. J. Chester; Dr. B. Spender.
110 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.
No interests were declared by Members on this occasion.
111 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 July 2004 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
112 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
The Chairman had no communications to make.
113 DEPUTATIONS
There were no deputations notified.
114 STANDARDS BOARD DETERMINATION OF A COMPLAINT AGAINST COUNCILLOR P. CHEGWYN
The Committee considered a report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on the outcome of an investigation by the Standards Board. Members felt that the breach of the Code of Conduct was a technical one, and had the appearance of attempting to exercise undue influence where a personal prejudicial interest existed. They accepted the view of the Standards Board that no further action needed to be taken.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the determination made by the Standards Board for England in respect of the complaint made against Councillor Chegwyn be noted.
(ii) That advice to Members on the issues raised by the complaint be reinforced through a seminar to be arranged by the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer in February 2005 for all County Councillors.
115 PROPOSED CODE OF CONDUCT FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
The Committee considered a report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on a draft model Code of Conduct issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and on suggested comments which the County Council should make on the document. Members generally agreed with the comments set out in the report, with the following amendments:
· They felt that the Code of Conduct should apply across the board to all categories of Local Government staff, to avoid the confusion caused by a multiplicity of different Codes of Conduct.
· Section 4(v) - they agreed with the commentary in the report and also felt that the reference to personal interests conflicting with the Authority's requirements was vague, and it was unclear what those requirements might be.
· Section 4(vi) - Members considered that the registration of Officers' interests and hospitality should apply to very senior managers, those earning more than £50,000, currently 148 in number; they did not feel it would be either appropriate or necessary to require thousands of staff to register and keep up to date a list of interests.
· Section 4(vii) - the suggested revised clause contained within the commentary was amended to read, "An employee must not treat another employee of the Authority less favourably than other employees by reason of that person referring in good faith a matter under the reporting concerns at work or whistle blowing procedures". They accepted that normal disciplinary procedures would apply if complaints made were malicious, frivolous or vexatious.
· Section 4(viii)(b) - amend to read, "Not prevent or attempt to prevent another person from gaining access to information to which that person is entitled by law".
· Section 4(ix)(1) - amend the first line to read, "An employee must not be directly involved in the appointment or any other decision ..."
· Section 4(x) - delete the words "At all times", since Members felt it was important to differentiate between behaviour at work and that in a private capacity where there was no possible link with the working environment.
RESOLVED:
That this report, amended as set out above, be forwarded to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as the County Council's response to the consultation paper on the proposed Code of Conduct for Employees of Local Government.
116 FRAMEWORK GOVERNING THE POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
The Committee considered a report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on a consultation paper issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister relating to the regulatory framework for political activities of Local Government employees and on suggested comments that the County Council should make on the document. Members supported the proposed comments set out in the report, but felt that the independent adjudicator had an important role and should therefore be retained. They endorsed the present arrangements whereby political restrictions operated on Hampshire Management grades and above, and felt that there was no proven case for change in the arrangements relating to employees of one Local Authority becoming elected members of another.
RESOLVED:
That the Committee endorses the comments made in this report on the consultation paper received from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister concerning the regulatory framework governing the political activities of Local Government employees and submits these to the Government as the County Council's response, together with the observation that the independent adjudicator performed a useful role and should be retained.
117 LOBBY GROUPS - DUAL HATTED MEMBERS CODE OF CONDUCT
The Committee considered a report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on guidance received from the Standards Board for England.
RESOLVED:
That the guidance issued by the Standards Board for England be endorsed and that the Monitoring Officer be requested to send a copy of it to every Member of the Council.
5JM151004