Agenda item

To submit the report of the Monitoring Officer (to follow).

To accept the report and ask the Monitoring Officer and the Community Committee Member to prepare an action plan that reflects the contents of the report.

Submitted:-

·         A report by the Chair of the Standards Committee and the Community Committee Member following the completion of a piece of work to better understand the needs of community council clerks in relation to the ethical framework and specifically the functions of the Standards Committee.

·         Monitoring Officer’s observations on the report.

The Monitoring Officer summarised the conclusions of the report in the context of the Committee's statutory functions in relation to community councils, and the Community Council Member was then invited to comment on his findings.

The Community Committee Member noted:-

·         The work with a selection of town and community council clerks had highlighted that clerks sometimes had difficulty in contacting the County Council, and that the County Council should provide a specific helpline for them.

·         It would be beneficial if Welsh Government prepared a simple leaflet on the Code of Conduct for town and community council members, and that all members of all councils received a copy of it when signing to become a councillor.

·         Community council members were confused about their powers in relation to their relationship with the County Council.

During the discussion, the following matters were raised:-

·         The Chair and the Community Council Member were thanked for their significant work in preparing the report, and it was noted that the picture was unsurprising, as councils differed greatly.

·         A question was asked about the observation in the Executive Summary that the relationship with Cyngor Gwynedd was more complicated and needed attention.  In response, the Chair explained that the clerks knew that they should turn to the Monitoring Officer on matters relating to standards, but found it more difficult to know who to approach in the County Council regarding other issues.  Although this did not directly relate to standards, it was a matter that had arisen consistently during the discussions with clerks.

·         The Monitoring Officer was requested to present the suggestion of establishing a dedicated helpline for the clerks to the Chief Executive.  In response, the Monitoring Officer noted, although he would be happy to convey the request, that he was unclear about the business case behind it, and was of the view that it would be difficult to progress the idea, particularly in the Council's current difficult financial position.  He also noted that he did not believe that the report provided a balanced picture in relation to the County Council’s current working practices with town and community councils, and that it was likely that there were a number of different points of contact across the county in that respect.

·         In response to the observation that it would be beneficial for the Welsh Government to prepare a leaflet on the Code of Conduct for members, the Monitoring Officer noted that there were specific Code of Conduct guidelines for town and community councils on the Ombudsman's website. A member suggested, although he welcomed the idea of a leaflet, that it would be better to provide a training video on YouTube, and that each councillor would have to sign that they had watched the video.  Another option would be to provide virtual training to clerks as a starting point.  The Chair referred to recommendation 5, that noted there was a need to know exactly what provision was available from One Voice Wales, while noting that it was clear from the discussions that the clerks had great respect for One Voice Wales.   Also, as there was already training available, Cyngor Gwynedd's Legal Unit barely needed to provide any specific training. 

·         A question was asked about whether it was intended to produce an action plan in response to the report's recommendations. In response, the Monitoring Officer noted that there were matters in the recommendations that were beyond the specific scope of the Standards Committee, and some elements that were a national discussion.  Therefore, a further report was needed, noting what was practical for the Committee to achieve. 

·         Emphasis was placed on the importance of ensuring that we paid attention to the clerks' observations during the consultation, so that something concrete derived from the discussions.  It was noted that the common theme from the report was that clerks felt isolated, particularly after Covid, and that it was important that they knew what One Voice Wales, Cyngor Gwynedd and the Ombudsman had to offer, without any duplication.  It was possible that the clerks' networks had not been reinstated to the same degree post-Covid, but rather than providing a contact point or duplicating anything, that some kind of action plan could be sent to them noting the practical steps that would be taken as a result of the consultation. 

·         It was noted that it was understood that the Council faced financial pressures, and that expectations should not be raised, but it was suggested that there were some small practical steps that could be taken, such as asking the Welsh Government to provide a leaflet and/or a YouTube video on the Code of Conduct, and draw the attention of the clerks to the Code of Conduct guidelines on the Ombudsman's website.  It was also necessary to identify those clerks that were qualified to provide training on conduct, so that they could help other clerks.

·         It was noted that one model that worked well was the Partneriaeth Ogwen model, where three community councils paid the Partnership for assistance, and it was suggested that other initiatives within the county could be encouraged to offer similar support. 

As a way forward, it was suggested to ask the Monitoring Officer and the Community Committee Member to prepare an action plan that reflected the contents of the report, and a letter was sent to the town and community clerks following the work to highlight what information was available to them.

In his closing remarks at the end of the discussion, the Monitoring Officer noted:-

·         That not all community and town councils subscribed to One Voice Wales and benefitted from their services, and care needed to be taken with regard to how exactly this body is promoted or recommended.

·         That the Standards Committee’s responsibility towards town and community councils needed to be borne in mind, mainly through the Monitoring Officer acting as a point of contact.  The importance of the Standards Committee’s visibility in these councils needed to be evaluated when identifying alternative provision of training, for example.

RESOLVED to accept the report and ask the Monitoring Officer and the Community Committee Member to prepare an action plan that reflects the contents of the report.