Issue - meetings

Appointments of Panels

Meeting: 29/08/2018 - Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee (Item 10)

10 Appointment of Panels pdf icon PDF 74 KB

Article 9 of the Council Constitution (paragraph 9.5) requires that the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee establish a Standards Panel and a Standards Appeal Panel.

 

The Committee is requested to agree 3 Members (one Member from the three main political parties) to each Panel who shall be members of the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee (unless an Alternate Member is nominated) Article 9 (Paragraphs A2 and B4) of the Council Constitution refer.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report by the Director: Governance and Assurance and Monitoring Officer proposed that the Committee establish the Standards Panel and Standards Appeal Panel in accordance with the paragraph 9.5 of Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution and the Protocol for Dealing with Complaints against Members.

 

Appended to the report were the following appendices:

 

  • Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution;
  • Members’ Code of Conduct;
  • Protocol for Dealing with Complaints against Members; and
  • Procedure for dealing with matters before the Standards Panel and Standards Appeal Panel.

 

Resolved - That

 

(1)  a Standards Panel be formally established pursuant to paragraph 9.5 of Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution;

 

(2)  Membership of the Standards Panel comprise:

 

  Councillors M McLaughlin (Lab), C Blakeley (Con), P Gilchrist (Lib Dem) and Independent Member Prof RS Jones; and

 

Membership of the Standards Appeal Panel comprise:

 

Councillors B Kenny (Lab), T Cox (Con), D Mitchell (Lib Dem);

 

(3)  where a representative Member, confirmed under recommendation (2) above, is unavailable to attend a proposed meeting of the Standards Panel or Standards Appeal Panel but that meeting can be attended by all other persons required, then the relevant political group through their Group Leader/Deputy Group Leader or Party Spokesperson shall promptly confirm another representative member who is able to attend that meeting;

 

(4)  the procedure for dealing with a matter before either the Standards Panel or Standards Appeal Panel set out at Appendix 4 to the report be agreed; and

 

(5)  Members of the Standards Panel be consulted on provisional Panel meeting dates, subsequent to the closure of this meeting of the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee.


Meeting: 13/06/2017 - Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee (Item 6)

6 Appointment of Panels pdf icon PDF 74 KB

Article 9 of the Council Constitution (paragraph 9.5) requires that the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee establish a Standards Panel and a Standards Appeal Panel (attached).

 

The Committee is requested to nominate 3 Members (one Member from the three main political parties) to each Panel who shall be members of the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee (unless an Alternate Member is nominated) Article 9 (Paragraphs A2 and B4) of the Council Constitution refer.

 

[Please note: the first meeting of the Standards Panel takes place on 15 June 2017]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report by the The Assistant Director: Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer proposed that the Committee establish the Standards Panel and Standards Appeal Panel in accordance with the paragraph 9.5 of Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution and the Protocol for Dealing with Complaints against Members.

 

Appended to the report were the following appendices:

 

  • Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution;
  • Members’ Code of Conduct;
  • Protocol for Dealing with Complaints against Members; and
  • Procedure for dealing with matters before the Standards Panel and Standards Appeal Panel.

 

Resolved - That

 

(1)  a Standards Panel be formally established pursuant to paragraph 9.5 of Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution;

 

(2)  Membership of the Standards Panel comprise:

 

Councillors M McLaughlin (Lab), C Blakeley (Con), P Gilchrist (Lib Dem) and Independent Member Prof RS Jones;

 

(3)  nominations for the membership of the Standards Appeal Panel be sought from the Political Groups as and when there is a requirement to hold a meeting;

 

(4)  where a representative Member, confirmed under paragraph (2) above, is unavailable to attend a proposed meeting of the Standards Panel or Standards Appeal Panel but that meeting can be attended by all other persons required, then the relevant political group through their Group Leader/Deputy Group Leader or Party Spokesperson shall promptly confirm another representative member who is able to attend that meeting; and

 

(5)  the proposed procedure for dealing with a matter before either the Standards Panel or Standards Appeal Panel set out at Appendix 4 to the report be agreed.


Meeting: 02/06/2016 - Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee (Item 4)

4 Appointment of Panels pdf icon PDF 76 KB

Article 9 of the Council Constitution (paragraph 9.5) requires that the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee establish a Standards Panel and a Standards Appeal Panel (attached).

 

The Committee is requested to nominate 3 Members (one Member from the three main political parties) to each Panel who shall be members of the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee (unless an Alternate Member is nominated) Article 9 (Paragraphs A2 and B4) of the Council Constitution refer.

 

(Report of the Head of Legal and Member Services to follow)

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report by the Head of Legal and Member Services proposed that the Committee establish the Standards Panel and Standards Appeal Panel in accordance with the paragraph 9.5 of Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution and the Protocol for Dealing with Complaints against Members.

 

Appended to the report were the following appendices:

 

1.   Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution;

2.   Members’ Code of Conduct;

3.  Protocol for Dealing with Complaints against Members; and

4.   Procedure for dealing with matters before the Standards Panel and Standards Appeal Panel.

 

The Head of Legal and Member Services referred to an email Members had received from a member of the public raising three procedural points in relation to this item of business.  He informed that he intended to respond to the points raised at this meeting.

 

Firstly, the member of the public had referred to the report that had been outstanding and, therefore, not included with the agenda for the meeting when it had been published.  The Head of Legal and Member Services reported that Officers had been canvassing Members for an appropriate date on which to hold a meeting of Standards Panel.  A date had not been identified and this had held up the publication of the report.  The date and had still not been identified when the report had been published in a supplementary agenda.  He informed that since the publication of the agenda the evening of 28 June 2016 had in fact been confirmed with the Members nominated to sit on the Panel as the date for the meeting and they were also holding 29 June 2016 in case it was needed in case of any adjournment on 28 June 2016.

 

Secondly, the member of the public had queried the status of the Standards Panel and the Head of Legal and Member Services reported that the Panel was in fact a Panel and not a Sub-Committee of this Committee.  Therefore, its documentation and proceedings were not open to the press and public.  The matter/parties could be prejudiced if confidential information was allowed to get into the public domain before due process had been completed – that in itself could bring the Council into disrepute and undermine the ethical framework. 

 

The member of the public also asserted that paragraph 12.5 of the Protocol conflicted with s.6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 in that a public authority cannot make a decision which causes it to act in a way incompatible with a Convention right.  This would seem to also conflict with both Article 10 (freedom of expression) Convention right and the whistleblowing provisions in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.  The Head of Legal and Member Services advised that paragraph 12.5 merely advised the parties to a complaint to maintain confidentiality and therefore there was no contravention of any of the provisions referenced.

 

Thirdly, the Head of Legal and Member Services referred to Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution and thanked the member of the public for pointing out his oversight in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4