To enable the committee to be assured that high standards of conduct continue to be promoted and maintained.  To provide an overview of how the arrangements for dealing with complaints are working together with views from the latest standards panel sampling review.

The monitoring officer presented the report and welcomed two independent persons who were in attendance, Jake Bharier and Gerry Hodson, to answer any queries which the committee may have. 

During the discussion on the report, the following points were made:

·         The overall number of complaints had reduced in the year

·         Code of conduct training had been well received and there were future training sessions in place.  

·         The standards panel had given assurances of the process in place.

·         There had been no appeals received in the period covered by the report.

·         The Committee on Standards Life had produced best practice recommendations and Herefordshire had already implemented most of these.  

·         There were further recommendations to amend the arrangements for dealing with code of conduct complaints attached to the report.

·         Herefordshire was no different to any other council as the issues were the same.

·         The mechanism for supporting members subject to complaints would be discussed with the independent persons. 

·         The monitoring officer had a delegation from council in respect of certain types of dispensation.    The main reason why dispensations were granted was when ward members lived in the ward they represented and needed to represent their ward residents’ views.  

·         Any challenges to a dispensation granted by the monitoring officer would be heard by the audit and governance committee.

·         The government had not yet responded to the recommendations outlined in the committee for standards in public lives report. 

RESOLVED

That

(a)       the recommendations from the standards panel advising this committee, following their annual sampling exercise, are approved; and

(b)       the committee endorse the recommended changes to the standards complaints process proposed by the monitoring officer in consideration of the review by the committee on standards in public life, set out in appendices 1 and 2.