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 Dewi
Roberts. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of
personal 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: No urgent matters
were raised. |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 17th June, 2019 be signed as a true record (attached). Minutes: The Chair signed
the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 17 June 2019, as
a true record. |
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THE GIFTS AND HOSPITALITY REGISTER PDF 40 KB To consider the
report of the Senior Solicitor (Corporate)
(attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: The Monitoring
Officer presented the report to the committee as part of its work of monitoring
standards within the Council. Members were invited to note, accept and offer
any observations on the contents of the report. During the
discussion, it was noted that:- ·
Members were unsure when it was necessary to register
a gift / hospitality. In response, it
was explained, e.g. that refreshments provided as part of a body's normal
meeting, such as Adra's Board (Cartrefi
Cymunedol Gwynedd), did not constitute
hospitality, but that refreshment provided, for example, by a private company,
as part of a pre-planning application exhibition, was a different matter, as
there could be an effort here to influence the member. ·
There was a perception
that councillors received far more gifts and hospitality than happened in reality. ·
By now, it was Cabinet Members that held
the right to make the majority of decisions, and other members
did not have much of a deciding role, with the exception of matters, such as planning. ·
A note should
be included in the next Standards Committee annual report, reminding members of the need to register any offer of gifts / hospitality above the value of £25, whether or not the offer was accepted. RESOLVED to note and accept the contents of the
report with the observations presented during the discussion. |
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ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MEMBERS PDF 48 KB To consider the
report of the Senior Solicitor
(Corporate) (attached). Minutes: Submitted, for
information, the report of the Senior Solicitor (Corporate) presenting
information about the Ombudsman's decisions on formal complaints against
members. During the
discussion, it was noted that:- ·
There was concern that members did not realise the
importance of submitting evidence when making a complaint. In response, it was noted that many
complaints related to comments made on social media, and that it was important
to take a screenshot or print the evidence immediately in case the post
disappeared. It was also noted, although
there was fairly clear evidence in some cases, that other types of cases were
far more difficult to prove, relating to behavioural patterns that emerged over
a period of time, and which escalated from appearing to be unremarkable
behaviour at the beginning to something far more serious. Cases such as these were far more challenging
as collecting evidence meant keeping records over a period of time. It was added that it was intended for
members' training to include reference to the importance of keeping a record of
everything. ·
A note should
be included in the next Standards Committee annual report, if the training had been held by then, noting
that the committee had responded to the observations made in the full
Council meeting when the last annual report
was presented, and that a discussion had been held. ·
It was noted that, although scathing and critical
comments could be made against members without breaching the code, there was a
threshold that should not be crossed. It was intended to submit a report to the
next meeting of the Democratic Services Committee detailing the support
available to members that suffered online harassment from whatever source. RESOLVED to note
and accept the contents of the reports with the observations presented during the discussion. |
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THE OMBUDSMAN'S ANNUAL REPORT PDF 68 KB To consider the
report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted for
information – the report of the Monitoring Officer appending the Ombudsman’s
2018/19 Annual Report. During the
discussion, it was noted that:- ·
The report highlighted the workload facing the Ombudsman and his team, with
health complaints and community council
complaints taking up much of their
time. There was scope to promote and provide
support to community council members, and if a dispute
arose, holding a discussion could offer a way forward. ·
Reference was made to the lack of resources to investigate complaints, and the relevance of the full code to small councils
was questioned.
It was noted that
the size of community councils varied greatly, and when
considering the nature of some complaints relating to the smallest councils, it was suggested that a smaller-scale and clearer code
would be more suitable. ·
It was noted that some community
councils were run very professionally,
with no vacant
seats, but this was not true for all the councils. The clerks were responsible for adherence to the standards, and clerks and community
council members had a duty to attend the training provided for them. ·
It was suggested that a review should
be undertaken of the community
councils as there was too great a gap between them and
the County Council.
It was reported that
an investigation conducted into the sector recently had not produced recommendations for a revolutionary change. It was noted that at the last meeting of the North Wales Standards
Committee Forum, reference had been made to the fact that the varying levels of councils posed a challenge. ·
The reference in the report to the opening of an
office in Bangor was welcomed, although there were no further details, and a question
was asked about why the Ombudsman's main office had to be located in Cardiff. RESOLVED to note the report. |
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NORTH WALES STANDARDS COMMITTEES FORUM PDF 102 KB To submit, for information,
the minutes of meeting of
the North Wales Standards Committees
Forum held on the following dates:- (a) 29th June,
2018 (b) 26th June, 2019
(draft minutes) Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted, for
information – the minutes of the North Wales Standards Committees Forum meeting
held on:- (a) 29 June
2018 (b) 26 June
2019 It was noted that interest had been expressed
in joining the Forum from South Wales. With specific
reference to item 7 of the minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2019, it was
noted that an initial discussion had been held in the Forum about the idea of
establishing a North Wales Joint Standards Committee. It was emphasised that this was in its
infancy, and that it was not yet clear whether this was the right direction,
and whether or not such a joint committee would add value. During the
discussion, it was noted that:- ·
There were challenges in relation
to joint working, although the idea sounded positive on paper. Gwynedd was a geographically
challenging county as it
was, without adding the other counties in North Wales, and such a committee could be unwieldy as everyone had their own different arrangements
and systems. The Welsh language
was another element that could not he disregarded. ·
There should be
joint working within the boundaries of Gwynedd in the first instance,
e.g. jointly with Snowdonia National Park Authority, before consideration was given to extendingto other counties. ·
Although there were doubts about
collaborating too closely, there was scope for the councils
to share themes, expertise, etc., possibly through on-line arrangements. RESOLVED to note the contents of the
minutes. |