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9.01 Standards Committee

The Council will establish a Standards Committee. Standards Sub-Committees, comprising of Members of the Standards Committee, will also be established to carry out local determinations.

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.
• One Member of a Parish Council wholly or mainly in the Council’s area (a parish member) nominated by the Ashford Branch of the Kent Association of Parish Councils.

(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) Sub-Committees

• The Standards Committee may constitute a Parish Sub-Committee to exercise the function set out in Article 9.03 (h) below. In the event of this occurring the Sub-Committee will include at least one Independent Member and one Parish Member.
• The Standards Committee may also constitute "Borough Matter" and "Parish Matter" Sub-Committees to hear and determine matters referred to the Monitoring Officer by the Standards Board. The Monitoring Officer has been granted delegated authority to determine the allocation of work between these Sub-Committees of which there are five each. Each Sub-Committee will consist of five Members – three Borough Councillors and two independent members on "Borough Matter" Sub-Committees and two Borough Councillors, two Independent Members and a Parish Councillor on "Parish Matter" Sub-Committees.

(e) Chairing the Committee

The Chairman of the Committee will be elected at the first meeting of the Standards Committee each year. The Chairman may be a Councillor or an Independent Member. A Member of the Executive may not chair the Committee.

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 (Minute No. 577(ii)/5/05 refers).

(b) Promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by Councillors and Coopted 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) Dealing with any reports from a case tribunal or interim case tribunal, and any report from the Monitoring Officer on any matter which is referred by an Ethical Standards Officer to the Monitoring Officer for determination or investigation.

(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.

Notes

1. Only one Member of the Committee at any one time also to be a Member of the Executive of the Borough Council.
2. Whilst the Standards Committee has the role of advising the Council upon Councillors’ and Officer conduct, it is not intended that it replace, or comment, or have any appellate jurisdiction over the Council’s existing staff disciplinary or grievance procedures as they are applied in individual cases.
3. The Local Government Act 2000 provides that the Chairman cannot be a Member of the Executive.
4. 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.

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