Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY STANDARDS COMMITTEE held at The Castle, Winchester on 1 October 2009.
PRESENT:
Mr. M. James (Independent Member - Chairman); C. Carter; Mrs. J. Frankum; A. Fraser; D. Harrison; F. Jonas.
1 APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R. Kimber, Mrs. W. Allen and Miss S. Roberts.
2 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, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code.
There were no declarations of interest made by Members under this item.
3 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
4 DEPUTATIONS
There were no deputations.
5 APPOINTMENT OF VICE-CHAIRMAN
In accordance with current regulations, the Committee considered appointing an Independent Member Vice-Chairman. Whilst Mrs. W. Allen, an existing Independent Member of the Authority, had indicated a wish to undertake this role, Members were mindful that she had presented apologies for absence to this and to a number of previous meetings. They felt regular attendance was a key requirement for all Members and agreed to defer this item to the next meeting which they hoped Mrs. Allen would be able to attend.
6 ARRANGEMENTS TO COMBAT FRAUD AND CORRUPTION
The Committee considered the report of the Clerk (Item 6 in the Minute Book) about the procedures in place within the Authority for whistle blowing and combating fraud. It was reported that an Anti Theft, Fraud and Corruption Policy formed part of a Fire Service Order and it included reporting concerns at work.
In discussion the Committee felt it was important that the whistle blowing policy should enable a member of staff to raise concerns directly with the Chief Officer if this was their wish. The Treasurer (Internal Audit) representative at the meeting agreed to investigate this further and to let Members know the position.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
7 RECENT CHANGES IN LEGISLATION AFFECTING STANDARDS COMMITTEES
The Committee considered the report of the Clerk (Item 7 in the Minute Book) about some recent changes in legislation affecting Standards Committees. These changes enabled Standards Committee in some circumstances to grant dispensations for Members to speak and vote at a meeting where they have a prejudicial interest and to consider establishing, if they so wished, a joint Standards Committee.
During a full discussion, Members considered both the potential benefits and other issues involved in establishing a joint Committee arrangement. They agreed that the only joint arrangement they may wish to pursue would be in relation to a possible joint Standards Committee representing Hampshire County Council, Hampshire Police Authority and this Authority. Accordingly, it was
RESOLVED:
(a) That the Clerk forwards this Committee's views to Hampshire County Council's and Hampshire Police Authority's Standards Committees to see whether they have a similar willingness to explore joint working arrangements and if so, prepare a further report to Members on this to include the likely workload in taking such an initiative forward.
(b) That the legal changes to enable Standards Committees, in some circumstances, to grant dispensations for Members to speak and vote at a meeting where they have a prejudicial interest be noted.
8 MEMBER TRAINING
Members considered their training needs to fulfil their responsibilities as the Authority's Standards Committee.
The Committee recognised the importance of training and supported a proposal that the Clerk continue to organise appropriate training for Members serving on the Authority's Standards Committee, including short training sessions following Standards Committee meetings from time to time. Wherever possible joint training with County Council and Police Authority Standards Committee should be considered. Also, it was felt appropriate to include an item about the Members' Code of Conduct as part of a future HFRA Members' Awareness Session.
RESOLVED:
(a) That an item about the Members' Code of Conduct be included as part of a future HFRA Members' Awareness session.
(b) That, on the rising of the next HFRA Standards Committee, a training session be organised by the Clerk based upon a case study and a practical exercise.
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