Agenda item

To submit the report of the Monitoring Officer.

Allow dispensation for Councillor Dawn Jones to represent the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee on the Task and Finish Group established by the Care Scrutiny Committee to discuss the implementation of the Gwynedd Autism Plan, on the condition that she is not appointed as Chair of the Task Group.

Submitted – the Monitoring Officer's report requesting the committee consider an application for a dispensation for Councillor Dawn Jones to represent the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee on the Task and Finish Group established by the Care Scrutiny Committee to discuss the implementation of the Gwynedd Autism Plan.

Before considering the application, the Monitoring Officer outlined the context, and noted that the Standards Committee had adopted arrangements that permitted applicants for dispensations to attend Committee meetings solely for the purpose of answering questions from the committee.

The Monitoring Officer detailed the application in question, and noted:-

·         Councillor Dawn Jones had declared a prejudicial interest in the matter as individuals with whom she had a close personal connection were receiving the services that were the subject of the scrutiny.

·         The application had been submitted in relation to point (dd) of the relevant regulations, namely "the participation of the member in the business to which the interest relates is justified by the member's particular role or expertise”.

·         Although Councillor Dawn Jones worked for Sylfaen Cymunedol, a company that delivered community projects to support young people across Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd which inevitably came into contact with young people with autism, having discussed the matter with the member it was not considered that the nature or level of this involvement was affected by the matter in question.

·         The role of members in the Task Group was not to advise or provide guidance, but rather to review the field, and although they would not be making decisions, their report would influence the direction of scrutiny in this field.

·         ⁠The Ombudsman's guidance on the Code of Conduct noted that the Standards Committee would need to balance the public interest in preventing members with prejudicial interests from taking part in decisions, against the public interest in decisions being taken by a reasonably representative group of members of the Council.

·         If the Committee wished to approve the application, it should be satisfied that the member had a specific role or expertise in the field that would contribute to the work of the Task Group.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions of the Monitoring Officer.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions of Councillor Dawn Jones.

Councillor Dawn Jones then withdrew from the meeting.

In discussing the application, the Committee considered the following factors:-

·         Councillor Dawn Jones had worked with children and young people for 34 years and for 15 years she had been supporting families where a child or young person was waiting for an assessment and a diagnosis of autism.

·         She had also attended a number of professional training courses in the field of autism.

The Committee agreed that the member reached the threshold relating to a specific expertise in the field and that a dispensation should be permitted for her to sit on the Task Group.  However, it was suggested that she should not be appointed as Chair of the Task Group.

RESOLVED to allow dispensation for Councillor Dawn Jones to represent the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee on the Task and Finish Group established by the Care Scrutiny Committee to discuss the implementation of the Gwynedd Autism Plan, on the condition that she was not appointed as Chair of the Task Group.