STANDARDS
COMMITTEE
22ND
MAY 2007
Present:
Mr N Briers (Independent non-Council Member);
Chair
Councillors R Cartlidge, P A Hallett and J
Hammond
Independent (non-Council)
Member:
Mr R Pomlett
Parish Representative:
Mr P W Jackson (Deputising for Mr D
Forrest)
In attendance:
Councillor B Evans
Officers in attendance:
Mr C Henshall
Borough Solicitor
Miss D Moulson
Democratic Services Officer
Apologies: Councillor D
J Cannon and Mr J Ross
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 27th February 2007 be approved as
correct.
3. CODE OF
CONDUCT: ADOPTION OF THE REVISED CODE
Following a national consultation process, the
government had issued a new model Code of Conduct which had come
into force on 3 May 2007. Local authorities were being
encouraged to voluntarily adopt the Code before the automatic
implementation date of 1 October 2007.
To ensure that all Councillors were aware of
the requirements of the new Code, the Committee was invited to
consider how best to meet the training needs of the Borough Council
and; as the Code would apply equally to parishes, the Parish
Councils.
After a brief discussion, the Committee considered that all
Members should receive training on the new Code prior to formal
adoption. In setting a timeline, it was suggested that the
Committee’s next meeting scheduled for 10 July 2007 could be given
over to a training event if required to enable a report on the
Code’s adoption to be submitted to Council on 8 August 2007.
An offer of holding joint training sessions with other Cheshire
authorities had been received and the Committee welcomed this
initiative.
With regards to Parish Councils; the Deputy
Parish Representative reported that the Cheshire Association of
Local Councils was in the process of arranging training for Parish
Members and it was agreed that officers would liaise with the
Association to co-ordinate the training provided.
AGREED: That a) appropriate
training be arranged for all members of the Borough Council on the
new Model Code of Conduct; and b) that a report on the adoption of
the Code be submitted to Council on 8 August 2007.
4.
COMPLIMENTS, COMMENTS AND COMPLAINTS
SCHEME
4.1 Information
Report
The Committee received details of the
Complements, Comments and Complaints Scheme which outlined
communications received by the Council for the period 3 January to
19 April 2007.
4.2 Update on the
Review of the Scheme
(Note: In accordance with Procedure
Rule 26(2) Councillor Evans was in attendance and spoke on the
item.)
Limited progress had been made on reviewing
the scheme since the last meeting of the Committee. A draft
comment/complaint form (an amalgamation of the two forms currently
in use) had been produced and was awaiting approval. In the
interim, the Customer Services Supervisor had proposed using the
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to record all
complaints received by the Council and a meeting was to be arranged
to explore the feasibility of the proposal.
A Member expressed his concern about the
apparent lack of managerial input on the review of the scheme,
stating that in his opinion, the function of dealing with
complements, comments and complains should sit within Customer
Services, not Democratic Services. He also commented that the
system at present did not allow for comments/complaints made via
other mediums to be recorded, which could be addressed by means of
the CRM system. In response, it was confirmed that the points
raised would be considered as part of the review.
The Committee requested that the review be
concluded in time for a report to be submitted to its September
meeting.
5.
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS CONCERNING THE STANDARDS
COMMITTEE
5.1 Audit
Committee
It was reported that at the Council meeting
held on 18 April 2007, Council had considered two options in
relation to the appointment of an Audit Committee. Council
had approved the establishment of a “stand alone” Committee as
opposed to including the function within the remit of the Standards
Committee.
5.2
Standards Board for England – Forthcoming
Events
The Committee was advised of two events being
held by the Standards Board for England; a Summer Road show in
Liverpool on 6 June 2007 and the Sixth Annual Assembly of Standards
Committees in Birmingham on 15-16 October 2007. The Committee
was invited to indicate whether it wished to reserve places on
either or both events.
AGREED: That two places
be reserved for the Summer Road show event on 6 June 2007 and one
place be reserved for the Sixth Annual Assembly of Standards
Committee on 16 October
2007.
6. DATE OF
NEXT
MEETING
10th July 2007
………………………………….
Chair