Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Summary of Decision Area:

Members will recall from the recent meeting of the County Council that, by a combination of provisions in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008, all complaints that Members have failed to comply with the Code of Conduct, made from 8 May 2008, must be made to the Standards Committee of the Member's local authority. The changes give rise to the need for the County Council to amend the Standards Committee's terms of reference and the Standards Committee recommends accordingly.

2) Issues Covered in Report:

The reason why the Committee's terms of reference should be revised. The Standards Committee considered a report on 7 October 2008 which outlined the requirement for the Committee to establish four, rather than two, sub-committees as
follows:-

i) Standards Assessment Sub-Committee - to receive allegations that a Member
of the Authority has failed to comply with the Authority's Code of Conduct

ii) Standards Review Sub-Committee - review an allegation, at the request of the
person who has made the allegation, in terms of failure to comply with the
Members Code of Conduct

iii) Standards Consideration Sub-Committee - responsible for determining whether it accepts the Monitoring Officer's findings and whether the matter should be referred for consideration at a hearing by the Standards Hearings Sub-Committee or that the matter be referred to the Adjudication Panel for England for determination

iv) Standards Hearings Sub-Committee - responsible for holding a hearing pursuant to Regulation 18 of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008

3) Recommendation:

That it be a recommendation to the County Council that the terms of reference of the Standards Committee set out in Part I: Chapter 9 of the Constitution be revised by the replacement of paragraph 9.3(g) with the following:

To establish sub-committees to take such action as is necessary to assess, review, investigate, determine and impose appropriate sanctions in respect of, any written allegation that a Member has failed to comply with the Authority's Code of Conduct.

(replaces "To deal with any reports from the National Standards Board for England or a Case Tribunal on complaints against members or officers of the Authority").

MAIN REPORT

1) Purpose of the Report:

1.1. To explain why the County Council should revise the terms of reference of this Committee.

2) Contextual Information:

2.1. Statutory guidance has been received from the Standards Board which the County Council must follow in establishing its arrangements for the local determination of complaints against members of the County Council concerning alleged breaches of the Members' Code of Conduct.

2.2. In response to these new arrangements, an amendment to its terms of reference is proposed by the Standards Committee and a recommendation is made to revise the Constitution accordingly. Paragraph 9.3(g) [`To deal with any reports from a case tribunal or interim case tribunal, and any report from the Monitoring Officer on any matter which is referred by an Ethical Standards Officer to the Monitoring Officer.'] is no longer appropriate and it is proposed that the wording in the recommendation be substituted for it. It is proposed that the Governance Committee will consider the matter at its meeting scheduled for 3 November 2008.

3) Outline of Options:

3.1. Option 1:

a) Not to recommend revision of the Committee's terms of reference;

3.2. Option 2:

a) To recommend revision of the Committee's terms of reference so that they are accurate and up to date.

4) Option Analysis / Comparison.

4.1. Best practice demands that the Standards Committee's terms of reference are accurate and up to date.

5) Summary Recommendation:

That it be a recommendation to the County Council that the terms of reference of the Standards Committee set out in Part I: Chapter 9 of the Constitution be revised by the replacement of paragraph 9.3(g) with the following:

To establish sub-committees to take such action as is necessary to assess, review, investigate, determine and impose appropriate sanctions in respect of any written allegation that a Member has failed to comply with the Authority's Code of Conduct.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION: