Held at Ryedale House, Malton, 20 September 2007
Agenda for Standards Committee held on 20thSeptember 2007.
Present
Councillors Aslett, Cottam, Cussons and Mrs De Wend Fenton
Mrs G DeBarr - Parish Representative (in theChair)
Mrs G Baker - IndependentMember
Mr C Langley - IndependentMember
Mr H Spencer - Parish Representative
In Attendance
Mrs A Adnitt and A Winship
Minutes
220. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Mr Hamilton andCouncillor Maud.
221. Minutes
The minutes of a last meeting of the Standards Committee heldon
19 July 2007 were presented.
Resolved
That the minutes of a meeting of theStandards Committee held on 19 July 2007 be approved and signed bythe Chairman as a correct record.
222. Urgent Business
The Chairman reported that there were no items of business tobe dealt with as a matter of urgency by virtue of Section100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 as applioed byregulation 7 of teh Relevant Local Authorities (StandardsCommittee) Regulations 2001 as amended.
223. Declarations of Interest
No declarations of interest were received.
224. Standards Board Training DVD – “ The CodeUncovered”
The Council Solicitor presented a DVD produced by theStandards Board on issues relating to the new Code of Conduct forCouncillors. The DVD would be made available to all Parish and TownCouncils and it was generally considered to be helpful andinformative.
225. Occasional paper entitled “Predisposition,Predetermination or Bias, and the Code”
The Council Solicitor submitted a report (previouslycirculated) the purpose of which was to advise Members about thepublication of the occasional paper by the Standards Board ofEngland entitled “Predisposition, Predetermination or Bias, and theCode” a copy of which was included in the report.
Members were advised that before participating in the decisionmaking process at meetings of the Council or its Committees/SubCommittees, Members must have regard and make a distinction betweenthe following two issues;
- Members, Code of Conduct
- Judge-made, common law concepts of predisposition,predetermination and bias.
Each of these concepts were considered in detail in the report.Predisposition, predetermination and bias were judge-made,common-law concepts, and not part of the Code of Conduct. Howeverthey did apply to local authority decision making, and theirapplication had caused issues for Members of local authorities.
The Standards Board of England had produced this paper to helpclarify the issues arising from these concepts, the paper clearlyexplained what predisposition, predetermination and bias were, andgave examples of where members were predisposed, and so could takepart in a debate and vote, and where they were predetermined orbiased, in which case , their participation in a decsion would riska legal challenge.
The paper was discussed in detail, and Members were of theopinion that it would be beneficial to prepare some guidance forall Members of the Council on Bias and Predetermination.
Resolved
That the report be noted, and theMonitoring Officer prepare and submit a draft Monitoring OfficerGuidance note on Bias and Predetermination to a future meeting ofCommittee for circulation to all Members of Council.
226. R (on theapplication of Ware) (Claimants) v Neath Port Talbot County BoroughCouncil (Defentant) and National Grid (Interested Party)(2007)
The Council Solicitor submitted a report to advise Members ofa recent decision of the Administrative Court in R (on theapplication of Ware) (Claimants) v Neath Port Talbot County BoroughCouncil (Defendant) and National Grid (Interested Party) (2007)relating to the common law concept of predetermination.
The facts of the case concerned advice given by a MonitoringOfficer, on the issue of participation of four Councillors in aPlanning Committee decision. The Planning Committee wereconsidering applications for a planning and hazardous substancesconsent in relation to the construction of a high pressure gas pipeand local gas supply system.
The High Court considered that the advice given by aMonitoring Officer to a Local Authority Councillor was erroneous,the Councillor had acted upon this advice and had therefore notparticipated in the planning decision. The Court concluded that anydecision reached through the absence of that Councillor was liableto be quashed on the grounds that it had been reached by havingregard to an immaterial consideration.
The report outlined the case in further detail, and Memberswere advised that Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council had beengiven leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal and that appeal waslisted for 27th November 2007.
Resolved
That the report be received.
227. To Higher Standards – Standards Board ofEngland – Annual Review 2006/2007
The Council Solicitor submitted a report (previouslycirculated) in order to advise Members of the publication of theAnnual Review of the Standards Board of England 2006-07 entitled‘To Higher Standards’
This report was intended to give the reader a clear andaccurate picture of the progress that the Standards Board forEngland had made during 2006-07 in developing a locally basedethical system.
The main acheivements during the year had included
- The introduction of the revised Code of Conduct in May2007
- The key provision from the Standards Board that local standardscommittees will be handed the responsibility for receivingcomplaints and deciding whether they should be investigated.
- The Standards Board’s new role as a strategic regulator, withthe responsibilty to monitor and promote standards and to supportand oversee local authorities in the application of the code.
A copy of the Annual Review was included with thereport.
Resolved
That the report be noted.
228. Standards Board for England Bulletin35
The Council Solicitor submited a report (previouslycirculated) the purpose of which was to inform Members of theCommittee of the latest Standards Board Bulletin 35.
A copy of the Bulletin published on the 31 August 2007 wasappended to the report.
The Council Solicitor reported that the following items wereworthy of note:
- A look at forthcoming amendments to the Local GovernmentAct;
- Information about the local filter for Code of Conductcomplaints and its expected impact on authoritites;
- Clarification on Code of Conduct issues relating to lobbygroups and single issue campaigns, independent standards committeemembers and registering gifts and hospitality.
Resolved
That the report be noted.