Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the STANDARDS COMMITTEE of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 30 October 2009.

PRESENT:

Independent Chairman:

p Mr. M.C. James

Councillors:

Also in attendance Councillors K. House and D. Simpson

a Councillor B. Dash

Independent Members:-

a Mr G. Ellis

1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Mr. G. Ellis and Councillor B. Dash. Councillor D. Harrison was in attendance as standing deputy for Councillor Dash.

2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor D. Harrison declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 5 (Investigation into unauthorised disclosure of confidential information') as he had previously worked for Mr. Chris Huhne, MP. There were references to Mr Huhne in the report.

3 MINUTES

The Minutes of the Committee held on 7 October 2008 were noted.

4 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman advised that the current Independent Members on the Standards Committee had been appointed for a period of 4 years, which was due to expire in January 2010. Adverts would be placed in the press in the near future so that potentially interested members of the public, including the current Independent Members, could apply.

The Chairman advised that the Annual Assembly of Standards Committees had recently been held in Birmingham and that both he and the Monitoring Officer had attended.

In respect of agenda items 5 and 7 (Investigation into unauthorised disclosure of confidential information'), the Chairman invited Members of the Committee to return the relevant exempt documentation to him at the end of the meeting.

5 INVESTIGATION INTO UNAUTHORISED DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPROVED GOVERNANCE AND PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL AND EXEMPT INFORMATION

The Committee considered the report of the Monitoring Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book). They also agreed to exclude the press and public from the meeting in respect of the exempt appendix that accompanied the report.

The Monitoring Officer advised that in the absence of a formal complaint against either a member of Hampshire County Council or an officer who had had access to the report, the matter now appeared to be at an end. The Monitoring Officer informed the Committee, however, that there did not appear to be any formal process or procedure within the County Council for the governance and protection of confidential and exempt information. The Monitoring Officer therefore suggested that, in addition to possible housekeeping measures to protect confidential and exempt information, suitable training for Members and Officers in relation to the treatment of items containing exempt or confidential information might also be helpful. A report on this subject was therefore being prepared for consideration by Cabinet.

In response to questions, the Monitoring Officer advised that once a Council or Committee had passed a formal resolution confirming that an item contained exempt information after application of the public interest test required in consequence of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, such information should remain confidential.

In discussing the report and its recommendations, Members indicated that they felt that it would be appropriate for any training to be undertaken after any new procedures for improved governance and protection of confidential information had been approved. Given their role in respect of governance issues, Members of the Standards Committee indicated that they hoped there would be appropriate consultation with them on any processes being proposed in respect of improvement of the County Council's governance.

RESOLVED that:

(i) The results of the investigation carried out by the Monitoring Officer into the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information contained within the Confidential Appendix of a Report to Audit Committee on 25 June 2009 be noted;


(ii) The suggestion of the Monitoring Officer to investigate how new procedures for improved governance and protection of confidential information might be achieved, and the putting into place of such procedures following consultations with the Standards Committee, be endorsed;


(iii) The Monitoring Officer be requested to undertake suitable training for both Officers and Members on legal requirements and requirements under the Members Code of Conduct and Officers Code of Conduct, in respect of confidential and exempt information following the introduction of procedures referred to in resolution (ii);


(iv) The Monitoring Officer reports back to the Standards Committee on the details of such procedures and to confirm when such training has been carried out.

6. EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:

That in relation to the following items the press and public be excluded from the meeting, as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of proceedings, that if a member of the public were present during the items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exempt information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the report.

7. INVESTIGATION INTO UNAUTHORISED DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPROVED GOVERNANCE AND PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL AND EXEMPT INFORMATION (EXEMPT APPENDIX)

The Committee received the exempt appendix (which had accompanied agenda item 5). At the conclusion of the meeting the Chairman then requested that the confidential appendix be handed in.

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