Mr N Briers (Independent Member); Chair

Councillors D J Cannon, R Cartlidge, P A Hallett, J Hammond and L T Wood

 

Mr J Ross

 

Mr P W Jackson (deputising for Mr D Forrest)

 

Mrs C M Jones          Democratic Services Officer

Mr C J Henshall         Borough Solicitor (Deputy Monitoring Officer)

                                               

Apology:       Mr D Forrest

 

1          DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

 

            No Member made any declaration of interest in respect of any item of business on the agenda.

 

2          RECORD OF MEETING

 

            AGREED:  That the record of the meeting held on 14^th March 2006 be approved as correct.

 

3          COMPOSITION OF STANDARDS COMMITTEE SELECTION PANEL

           

            It was reported that at its meeting on 17^th May 2006, Annual Council had approved an increase in Independent Members from two to three,  which had been requested by the Standards Committee and accepted by the Modernising Agenda Working Group.

 

            The vacancy for the additional Independent Member would be advertised in "News and Views" which was to be distributed in July.  The Committee was now invited to appoint a Selection Panel to review applications, shortlist and interview candidates.

 

            AGREED: (a) That a Selection Panel comprising a minimum of three members and a maximum of five be established;

 

            (b) That the Panel comprise Mr Nigel Briers, Mr John Ross, and at least one Councillor, to be drawn from either the Conservative or the Labour Group;

 

            (c) That, subject to availability, two other Councillors be invited to serve on the Panel, to be drawn from the Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrats Group;

 

            (d) That a meeting of the Panel be held on Monday, 18^th September at 10.00am to short-list applications;

 

            (e) That interviews be held by the Panel on Thursday, 28^th September at 2.00pm; 

 

            (f) That the interviews be preceded by an informal lunch with the candidates, Mr Nigel Briers, Chair of the Committee, Mr John Ross and the Monitoring Officer;

 

            (g) That, in acknowledging applications, potential candidates be informed of the date of the interview; and

 

            (h) That the Conservative Group and Labour Group be invited to inform the Monitoring Officer of the names of the Councillors to serve on the Panel.

 

4          COMPLIMENTS, COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS AND  SUGGESTIONS SCHEME

 

            The Committee considered the report of the Monitoring Officer which outlined communications received by the Council for April 2006.  In addition, a short presentation was made covering the period December 2005 to April 2006.

 

            It was reported that all communications received under the scheme were acknowledged. 

 

            The following were suggested as ways in which the scheme could be improved

 

Ø      Issue interim letters to correspondents to inform them of the current status of their enquiry/complaint (if appropriate)

Ø      Use the schedule as a rolling-programme to be submitted quarterly to enable the Committee to monitor progress on each of the communications.

Ø      Possibly include a specific category to show where complaints/comments had been referred to other agencies, eg highways issues referred to Cheshire County Council

Ø      Advertise the scheme in "News and Views".

 

            AGREED: That the suggestions made by the Committee be conveyed to the Monitoring Officer for action.

 

5          BRIDGING THE GAP FIFTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OF STANDARDS

 

            The Standards Board for England would be holding its Fifth Annual Assembly of Standards Committee in Birmingham on 16^th/17^th October 2006.    the topic for the conference was "Bridging the Gap" concentrating on identifying and closing the gaps between resources, knowledge and experience needed for effective regulation of ethical standards at a local level.

 

            One place had been reserved for Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council and Members were invited to indicate if they wished to attend.

 

            AGREED: (a) That, subject to his availability, Councillor P A Hallett attend on the 16^th October; and

 

            (b) That the Monitoring Officer be informed of the name of a Member to attend on the 17^th October, in due course.

 

6          MEMBER DEVELOPMENT ETHICS AND STANDARDS   27^TH JUNE 2006

 

            It was reported that, as part of the Member Development Programme for 2006-2007, a session on ethics and standards, facilitated by Alan Warburton (Monitoring Officer) had been scheduled for Tuesday, 27^th June 2006. 

 

            The session would be of particular benefit to new Members of the Standards Committee and to new Councillors.

           

7          PARISH CONFERENCE 13^TH JUNE 2006

 

            The Parish Conference was to be held on 13^th June 2006 at 7.00pm in the Municipal Buildings, Crewe.  The programme included the following

 

Ø      Presentation by Sgt Gareth Edwards (Crewe Police) on Police Community Support Officers

Ø      Parish Councils' role as consultees on planning applications

Ø      Emergency Planning presentation by Roger Booth, Emergency Planning Officer

 

It was suggested that this would be an opportunity to publicise the Compliments, Comments, Complaints and Suggestion Scheme and to inform the meeting of the vacancy for an Independent Member on the Standards Committee.

           

8          DATE OF NEXT MEETING

 

            11^th July 2006

 

............................................................... Chair