Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Cabinet Briefing Room - Wallasey Town Hall. View directions

Items
No. Item

1.

Appointment of Chair

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That Councillor Phil Gilchrist be elected Chair for this meeting of the Panel.

2.

Members' Code of Conduct - Declarations of Interest

Members of the Panel are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary and/or any other relevant interest, in connection with any of the items on this agenda and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the interest.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were made.

3.

Article 9 of the Council's Constitution, The Members' Code of Conduct and Protocol pdf icon PDF 105 KB

The following documents are included with the agenda for Members’ information:

 

(a)  Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution which relates to The Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee;

 

(b)  The Members’ Code of Conduct; and

 

(c)  The Protocol on arrangements for investigating and making decisions in relation to allegations made under the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel considered a copy of Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution along with copies of The Members’ Code of Conduct and the Protocol which detailed the arrangements for Investigating and Making Decisions in relation to allegations made under The Members’ Code of Conduct.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  the contents of the documents provided be noted; and

 

(2)  the Panel will be guided by the documents provided during the course of its decision making in respect of the complaint to be considered.

4.

Exempt Information - Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following items contain exempt information.

 

RECOMMENDATION: That, under section 100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined by the relevant paragraphs of Part I of Schedule 12A (as amended) to that Act. The Public Interest test has been applied and favours exclusion.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  the Panel considers the disclosure of information in respect of this complaint as defined by paragraphs 1 and 5 of Part I of Schedule 12A (as amended) to that Act and publicity surrounding this matter would not have a material impact on the fairness of the procedures and it is in the public interest for the Panel to continue to hear the complaint in public and make a determination on it; and

 

(2)  the Independent Investigator, Press and Public be invited to remain in the meeting.

 

5.

Consideration of a Standards Complaint

Minutes:

The Panel had regard to the findings that were set out by the Investigator and to the representations made by the subject Member.  Members of the Panel asked a number of questions of the Investigator, subject Member and a complainant which were answered accordingly. 

 

Exempt Information - Exclusion of the Press and Public

 

RESOLVED:

 

That under section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the next item of business only, on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined by paragraphs 1 and 5 of Part I of Schedule 12A (as amended) to that Act in that it contains information relating to an individual and of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.  The Public Interest test has been applied and favours exclusion.

 

Panel Deliberations

 

The Panel deliberated in private before informing of its decision in the presence of both the Investigator and the subject Member, complainant and the press and public. The details are contained in the attached Decision Notice.

 

Decision Notice pdf icon PDF 1 MB