In the absence of Councillor Diggins, Councillor Hunt proposed Councillor Smowton as Chair; Councillor Harley seconded.

The Committee voted Councillor Smowton as Chair. 

Councillor Pressel sent apologies; Councillor Ottino attended as substitute.

Councillor Waite sent apologies; Councillor Hunt attended as substitute.

None.

The Director of Law, Governance and Strategy (Monitoring Officer) has submitted a report to advise the Committee of:

·       The number and status of complaints received under the Members’ Code of Conduct which have been, or are to be, considered by the Head of Law and Governance (in her statutory capacity as the authority’s Monitoring Officer) in consultation with one of the Council’s Independent Persons.

·       The number of dispensations to an individual member, granted under Section 33 of the 2011 Localism Act, by the Monitoring Officer, following consultation with an Independent Person.

The Committee are recommended to:

1.    Note the contents of the report.

The Committee and Member Services Manager introduced the report and provided a summary of the contents.

Councillor Diggins joined the meeting and resumed the role of chair.

The Committee had no questions on the report.

The Committee resolved to:

•  note the contents of the report.

The Director of Law, Governance and Strategy (Monitoring Officer) has submitted a report to update the Standards Committee on the delivery of Member training in 2022 and 2023 and the arrangements for member training in 2024.

The Committee is recommended to:

1.    Note the contents of the report.

The Committee and Member Services Manager introduced the report and informed the Committee that since the last meeting in November 2024, there has been a further Code of Conduct training session on the 19 February 2025 with 7 members attending, and a briefing session with the Police and Crime Commissioner on 30 January 2025. In regards future training from May 2025 onwards, the Committee heard of the required training sessions planned and were assured that invitations for Code of Conduct training would also be extended to Parish Councils. 

In regards table 1 within the report, the Chair sought to clarify that three members have not attended Code of Conduct trainings since May 2024, and asked what steps are being taken to address this. The Committee and Member Services Manager noted that the identity of these members would not be discussed in public session, but assured the Committee that contact has been made to address any issues limiting their ability to attend, and that further steps will be reviewed with the Monitoring Officer, in line with the constitution.

The Chair queried whether written briefing notes will be offered to complement training sessions in the future. The Committee and Member Services Manager confirmed that a survey of councillors had highlighted a preference for written summaries to be offered alongside training sessions, and that this would be implemented going forwards. The Committee understood that written notes would not be a substitute for training sessions.

The Chair noted that most recent training sessions have taken place in evenings and asked whether this has supported attendance rates. The Committee and Member Services Manager confirmed that evening sessions have proven to be the most suitable option to the majority of members across a range of examples. The Committee were assured that this would be held in mind when planning future sessions.

The Committee had no further questions on the report.

The Committee resolved to:

•  Note the contents of the report.

The Monitoring Officer will provide a verbal update to the Committee.

The Committee and Member Services Manager updated the Committee with information regarding the recruitment process for the appointment of independent persons to the Standards Committee. Members heard that the application process was launched in February 2025, but that no applications have been received thus far. As such, the Committee was informed that the contracts of the incumbent independent persons would be extended whilst recruitment is ongoing, and that a further update would be provided at the next meeting. The Committee were also assured that members would be invited to attend the interview panels.

The Committee acknowledged the update and raised no questions.

Recommendation: to approve the minutes of the meetings held on 14 November 2024 and 24 February 2025 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meetings held on 14 November 2024 and 24 February 2025 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee is scheduled to meet at 6.00pm on the following dates:

·       3 July 2025

·       13 November 2025

The Committee noted the dates of future meetings.

Recommendation: to approve the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 24 February 2025 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee did not request to discuss the contents of the confidential minutes.

The Committee resolved to approve the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 24 February 2025 as a true and accurate record.