Agenda item

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

Submitted - the report of the Monitoring Officer inviting the Committee to discuss and decide whether to amend the procedure for applications for dispensations.

The members were asked to consider the propriety of allowing those applying for dispensation to appear before the Committee.   There were three available options, namely:-

·         To allow applicants to appear before the Committee and submit their applications in person. However, this would increase the risk of receiving additional information on the day that would not have been sufficiently scrutinised.

·         To allow applicants to appear before the Committee to further explain their application by answering questions only.

·         To continue with the current procedure based on a written report by the Monitoring Officer, along with a copy of the application form, as well as any additional information received by officers after contacting the applicant.

During the discussion, the following points were noted:-

·         It would not be mandatory for applicants to appear before the Standards Committee, therefore in relation to the comment in the report that the procedure would be costly in terms of time for the applicant, it would be their choice whether or not to attend the meeting. Also, it was not anticipated that the travelling costs would be substantial.

·         The number of applications for dispensation was much lower than some years ago, during the school organisation process.

·         Enabling the applicant to get his or her point across in person was very important.

·         It was possible for an application to be clear on paper, and that the applicant did not need to attend, but it would be good to give them the opportunity, if needed.

·         Unsuccessful applicants in the past had said that they would have benefited from being able to attend the Committee to provide further explanation.   However, that explanation might not necessarily have made a difference to the outcome.

·         As the members' questions were likely to come from a slightly different direction to the officers' questions, it was not possible for the officers to anticipate what questions were likely to come up at the Committee and to ask those questions of the applicants at the time of summing up the information for the Committee.

·         There was room to strengthen the contact with the Town and Community Council clerks as County Council officers were not able to answer questions about the business of the council in question.

·         It was extremely important that applicants filled the form in full and there was a risk, in inviting applicants to the meeting that they would not bother much with the contents of the form.   It was also possible that some people were having difficulty completing the form.

·         The recommendation 'insisting' that the Clerk provide a letter explaining the context was placing them under too much pressure, and it should note, rather, that they were 'expected' to provide a letter.

RESOLVED

(a) To allow those applying for dispensations to attend meetings of the Standards Committee to answer possible questions by the Committee only, if they wish.  This is on condition that:-

·         They are not allowed to present their case.

·         They are expected to have completed their application forms comprehensively and accurately.

(b) To allow dispensation for members to be present at the meetings to answer questions about their application.

(c) To review the procedure following a reasonable period of time.

(ch) To revise the procedure for applying for dispensations in respect of Town and Community Councils to note that the Clerk is expected to provide a letter explaining the context which should be submitted with the application.

(d) To delegate the power to provide guidelines for a questioning procedure based on the contents of the report to the Monitoring Officer.