Agenda, decisions and minutes
PDF 351 KBVenue: Virtual Meeting - Zoom
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
| No. | Item | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
ELECTION OF CHAIR *To elect a Chair for this committee. Decision: To elect Dr Einir Young as Chair of this Committee. Minutes: RESOLVED to elect Dr Einir Young as chair of
this committee. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR *To elect a Vice-chair for this committee. *N.B. – The relevant
regulations state:- “Only an independent
member of the Standards Committee may be the Chair and Vice-Chair.” Decision: To elect Mr Hywel Eifion Jones as Vice-chair of this Committee. Minutes: RESOLVED to elect Mr Hywel Eifion Jones as vice-chair of this committee.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for
absence. Minutes: None to
note. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declarations of personal interest. Minutes: None to
note. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
URGENT ITEMS To note any items
that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chair for consideration. Minutes: No urgent matters were raised. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 14th February, 2022 be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting
of this committee held on 14 February, 2022 as a true record, subject to
correcting two references to the Chair as 'he’
rather than 'she' in the English
version, as noted below:- “The Chair noted
that the discussion on Richard Penn's Report in the Standards Conference had
been of a very high standard, but we, in Gwynedd, had made great strides in
understanding the report from our perspective. She added that if any
other standards committees had undertaken a similar exercise to the Task Group
in Gwynedd, it would be interesting to bring all the work together to see
whether there were similar themes that could be discussed further.” “The Chair shared
the slides ‘Standards – a view from Gwynedd’ that she had presented at
the recent All Wales Standards Conference.” |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE 2021-22 To submit
the report of the Propriety and Elections Manager. Additional documents: Decision: To approve the annual report to be submitted
to the full Council on 6 October, subject to adding an introduction and
foreword by the Chair and Monitoring Officer, reference to the Ombudsman’s
response to the Committee’s decision on the complaint referred to it, and to
make minor alterations to the members' biographies. Minutes: Submitted – the report of the Propriety and Elections
Manager attaching a draft of the committee's annual
report for 2021/22. The committee's
observations and approval of the document were invited. It was noted that one member had
submitted an update to his biography already, and members referred to further
updates / corrections, namely:- ·
Mr Hywel Eifion Jones - no longer a member of the
Betsi Cadwaladr Board, but was now a member of Gwynedd Council's Governance and
Audit Committee. He was also the Chair
of Adra and a member of the Gwynedd Pension Board. ·
Councillor Beth Lawton - no longer the Vice-chair of
Gwynedd Council Care Scrutiny Committee, but was now the Chair of the Education
and Economy Committee for 2021/22. ·
Councillor Anne Lloyd Jones - continued as Treasurer
of the local NSPCC branch. It was suggested that a reference should be included
under the heading 'Cases which appeared
before the Committee' to the Ombudsman's positive response to the
Committee's decision on the complaint referred to him, noting that the case was
one that failed to go to appeal as the Committee had carried out its work so
thoroughly, as a result of the support provided by the Department and officers. RESOLVED to approve
the annual report for submission to the Full Council on 6 October, subject to
adding an introduction and foreword by the Chair and Monitoring Officer, a
reference to the Ombudsman's response to the Committee's decision and the
complaint referred to it, and to make minor changes to the members'
biographies. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SELF ASSESSMENT AND WORK PROGRAMME To submit
the report of the Monitoring Officer. Decision: (a)
To adopt
the following as the committee’s self-evaluation of its performance in 2021/22.
(b) Approve the
following work programme for 2022/23:- 11 July 2022 Annual Report Allegations against Members Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 Register
of Gifts and Hospitality Declaration
of Interests Register The
Ombudsman’s Annual Report Allegations
against Members Adopting a
Protocol for Political Group Leaders 13
February 2023 Adjudication
Panel's Annual Report Allegations
against Members Self-assessment
and Work Programme The
Committee’s Annual Report (c) To authorise the Chair and Community Committee Member, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, to press on with the work with a sample of community and town council clerks to better understand their ... view the full decision text for item 8. Minutes: Submitted – the report of the Monitoring Officer
inviting the committee to:- ·
undertake a
self-assessment of the work and outcomes of the committee during 2020/21; and ·
consider a draft work
programme for 2022/23. When conducting the self-assessment, the following
points were noted:- ·
It would be beneficial
to number the functions in the table from now on. ·
It should be ensured
that the Committee's previous self-assessments are to hand in the future in
order to be able to compare, ensure consistency and measure progress. ·
Disappointment was
expressed that only 5 out of the 69 county councillors were present at the
recent training on the Code of Conduct.
In response, it was explained that every county councillor had received
general training on the Code as a part of the welcome days following the recent
elections, and that at least one other detailed session had been arranged. It was intended to hold a similar session
with the co-opted member of the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee as
well. ·
It was suggested that
the proposed Political Groups Leaders Protocol was a way of getting a better
order of the situation by placing pressure and responsibility on the Leaders to
ensure that their members attend such training. ·
It was suggested, in
terms of being visible, that the members of the Standards Committee, or at
least the Chair/Vice-chair should be present at the start of the training
sessions. ·
It was suggested that
it was misleading to say that only 5 members had attended the recent training
on the Code as the training was being recorded and available on the Members'
Intranet for everyone to watch in their own time. It was noted that it would be beneficial to
know how many people had watched the recording and the Propriety and Elections
Manager agreed to make enquiries about that. ·
It was asked whether
the recording of the training was also available for the members of community
and town councils. In response, it was
explained that the recording was currently only available on the Gwynedd
Members' Intranet, but certainly the Council could arrange access for community
and town council members. It was noted
that it was important that the recording was available for all, and it was
suggested that it would be beneficial to also include the training on the
Standard Committee's website. The Propriety and Elections Manager noted that he
would look at the best way forward in terms of ensuring that the resource was
available. · With reference to the function of monitoring the implementation of the Code of Conduct (4), the Propriety and Elections Manager explained that the Ombudsman had brought the Code of Conduct Case Book to an end, and now there was a need to go onto the Ombudsman's website to look for information about cases. To that end, there was a need to look at the best way of presenting information to the Committee in the future. Possibly, this could be combined with the regular reports on allegations against members, with the aim ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MEMBERS To submit
the report of the Propriety and Elections Manager. Decision: To note the
information. Minutes: Submitted – the report of the Propriety and Elections
Manager presenting information about the Ombudsman's decisions on formal
complaints against members. With reference to complaint number 202004473, concern
was expressed that it had taken so much time for the Ombudsman to come to the
opinion that the member had failed to comply with the Code of Conduct, and it
was noted that this was completely unfair on the member who had had to face an
election with this matter casting a shadow over him. In response, it was noted that his point was
often raised, and although the Ombudsman's Office said that they were speeding
up the process of carrying out an initial assessment to decide whether the
complaint should be investigated or not, the investigation itself could take a
great deal of time. RESOLVED to note the
information. |