Agenda and draft minutes

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There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 6 February 2024 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

The report of the Monitoring Officer is attached.

The Monitoring Officer presented the Cases and Work Update report, which was an annual report on complaints received since the last meeting. The Committee was advised that since the last report, 13 complaints had been considered, with Table A of the Appendix detailing the outcome of the one complaint outstanding at the date of the last report, and Table B detailing new complaints, and it was noted that there was no common theme, which would led to recommending any specific training. It was noted that all decisions had been taken in consultation with the Council’s two Independent Persons, and the Monitoring Officer thanked them both for their support.

In respect of conduct training for Parish Councils, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that this was delivered in consultation with the Nottinghamshire Association of Local Councils at the last Town and Parish Council Forum in March 2024.

The Monitoring Officer concluded by referring to a Government consultation on proposals to strengthen the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England. The consultation was part of the Government’s commitment to improve the Standard’s regime, with responses invited from all interested parties, and the Monitoring Officer outlined details of the specific proposals and encouraged everyone to respond by the deadline of 26 February 2025.

Councillor Bird referred to the complaint received about the dress code and stated that without knowing any details of the complaint, it was difficult to know if it was valid, and he questioned what this particular complaint was, and why the Standards Committee was not given more details.

The Monitoring Officer advised that full details of complaints were only reported to the Committee when an investigation had taken place and concluded that a breach had been found, and then a sub-committee of this Committee would formally make a determination, which would be reported to the Committee. This was to maintain confidentiality and integrity in the process for all parties concerned. The Monitoring Officer advised that she could not give any further details regarding this complaint; however, after applying the initial test, and consulting the Independent Person, it was deemed that the Code of Conduct did not apply.

The Chair stated that there was a balance between confidentiality and guarding people against malicious complaints and it was for officers to apply the Code to decide if it should be escalated to this Committee.

The Monitoring Officer agreed and reminded members that the remit of the Committee was to maintain and uphold the high standards of the Code of Conduct and by bringing complaints to the Committee, it could make any recommendations for training or any improvements going forward.

Mr Wood stated that the available sanctions were exceedingly small, which made things difficult and unless they were strengthened there was little point in the process.

Mr Richards stated that as an Independent Person, he could confirm that the level of scrutiny of complaints that members were taking about was in place.

Councillor Bird felt that dress code should be clarified, and he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.