Philip McCourt, Director of Law and Governance introduced his report that provided Members of the Constitution and Standards Committee with an update on progress in respect of the preparation of a revised Model Code of Conduct.

This report provided Members of the Constitution and Standards Committee with an update on progress in respect to the preparation of a revised Model Code of Conduct.

The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CoSPL) report published in January 2019 recommended creating an updated model Code of Conduct, by the Local Government Association (LGA) in consultation with representative bodies of councillors and officers of all tiers of local government.

Members were apprised that LGA Workshops of Members and Monitoring Officers had taken place to discuss the approach and content of the revised Code, and that consultation on a draft Code had run for 10 weeks from Monday 8 June until Monday 17 August 2020.

The Director of Law and Governance informed the Constitution and Standards Committee that in light of the feedback and discussion on 22 October 2020, the LGA would now review the draft and a final Code would then be prepared for submission to the LGA board for approval on 3 December 2020, after which the approved Code will then be published.

Members questioned the Director of Law and Governance on his report, and the Director responded accordingly. He informed that Wirral’s Code of Conduct would remain in place, having been reviewed by the Governance Working Group as part of the introduction of the new Council Constitution. This would not preclude further review by the Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.