Agenda and draft minutes

To receive and record any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Turner.

To receive and record any declarations of interest from members
present in respect of any of the various matters on the agenda for this
meeting.

There were no declarations of interests relating to matters on the agenda.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th September 2021.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 13 September 2021 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee are requested to note the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel.

* Due to external third-party attendance, any questions Members wish to ask in relation to the reasoning, please submit to Democratic Services at least one day before the meeting.

Mr David Heck and Mr Andrew Kirk of the Independent Remuneration Panel, introduced the panel’s report, outlined the options available to Council and answered questions raised by Members of the Committee.

RESOLVED that:

a)                  the process undertaken by the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) be noted; and

b)         the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) report in appendix A be noted; and that the report now be recommended to Full Council for its consideration for approval.

The Committee considered a report outlining proposed changes to the Council’s Constitution proposed by the Constitution Working Group.

RECOMMENDED that Council make the following amendments to the Council’s constitution:

(a)        The following paragraph be added to Access to Information Standing Order 57.1 in Part 3 Section B of the Constitution

            “The Council will operate a presumption of access to confidential or exempt parts of Council, Committee, Sub-Committee or Cabinet meetings, and related documents, for all Councillors. The examples given below of where a “a need to know” will apply are not exhaustive and there is an expectation that exclusion of a councillor from a meeting, or access to a document, will be exceptional.”

(b)        paragraph 2.2.5 of Part 2 Section E1 be amended to provide as follows:

            “Where, within four weeks of its receipt by the Council, or within seven days of being notified of an intended officer decision to determine a Planning Application:

            (a)        The local ward Councillor (or in the absence of the local ward Councillor, the Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Planning Committee) requests in writing to the Head of Planning, giving good material planning reasons, that the application be determined by the Planning Committee, and/or

            (b)        Where five or more individual letters, each raising material planning objections, have been received by the Council, and the referral is supported by a ward Councillor and is agreed by the Chairman of the Planning Committee, the Head of Planning and the Cabinet member with portfolio responsibility for Planning, that the application be determined by the Planning Committee.”

(c)        paragraph 2.2.7 of Part 2 Section E1 be amended to read as follows:

            “Where the application is to vary or remove a condition that was imposed by the Planning Committee, on an application under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, or to make any other amendment to an approved scheme, which the Head of Planning in consultation with the Chairman of Planning Committee is of the opinion will have a significant impact on the relevant planning permission to which the amendment or condition may attach so as to change the character and basis of that planning permission.”

RECOMMENDED that the press and public be excluded as:

a) It is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted,or the nature of the proceedings, that if a member of the publicwere present during the item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as specified in Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Local Government Act 1972; and

b) In all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information

RESOLVED that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the minutes headed and numbered as below because:

it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during those minutes there would be disclosure to them of exempt information of the descriptions specified in paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972 shown against the heading in question; and

in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Minute 20 – Code of Conduct Complaints (Paragraphs 1 to 2)

The Committee will consider a report on Councillor Code of Conductcomplaints received or ongoing since 1 January 2021.

The appendix to the report is exempt, therefore the Committee will be invited to consider passing a resolution to enter exempt session (agenda item 5) if it wishes to discuss the details contained within it.

The Committee received a report on Councillor Code of Conduct complaints received or ongoing since 1 January 2021.

The Committee received advice on its role in the process for dealing with Code of Conduct complaints.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.