Agenda item

(Report by the Monitoring Officer)

The Deputy Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer introduced a report advising on the outcome of the review on Local Government Ethical Standards by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

The report stated that the current Local Government Ethical Standards regime had been introduced under the Localism Act 2011 and been in operation since June 2012.

In January 2018 the Committee for Standards in Public Life (CSPL) commenced a review of the ethical standards regime and, in particular, the effectiveness of sanctions available in relation to breaches of the Member Code of Conduct.

The terms of reference for the review were to examine the structures, processes and practices in local government in England for:

And to:

·         Assess whether the existing structures, processes and practices are conducive to high standards of conduct in local government

·         Make any recommendations for how they can be improved

·         Note any evidence of intimidation of councillors, and make recommendations for any measures that could be put in place to prevent and address such intimidation.

The Review identified some specific areas of concern relating to bullying and harassment and other disruptive behaviour by a minority of councillors, and a number of risks in respect of the current rules around conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality and the complexity of local government decision making.

However, the review continued to support the current framework whereby local authorities had responsibility for ethical standards and concluded there was no reason to reintroduce centralisation.

The CSPL had made 26 recommendations and identified 15 recommendations of best practice to improve ethical standards in local government.   A copy of the CSPL review including recommendations was appended to the report.

There were five key recommendations which would impact on Councillors:-

·         Updating the model code of conduct and extending it to Parish Councils;

·         Presumption of official capacity;

·         Extending the list of registerable interests;

·         A new ‘objective’ test for when councillors must withdraw or not vote;

·         Strengthening the sanctions system.

Most of the recommendations would require primary legislation and therefore any changes would be subject to Parliamentary timetabling.  CSPL intended to monitor the implementation of its recommendations.

The review report also set out a list of fifteen best practice recommendations for local authorities which were considered a benchmark of good ethical practice and which all local authorities should implement.

A draft action plan to deliver the best practice recommendations was appended to the report.   It was noted that some of the recommendations and best practice points were already in operation within Boston and any proposed changes to the Code of Conduct would need to be approved by full Council.

A review of the current Code of Conduct had been undertaken by a Cross Party Working Group between June and November 2018 when it had been agreed to defer until a Standards Committee had been established and task that body with the review.  A copy of the proposed Code of Conduct was appended to the report.

The Sub-Committee were generally supportive of the recommendations and good practice set out in the report, particularly welcoming the review of available sanctions when breaches of the code occurred.

However, views were expressed:

·         If the code of conduct was extended too much it would lose its impact;

·         Potential for endless vexatious and politically motivated complaints;

·         Available timescales in respect of sanctions and length of time for the Local Ombudsman Complaints process to be concluded;

·         The public would be punished by not having an active Councillor if suspended under the sanctions regime;

·         Contentious or difficult investigations could be investigated by a neighbouring authority;

·         The ‘recall’ option should be available to local government as it was for Parliament to ensure MPs and Councillors were both answerable to the electorate.

The Monitoring Officer responded that Government would undertake further consultation on the recommendations which required primary legislation and the Sub Committee would be welcome to feed into that process.   However, it was expected that Government would audit Councils on the implementation of the best practice points from next year.   Therefore, it was important that the Code of Conduct was revised to make it more robust, to moderate and mitigate bad behaviour and to specifically reference bullying and harassment which it failed to do currently.

Members commented that further detailed discussion on the proposed revisions to the code of conduct were required before a recommendation could be made to full Council.  It was proposed to accept the Action Plan except points 1 and 2 and that the review be considered at the next meeting of the sub-committee.

During debate Members requested the Monitoring Officer to arrange a Member Briefing on the responsible use of social media, and it was suggested that a consultation exercise on the amendments to the code could be combined with the briefing.

It was agreed

1.         That the 26 recommendations made by the Review of Local Government Ethical Standards by the Committee on Standards in Public Life and the 15 best practice points be noted and the Sub Committee looked forward to participating in further consultation on the recommendations requiring primary legislation.

2.         To note that the Council already practiced some of the recommendations which did not require legislative changes as a matter of good practice.

3.         That the Action Plan to deliver the 15 best practice recommendations be agreed, subject to action points 1 and 2 being referred to the next meeting of the Sub Committee further consideration.

4.         That the proposed Code of Conduct as set out in appendix 3 of the report, be considered at the next meeting of the Sub Committee.