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Subject:
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Review of the Code
of Conduct for Members and related documents
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Date of Meeting:
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29 June 2021
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Report of:
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Head of Law and
Monitoring Officer
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Contact Officer:
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Name:
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Victoria Simpson,
Senior Lawyer – Corporate Law
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Tel:
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01273
294687
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Email:
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Victoria.Simpson@brighton-hove.gov.uk
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Ward(s)
affected:
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All
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FOR GENERAL
RELEASE
1
PURPOSE OF REPORT AND POLICY CONTEXT
1.1
To update this Committee on the work of the cross party Member
Working Group appointed to review the Council’s Code of
Conduct for Members and related arrangements, and to seek Committee
approval for revised versions of the Code of Conduct for Members
and the other key documents indicated below.
2
RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1
That the Audit & Standards Committee review and approve the
documents appended to this Report, which incorporate:
· The
Code of Conduct for Members (‘the Code of Conduct’)
·
Guidance on Correspondence
· The
Procedure for Dealing with Allegations of Misconduct by Members
3
CONTEXT
3.1
The Council last reviewed its standards arrangements in
January
2020 against the extensive Report on Local Government
Ethical Standards compiled by the Committee on Standards in Public
Life (‘the CSPL’). At that time, this Committee
considered the detailed work carried out by a cross party working
group of members of this Committee and approved that working
group’s recommendations by updating the Code of Conduct and
the Procedure for Dealing with Allegations of Breaches of the Code
of Conduct by Members (‘the Procedure’) to incorporate
some key CSPL recommendations.
In the context of the increase in the
number of complaints reported to this Committee in January 2021, a
cross-party member working group was directed to review the
Council’s options for further reviewing the Code of Conduct
and to consider amending the arrangements the Council has in place
to discharge the requirement that it maintain a process for
determining allegations of misconduct by members. Representatives
of all of the Council’s three political Groups were invited
to participate, as were the Council’s Independent Persons.
The two elected members who did agree to participate met virtually
with one of the Council’s Independent Persons twice in order
to carry out a detailed review of the arrangements referenced here.
That review process took into account the LGA model Code of Conduct
which was published at end of December 2020. The recommendations
outlined here are proposed in order to assist the Council in
updating its Standards arrangements and streamlining them as far as
possible.
4
PROPOSALS
Code of
Conduct
4.1
The Council’s existing Code of Conduct for Members was
reviewed in a detailed way against
the model Code of Conduct generated by the Local Government
Association (‘the LGA’). The result is a proposal for a
reworked Code which is appended here as Appendix 1 without
tracked changes for clarity, given the number of revisions. The
proposed text retains some key aspects of the Council’s
existing arrangements, including the current definition of
‘other interests’ as well as current thresholds in
relation to gifts & hospitality and the expectation that these
be registered. It does this by adopting the overarching approach
suggested by the LGA, including its style and format. It applies
the template’s use of bold text to indicate the requirements
of the Code from ‘General Conduct’ at page 5 onward,
followed by ordinary font to provide guidance on the
provision’s application. The net result is an amended and
updated Code of Conduct which is bespoke to this
Council.
Guidance for
Members on Correspondence
4.2
It is proposed that the current Guidance on Correspondence and the
Use of Social Media for Members be renamed to reinforce the point
that social media communications are no different to other types of
correspondence. The Guidance document attached as Appendix 2
aims to achieve a series of objectives. Amongst other things it
acknowledges the issues members may face in a situation where they
may be joined into an increased number of (mainly online)
communications. It aims to help ensure clarity and to assist in
managing expectations regarding input and response times, while
emphasising that members have discretion to respond as they see
fit, d in a way which reflects what they consider the most
effective way of working.
The Guidance also seeks to reinforce
the expectation not just that members are respectful to others but
also that they are themselves treated with civility by those
communicating with them. It clarifies the steps members may take
when that does not happen. It is proposed that the amended Guidance
is published on the Council’s website as a means of providing
greater clarity re what ward constituents and other stakeholders
may reasonably expect when they contact an elected member.
Procedure for
Dealing with Allegations of Misconduct
4.3
A series of changes are proposed to the Council’s Procedure
for dealing with complaints (Appendix 3). Part of the member
working group’s remit was to streamline existing process
where possible. The proposed Procedure takes into account the
recommendation of the CSPL that a clear public interest test be
published against which complaints are assessed. It builds in a
more detailed test against which it is proposed that all complaints
be assessed, with the overall objective of ensuring that complaints
are referred for formal investigation and )if relevant) for
determination by a Standards Panel only where doing so is
considered to be necessary and proportionate in the public
interest.
4.4
Other proposals for change include making provision for the
investigating officer not to make a ‘finding’ following
formal investigation of a breach but rather to outline the facts
without taking an indicative view. It is further proposed that the
default expectation be that full Council is informed when a
Standards Panel find that a breach has occurred. A further change
proposed is that the ambition of determining complaints within a
set timescale be replaced by an expectation that all complaints be
determined promptly and without undue delay: a proposal which
acknowledges that the existing ambition to determine all complaints
within three months is not one which has been met in any instance
where a formal investigation has taken place in the last several
years. It is also proposed that the timescale for making a decision
at preliminary assessment stage is extended to 28 days. This is
considered to be a more achievable target, not least because the
proposed Procedure incorporates an additional step whereby the
subject member’s version of events is sought at preliminary
assessment stage. It is emphasised that these adjusted timescales
will not prevent complaints being taken earlier where possible, in
accordance with the overall objective of determining complaints as
promptly as possible.
5
ANALYSIS & CONSIDERATION OF ANY ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
5.1
The Council is obliged under the Localism Act to make arrangements
for maintaining high standards of conduct among members and to make
arrangements for the investigation of complaints. The current
arrangements and the proposals in this Report reflect this. No
alternative proposals are suggested.
6
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & CONSULTATION
6.1
No need to consult with the local community has been
identified.
7
CONCLUSION
7.1
Members are asked to note the contents of this Report, and to
approve the recommendations, which aim to assist the Committee in
discharging its responsibilities for overseeing that high standards
of conduct are maintained in a way which is compliant with local
requirements.
8
FINANCIAL & OTHER IMPLICATIONS:
Financial
Implications:
8.1
There are no additional financial implications arising from the
recommendation in this Report. All activity referred to has been,
or will be, met from existing budgets.
Finance Officer Consulted: James
Hengeveld
Date: 11/06/21
Legal Implications:
8.2
These are covered in the body of the Report.
Lawyer
Consulted: Victoria
Simpson
Date: 29/5/21
Equalities
Implications:
8.3
There are no equalities implications arising from this Report
Sustainability Implications:
8.4
There are no sustainability implications arising from this
Report
Any Other Significant Implications:
8.5
None
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Appendices:
Appendix 1 - Code of Conduct for Members
Appendix 2 - Guidance on Correspondence
Appendix 3 - Procedure for Dealing with
Allegations of Misconduct by Members
Background Documents:
1.
The report on Local Government Ethical Standards published by
the Committee on Standards in Public Life on 20.01.19.
2.
Local Government Association Model Councillor Code of Conduct 2020
| Local Government Association