Agenda and minutes
Venue: Ystafell Gwyrfai, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd. LL55 1SH
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Councillor
Michael Sol Owen and Mr David Clay. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of interest
were received from any members
present. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that
are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Minutes: None. |
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The Chairman shall propose that the
minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 27th June, 2016 be
signed as a true record (attached). Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous committee meeting held on 27 June 2016, as a true record. |
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PREPARING FOR THE 2017 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS PDF 19 KB To consider
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the report of
the Monitoring Officer appending a report that appeared before
the Council's Democratic
Services Committee on the
20th of September on the work that is in
progress to prepare for inducting new
members to the authority as a result of the May 2017 elections. The committee was asked
to consider the report and offer guidance on possible further
training on the Code of Conduct. The Chairman noted that she
welcomed the fact that plans are
in the pipeline to prepare for the elections. During the discussion, the following observations were noted:- ·
That it is essentially important that the new members receive
training on the Code of Conduct. ·
That there is a need to think about a format
that introduces the Code of Conduct's main points for new
members in a light-hearted and engaging way but
also respecting the subject's seriousness. ·
That the new members need to receive guidance at the beginning in terms of how
to operate over the first few weeks
as a councillor without breaking the Code of Conduct. ·
It is not felt that calling
at a stand at the Information Fair
on the induction days is a sufficient way in itself
of presenting the Code of Conduct to new members and needs
to be followed soon after by a more detailed presentation by the Monitoring Officer. RESOLVED to note the report. |
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LOCAL RESOLUTION PROCEDURE FOR COMMUNITY COUNCILS To consider
a verbal report by the Monitoring Officer. Minutes: Submitted – the oral report of the Monitoring Officer noting:- ·
That this matter
had been included in the work programme
of the Standards Committee,
but that Unllais Cymru by now has started
on the work of drawing up a national
procedure for community councils with an Ombudsman,
Welsh Local Government Association and monitoring officers as part of the process also. ·
This news would
be welcomed and it was hoped that
this new procedure would create a practical and more robust mechanism that will enable community
councils to solve problems easier. During the discussion, it
was noted that Unllais Cymru should be contacted in due
course to suggest that any training
on the new procedure would be held locally. RESOLVED to note
the report. |
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THE OMBUDSMAN'S ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 PDF 342 KB To consider
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted for information – the report of the Monitoring Officer appending a copy of those parts of the Ombudsman's Annual Report 2015/16 relevant to code of conduct complaints and noted what the Ombudsman has to say in his annual
letter regarding complaints and code of conduct. The Chair noted that a small percentage
of the complaints are taken further and
it appears that respect and
uniformity are the matters that are
raised the most. RESOLVED to note
the report. |
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ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MEMBERS PDF 106 KB To consider
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Minutes: Submitted, for information – the report of the Monitoring Officer on formal complaints
made against members. The Senior Solicitor noted
that another two complaints had come to hand since
the report had been prepared and that
he would report on them
at the next meeting. RESOLVED to note
the report. |