Article 9 - Standards Committee
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9.01 Standards Committee
The Council will establish a
Standards Committee. Standards Sub-Committees including an
Assessment Panel, Review Panel and a Hearings Panel, comprising of
Members of the Standards Committee, to deal with local assessments,
determinations, investigations etc.
9.02
Composition
(a) Membership.
The Standards Committee will be composed of:
- Five Councillors (other than the
Leader);
- Three persons who are not Councillors or
Officers of any other body having a Standards Committee
(Independent Members). The Council is responsible for making
these appointments.
- Three Members of Parish Councils wholly or
mainly in the Council’s area (a parish member) nominated by the
Ashford Branch of the Kent Association of Parish Councils (Minute
No. 337/12/07 refers).
(b) Independent
Members
- Independent Members will be entitled
to vote at meetings;
- Independent Members to the Standards
Committee will be recruited following public advertisement.
Applicants will be short-listed and interviewed by an Independent
Members Interview Panel composed of non-Council Members. This
Panel will make recommendations to the Council as to the identity
of persons to be appointed as Independent Members of the Standards
Committee. The Council will confirm or reject the
recommendations. See 9.02 (a) above.
(c) Parish
Members. The Parish Member must
normally be present when matters relating to Parish Councils or
their members are being considered although this does not apply to
Sub-Committee meetings;
(d) Assessment Panel,
Review Panel and Hearings Panel
- The Standards Committee may
also constitute Sub-Committees which will be called The Assessment
Panel, The Review Panel and Hearings Panel to consider complaints
received by the Standards Committee post 8th May
2008. For the detailed terms of reference and guidance please
refer to Part 3, Appendix 4 of this Constitution. (Page Nos 155 to 220
refer).
(e) Chairing the
Committee. The Chairman of the
Committee will be elected at the first meeting of the Standards
Committee each year. The Chairman must be an Independent
Member. The Sub-Committees of the Standards Committee must
also be chaired by an Independent Member.
9.03 Role and
Function
The Standards Committee will have the
following roles and functions:
(a) Consideration
and determination of reports following referrals for local
investigation or local determination (Minute No. 577(ii)/5/05
refers);
(b) Promoting and
maintaining high standards of conduct by Councillors and Co-opted
Members;
(c) Assisting
Councillors, Co-opted Members to observe the Members’ Code of
Conduct;
(d) Advising the
Borough and Parish Councils and the members of those Councils on
the adoption, operation, review and amendment of Local Codes of
Conduct;
(e) Monitoring the
operation of the Members’ Code of Conduct and receiving periodic
reports from the Monitoring Officer in relation thereto;
(f) Mentoring,
training, monitoring and compliance by Councillors and Co-opted
Members (and where applicable Parish Councils) with all the
Member's and other appropriate Codes of Conduct and procedures such
as Procedure Rules, Constitutions and the Complaints
Procedure;
(g) Granting
dispensations to Councillors and Co-opted Members from requirements
relating to interests set out in the Members’ Code of
Conduct;
(h) Underetaking
initial assessments, reviews and hearings into allegations that
Councillors have breached the Code of Conduct.
(i) So far as
relevant, the exercise of (a) to (h) above in relation to Parish
Councils in its area and the members of those Parish
Councils;
(j) Monitoring of
Ombudsman investigations and reports and findings of
maladministration including the receipt of periodic reports thereon
from the Monitoring Officer and/or the Senior Scrutiny
Officer;
(k) Monitoring of
Issues of Probity raised in Ombudsman investigations;
(l) Monitoring and keeping under
review the corporate complaints procedures and complaints relating
to Councillors, Co-opted Members or to Officers’
conduct;
(m) Monitoring and
promotion of protocols and standards of behaviour for Councillors,
Co-opted Members and Officers of the Borough Council;
(n) Monitoring and
review of procedures for Councillors, Co-opted Members and Officers
relating to dealings with outside organisations including
appropriate indemnification;
(o) Monitoring and
review of procedures for Councillors, Co-opted Members and Officers
relating to the acceptance of gifts and hospitality and the
declaration of pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests;
(p) Regularly
reviewing the arrangements for training Councillors and Co-opted
Members in Local Government law and procedures;
(q) The
consideration of applications received from any officers of the
Authority for exemption from political restriction under Sections 1
and 2 of the Local Government Act 1989 in respect of the post held
by that Officer and can direct the Authority that the post shall
not be considered to be a politically restricted post and that the
post be removed from the list maintained by the Authority under
Section 2(2) of the Act:
(r) Upon application
and following consideration of the Assessment Panel to direct the
authority to include a post in the list maintained under Section
2(2) of the 1989 Act.
Notes
- Only one Member of the
Committee at any one time also to be a Member of the Executive of
the Borough Council.
- Whilst the Standards Committee
has the role of advising the Council upon issues relating to
Councillor and Officer codes of conduct, it has no role in relation
to staff disciplinary or grievance procedures as they are applied
in individual cases.
- The following legal
requirements designed to promote the independence and impartiality
of the Standards Committee should be noted.
- It be comprised of at least four
Members;
- 25% of Members of the Committee must be
independent of the Borough and Parish Councils wholly or mainly in
its area.
- At least one Independent Member must always
be present;
- There must be a Parish Council Member on the
Committee who is not a Borough Councillor;
- Political balance does not apply.
Next
- Article 10 - Area Committees And Forums
This webpage was updated on
5/13/2011