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Agenda and minutes

Contact: Democratic Services Tel: 01684 272021  Email:  democraticservices@tewkesbury.gov.uk

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Items
No. Item

6.

Announcements

Minutes:

6.1            The Chair advised that the meeting was being held under the emergency provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 and, specifically, The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020.  The meeting was being broadcast live via the internet, it was not being recorded by the Council but, under the usual transparency rules, it may be being recorded by others.   

7.

Apologies for Absence

To receive apologies for absence. 

Minutes:

7.1            Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor L A Gerrard.  

8.

Declarations of Interest

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 26 June 2012 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 July 2012, as set out in Minute No. CL.34, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

Minutes:

8.1            The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

8.2            There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

9.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 137 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 August 2020.

Minutes:

9.1            The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 August 2020, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record.  

10.

Committee on Standards in Public Life - Progress on Best Practice Recommendations pdf icon PDF 297 KB

To consider the progress against the Committee on Standards in Public Life best practice recommendations and determine the response to be made.  

Additional documents:

Minutes:

10.1          The report of the Borough Solicitor, circulated at Pages No. 5-14, provided an update on the Council’s progress in relation to the best practice recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life in its report of 30 January 2019. Members were asked to consider the progress outlined and determine the response to be made to the Committee on Standards in Public Life.  

10.2          The Monitoring Officer explained that the Committee on Standards in Public Life had undertaken a review of ethical standards in 2018 and the subsequent report had made a number of recommendations to the government for changes to legislation as well as asking the Local Government Association to produce a Model Code of Conduct. In addition, the report had identified 15 recommended areas of best practice which the Committee on Standards in Public Life considered did not require any changes to legislation and could be implemented voluntarily by local authorities. The Committee on Standards in Public Life had asked all local authorities to provide an update on their progress against the best practice recommendations by 30 November 2020 and had provided a format for how that should be done.

10.3          Using the template provided, the Monitoring Officer had set out the Council’s progress in a draft response at Appendix 1 to the report which the Committee was asked to consider. The responses provided would be published on the Cabinet Office website and the Committee on Standards in Public Life website so it was considered that Members needed to approve the detail. The table set out within the report at Paragraph 2.2 included the commentary for the Council’s position and Appendix 1 set out the specific response to be made to the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

10.4          Referring to the draft responses, the following comments were made:

·        1 – local authorities should include prohibitions on bullying and harassment in Codes of Conduct. These should include a definition of bullying and harassment, supplemented with a list of examples of the sort of behaviour covered by such a definition. The Monitoring Officer explained that the Council’s Code did have a prohibition on bullying but did not have a definition, the ACAS definition was the industry norm and was used when considering allegations. The Local Government Association’s model Code was expected at the beginning of December and this would provide the opportunity to include a prohibition against harassment and a definition of bullying. The suggested response was agreed.

·        2 - Councils should include provisions in their Code of Conduct requiring Councillors to comply with any formal standards investigation and prohibiting trivial or malicious allegations by Councillors – The Monitoring Officer advised that Councillors were required to comply with investigations. The fact that the Council would not consider trivial or malicious allegations was not included in the Code and she did not feel it was correct to include it as people making the complaint would not feel their issues were trivial or malicious – this was however considered by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.