Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was received from Dr Einir Young (Chair).

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present.

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration.

No urgent matters were raised.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 18th March, 2019 be signed as a true record  (attached).

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 18 March, 2019 as a true record.

To consider the report of the Senior Solicitor (Corporate)  (attached).

Submitted - the draft of the committee's annual report for 2018-2019. The committee's observations and approval of the document were invited.

Members were asked to check their biographies and to contact the Senior Solicitor - Corporate with any amendments / updates.

RESOLVED

(a)       To approve the annual report to be submitted to the Full Council on 18 July, subject to changing the reference to 2016-2017 in the English version in the main heading on page 15 to read '2018-2019’.

(b)     Authorise the Monitoring Officer to complete the forewords, in consultation with the Chair.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer  (to follow).

Submitted - the report of the Monitoring Officer requesting that the committee consider and decide on an application by Councillor W. Gareth Roberts, a member of the Aberdaron ward on Gwynedd Council, for a dispensation relating to the proposed scheme to create electricity near Bardsey Island, which was in his ward, where he was also a tenant farmer.

The Senior Solicitor - Corporate explained:

·         Should the scheme be realised, the Councillor would benefit in the sense that there would be an electricity supply available to him on Bardsey Island.  This created an interest because a decision on the scheme either way would impact his personal interest.  The interest was also a prejudicial one.

·         The Councillor wished to take part in the local discussions due to his knowledge as a local member, but also as someone who had unique knowledge and experience of Bardsey Island. He also wished to have the right to speak as a local member, but not to vote, when the scheme was presented to this Council.

On this point, Councillor Dewi Roberts declared a personal interest in the item as he was a member of the Bardsey Island Trust and had been Vice-chair of the Bardsey Island Council.  He was of the opinion that it was a prejudicial interest, and he withdrew from the meeting during the discussion on the item.

The committee was asked to weigh up the public interest in preventing the Councillor from taking part in the discussions due to the interest, against the public interest, in allowing him to take part due to his unique knowledge and experience of Bardsey Island. The Committee was also asked to consider the practicality of asking another member to step into the role of the local member in this context.

During the discussion on the application, the following observations were noted:

·         The Councillor would not benefit financially from the scheme.

·         As the Councillor already used electricity on the island, the scheme would not mean any more to him than changing the core supply.

·         That the wording of the Councillor's application for a dispensation suggested that he had a definite view in favour of the arrival of an electricity supply on the island.  Despite that, it was possible that others might have reasons for opposing the development and that view needed to be heard in any discussions also.

·         That the scheme's advantage to the Councillor as a tenant was clear, as having an electricity supply on the island would facilitate things for him.

·         That the Councillor could talk on the matter as a private landowner and that he could ask an adjacent member to represent him in his role as a local member.

RESOLVED to refuse the application by Councillor W. Gareth Roberts for a dispensation to take part as a member of Gwynedd Council in the local discussions and to speak when the scheme to create electricity near Bardsey Island came before this Council, on the following grounds:

(a)       That the committee was of the opinion that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer  (attached).

          Submitted - the report of the Monitoring Officer inviting the committee to:

·         hold a self-evaluation of the committee's work and output during 2018-19; and

·         consider the draft work programme for 2019-20.

RESOLVED

(a) To adopt the following as the committee’s self-evaluation of its performance in 2018-19:

(b) Approve the following work programme for 2019/20:

17 June, 2019

Annual Report

Allegations against members

The Ombudsman’s Casebook

4 November, 2019

Gifts and Hospitality Register

Declaration of Interests Register

The Ombudsman’s Annual Report

Allegations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer  (attached).

Submitted - the report of the Monitoring Officer inviting the committee to discuss matters noted in the report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life on the findings of its review of the existing arrangements' effectiveness for standards in Local Government in England.

It was noted that although the review was only in relation to implementing the standards system in England, the report and its recommendations would be of interest to members of the Standards Committee.

Attention was drawn to some of the report's main messages in a number of various fields, including the declarations of interest, allegations of misconduct, bullying, the role of officers, corporate arrangements, leadership and culture along with outsourcing and collaboration arrangements. It was suggested that the committee could come back to some of these matters in future.

RESOLVED to accept the report.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer  (attached).

Submitted - the report of the Monitoring Officer inviting the committee to discuss matters noted in the Ombudsman's Code of Conduct Casebook - Edition 20.

During the discussion, it was noted that:

·         The first case in the Case Summaries outlined the importance of retaining the evidence.

·         That receiving an overview of what was happening in other places was a good way of identifying problems across north Wales.

RESOLVED to accept the report.

To consider the report of the Senior Solicitor (Corporate)  (attached).

Submitted, for information, the report of the Senior Solicitor (Corporate) presenting information about the Ombudsman's decisions on formal complaints against members.

RESOLVED to accept the report.