Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY STANDARDS COMMITTEE held at The Castle, Winchester on 17 March, 2006.

PRESENT:

Councillors: M.J. Woodhall (Chairman); Mrs. J. Frankum; E.F. Gale MBE;

D. Harrison; R. Kimber.

Independent Members: Mrs. W. Allen; Mr. M. James; Miss S. Roberts.

41 APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor P. Galton.

42 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed that 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 Fire Authority's Code of Conduct consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members under this item.

43 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 28 September, 2004 and of the informal meeting held on 9 December, 2005 were both confirmed as correct records and signed by the Chairman.

44 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

45 STANDARDS OF CONDUCT IN ENGLISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT - THE FUTURE GOVERNMENT DISCUSSION PAPER

The Committee considered the report of the Clerk (Item 5 in the Minute Book) about the Government's Discussion Paper : Standards of Conduct in English Local Government. The Clerk reported that local government in this sense was a generic term and included the Fire Service. It was noted that the same report had also been considered at the Authority's Governance Committee on 9 March, 2006.

Members supported the main principles underlying the Government's proposals but, like the Governance Committee, were disappointed that, after a long period of consultation, they contained very little detail. As a result, it meant once more detailed proposals had been formulated, further consultation would be necessary delaying matters still further. The Committee wished to minimise any future delay and wished to see the new proposals introduced within the next twelve months.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee supports the general thrust of the proposals contained within the Government's Discussion Paper : Standards of Conduct in English Local Government : The Future and requests the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to implement the proposals within the next twelve month period.

46 CODE OF CONDUCT - MEMBERS' TRAINING

The Clerk reported orally on the Member training in the Code of Conduct given on the afternoon of 13 March and morning of 14 March, 2006 respectively. Concern was expressed at the poor attendance of Members and the Clerk undertook to address this by considering new arrangements for any future training sessions. The Committee felt that it was particularly important for new Members to attend.

47 STANDARDS BOARD FOR ENGLAND - GOING LOCAL INVESTIGATION AND HEARINGS

The Committee were shown a DVD film produced by the Standards Board for England as a training aid for local authorities. The film used a dramatised scenario to illustrate a local investigation and hearing and highlighted some of the challenges that may arise. Members commended the DVD as being both interesting and informative and the Clerk was asked to approach the Chairman of the Authority to see if it might be shown at the conclusion of the next meeting on 31 May, 2006.

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