Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Dr Einir
Young 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 5th October,
2015 be signed as a true record (attached). Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 5 October, 2015 as a true record, subject to rectifying the reference under item 5 to the Integrated Well-being, Health and
Social Care Act to read
"Future Generations Well-being Act and Integrated
Health and Social Care Act.”. |
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL (WALES) 2015 PART 4 PDF 192 KB To consider
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted:- ·
The report of
the Monitoring Officer inviting the committee’s observations on Part 4 of the Local Government Bill (Wales) 2015, in so far as it
related to the functions of
the Standards Committee, to
be considered as part of the preparation of the corporate response to the Bill. ·
Part 4 of the draft Bill. The Monitoring Officer
explained that:- ·
Part 4 of the Bill imposed new duties on
standards committees to deal with complaints
that members of new prospective county councils had breached the statutory duties imposed upon them in
terms of the performance of
their functions, such as attending
meetings, holding regular ward surgeries, answering correspondence, completing compulsory training courses and publishing an annual report. ·
Standards committees were
also expected to monitor
the compliance of leaders
of political groups with their duties
to take reasonable steps to promote and maintain high
standards of conduct by members of their
group and also to advise, and arrange relevant
training. ·
Standards committees would
also have a duty to provide an annual report
to the Council describing how they have
implemented those functions during the year. ·
The procedure
for handling complaints about an alleged failure
by a councillor RESOLVED to submit
the following observations on Part 4 of the Local Government Bill (Wales)
2015 to be considered as part of the preparation of the corporate response to the Bill:- ·
The idea of introducing
statutory duties is supported as it
sets a framework that should be worked within, but more clarity is required regarding the element of flexibility, e.g. is it acceptable
for a member to explain that he/she is not holding surgeries as he/she is undertaking the work in another
manner, and are members expected
to acknowledge receipt of correspondence or provide a full response within 14 days? ·
Members of the new prospective county councils will sign up
to this procedure and will therefore
be aware of what is expected of them. ·
The investigation and enforcement procedure leads the Monitoring Officer and the Standards Committee into the field of managing the performance of individual members and it
must be questioned whether or not the Standards Committee is the best resource to deal with under-performance
within the Council and alternative methods of ensuring performance should be considered, such as the allowances procedure. · There is a concern regarding the implications of the proposed procedure, especially in terms ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MEMBERS PDF 108 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. Further to the report, the Senior Solicitor noted that another two
complaints had come to hand since the report had been written and that
he would report on them
at the next meeting. RESOLVED to note
the report. |
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WALES STANDARDS CONFERENCE 2015 PDF 7 KB To consider
the report of the Monitoring Officer
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted, for information:- ·
The report of
the Monitoring Officer on the Standards Conference Wales 2015, held in Cardiff in October. ·
A report on the conference prepared by Cardiff City Council who hosted
the event. She thanked the members
who attended the Conference, the Monitoring Officer and the staff for making the arrangements and noted that it
had been very beneficial to have the opportunity to share opinion with members
of other standards committees. The Monitoring Officer
thanked the members for attending the Conference and provided a summary of the main messages that derived
from the presentations and workshops. RESOLVED to accept
the report with thanks. |
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OBSERVING MEETINGS To receive
feedback from the independent members following observation of Gwynedd Council
/ town and community council meetings. Minutes: Independent members were invited to provide verbal feedback following their experience of observing the meetings of Gwynedd
Council or town / community councils. Mr David Wareing referred to difficulties he had when he
attempted to observe a community council meeting as the Council in question
operated in Welsh only. If he had turned
up unannounced, he explained that
he could not have followed the discussion and that non-Welsh speakers would be excluded. In response, the Monitoring Officer explained that community councils were expected to operate in accordance
with their language plans which set out their
procedures with regards to matters such as simultaneous
translation. However, he suggested
that members should ascertain what those procedures
were beforehand as he was aware
that the situation varied from one
council to another in terms of when
and how translation
services are provided. He added that any
complaint regarding lack of provision should be referred to the community council in question. Independent members were reminded that
they were able to observe a number of Gwynedd Council committees and the full council meeting
in the webcast section on the Council website. |