Venue: Ystafell Gwyrfai - Council Offices
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Ms Linda Byrne and Councillor
Eryl Jones-Williams. Reference was made to Ms Linda Byrne’s
ill-health and the Chair noted that she intended to send a note to the family. |
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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. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of meetings of this committee held on
the undermentioned dates be signed as true records:- (a)
13
April, 2015 (special meeting) (attached) (b)
20
April, 2015 (attached) Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair
signed the minutes of the previous meetings of this committee held on the
following dates as a true record. (a)
13 April, 2015 (extraordinary meeting) (b)
20 April, 2015 |
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THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE'S ANNUAL REPORT 2014-15 PDF 180 KB To submit
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the report of the
Monitoring Officer enclosing a draft of the committee's annual report for the
period from 1 April 2014 up to 31 March 2015. The Committee’s observations and
approval of the document were invited.
It was noted that the former Chairman and the Monitoring Officer would
add an introduction to the report prior to its publication. The Senior Solicitor noted that it was
intended to circulate the report to the clerks of the community councils. RESOLVED
to approve the draft of the annual report and to submit it to the Council’s
meeting on 8 October and to seek to submit the annual reports to the Annual
Meetings of the Council in future, or to the July meetings if this is not
possible. |
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To submit
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the report of the Monitoring Officer
reporting that the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales had published the third
version of his Guidance on the Code of Conduct for Members of Local Authorities
in Wales and enclosing the guidance for Members of County Councils. The Monitoring Officer noted that this version of the Guidance
incorporated:- ·
The revised two-stage test the
Ombudsman would use when considering complaints of breaches of the Member Code
of Conduct which now included a public interest threshold. ·
Further guidance on the use of social
media and political expression and flow charts designed to provide Members with
assistance and clarity on the issue of interests. He further noted:- ·
That there was a need to circulate
this guidance to all Gwynedd Council members and to the community council
clerks and that it would also be beneficial to offer a training workshop for
the members of this committee and all Council members to provide an update on
the Code of Conduct in light of the changes. ·
That training would be arranged for
the town and community councils in the Autumn and in the meantime, it would be
possible to develop a model for a local resolution procedure on their behalf,
suggesting that it would be a way for them to resolve some simple matters
themselves due to the public interest threshold. It was emphasised that any support package provided
for town and community councils would have to be a clear and simple summary and
would have to refer to the fact that more details were provided in the full
document. RESOLVED to note the revised guidance on the Code of
Conduct for Members published by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales. |
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To submit
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the report of the Monitoring Officer
enclosing the draft work programme for the committee after completing the
self-assessment at the previous meeting. The Monitoring Officer noted that a formal procedure
for observing committees was being sought and it would be a good thing for the
independent members to observe town/community council meetings in order to gain
an understanding of how the councils operate. RESOLVED (a) To agree on
the work programme as follows and to amend it / add to it as needed:- 5 October, 2015 ·
Ombudsman’s Annual Report ·
Corporate Governance Arrangements ·
Allegations against Members ·
Model Local Resolution Procedure for Community Councils 25 January, 2016 ·
Gifts and Hospitality Register ·
Declaration of Interests Register ·
Annual Report of the Adjudication Panel ·
Allegations against Members 18 April, 2016 ·
Allegations against Members ·
Self-assessment and Work Programme ·
Training (b) That every
independent member will observe one of Gwynedd Council’s committees or a
meeting of a town / community council between now and the end of September and
will report back to the next meeting. (c) To send a
list of the 2015/16 Gwynedd Council meetings calendar to the independent
members. |
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ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MEMBERS PDF 200 KB To submit
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Minutes: Submitted for information – (a) The report of the Monitoring
Officer on formal complaints made against members and updating the committee on
the situation in relation to the direction of the committee that Councillor
Christopher O’Neal should receive training from the Monitoring Officer on the
Code of Conduct and the Council protocols that applied to councillors’ conduct
when in breach of the Code. (b) Issue 4 of the Code of Conduct
Casebook. Further
to the report, the Senior Solicitor noted:- ·
2.1 Case No. 6141/201400682 – That the Ombudsman had now reached the conclusion that there ere was no
evidence that the town councillor had misused his position for Financial gain,
and that the Ombudsman had said that it was likely that the councillor had
participated in a discussion on a matter where he had a ‘prejudicial interest’,
he had applied the public interest test and had decided that he would not
investigate the case. ·
2.2 Case No. 5847/201404989
& 5847/201404990 – That this case had been closed but
that the Ombudsman had not confirmed this in writing as yet. Further
to the report, the Monitoring Officer noted:- ·
That Councillor O’Neal had asked for
a hearing in order to explain why he had not participated in the training. ·
That the act gave the Standard
committee the powers, should it reach a conclusion that a member had failed to
comply with the authority’s code of conduct, to make one of three decisions
only, namely to take no steps, to censure the member or to suspend him from
being a member of that authority for a period of no longer than six months. ·
Therefore, there was no statutory
power behind the committee’s decision that Councillor O’Neal should receive
training, and that is was only a recommendation. ·
He did not believe that there was a
public interest in continuing to attempt to arrange training for the member,
neither could he justify the resources or the time it would take to hold
another hearing. RESOLVED (a) To note the
report on the formal complaints made against members for information. (b) To ask the
Monitoring Officer to send a letter to Councillor Christopher O’Neal stating
the committee’s disappointment that he has not taken advantage of the training
recommended for him. |
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WALES STANDARDS CONFERENCE 2015, CARDIFF, 20 OCTOBER, 2015 To submit a
verbal report by the Monitoring Officer. Minutes: It
was noted that there was an invite for up to three members of the committee to
attend the Wales Standards Conference 2015 in Cardiff on 20 October with the
Chairman and the Monitoring Officer. RESOLVED to try to send Councillor Lesley Day, Ms
Jacqueline Hughes and Miss Margaret Jones to the conference with the Chairman
and the Monitoring officer. |