Agenda and draft minutes

There were apologies for absence received from Mark Reynolds and Lee Navesey.

There were no public questions received.

The Minutes of the Standards Committee Meeting held on 30^th November 2023 are attached for approval.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 30^th November 2023 be approved as a correct record.

The Committee to confirm the Composition of the Standards sub-committee

The Committee received a report from the Director of Legal Services regarding the composition of the Standards sub-committee. The report advised that the Standards sub-committee deals with the determination of referred complaints from the Monitoring Officer and any hearings required.

It was noted that the Standards sub-committee would have five Oldham Council members on the sub- committee, in addition there would also be an Independent Person who would also attend a sub-committee meeting. It was also noted that if the matter related to a Parish/Town Council member, the sub-committee would include at least one Parish /Town Council member.

It was noted that the sub-committee would be politically balanced and consist of two Labour Group members and one member from the Liberal Democrat Group, the Conservative Group, and the Oldham Group.

RESOLVED:

1.)  That the Committee confirmed the composition of the sub-committee as outlined above.

To Review Member Code of Conduct Matters.

The Director of Legal Services introduced a report to consider and review various matters relevant to the Members Code of Conduct and related matters. The report asked the Committee to review the Member Code of Conduct and Arrangements for dealing with complaints under the Code and consider a review of the last 12 months.

Members were informed that the Council had adopted in September 2021 a model Code of Conduct which had been developed by the Local Government Association. The Code was last reviewed in June 2023 with an update in November 2023. Members were informed that it was good practise for the Council to review these code of conducts and consider any recommended amendments.

Members were informed by the Director of Legal Services about how Independent Persons would work within the complaints process. It was noted that in an event of allegations of breaches of the code of conduct, the Director of Legal Services and one independent person would initially asses the decision over whether or not the complaint progressed to the next stage, if it did indeed progress to the next stage an second independent person would speak with the Member in question, and finally a third independent person would be present at a hearing.

The Director of Legal Services noted that there was a vacancy for a fourth independent person.

There was a discussion over the time frame the complaints process would take, with the Director of Legal Services noting that every complaints were different, with some complaints being straightforward and others being more complex. It was further explained that Members would be kept updated at each stage of the complaints process.

There was a discussion amongst Members and Officers regarding complaints the Council had received over the last year. It was noted that there had been 15 formal complaints received from individuals that had been investigated within the last year. Of the 15 complaints, 3 were dismissed, 3 were concluded with an informal resolution, 4 were referred for investigation and 5 were at the moment of the meeting being assessed.

RESOLVED:

1)    The Committee consider any amendments required to the Members Code and Arrangements, grant the general dispensations, and note the review of the last 12 months.