Minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2006

Present:

• Councillors Burns and Whitmore.
• Mrs E. Carmichael and Mr J. A. Snadden - independent members
• Councillor O'Donovan - Ringway Parish Council

Also Present by invitation :

• Councillor Sandiford Lord Mayor Elect

ST/06/12 Chair

The Committee was reminded that the Constitution of the Council prescribed that the Lord Mayor was Chair of the Standards Committee 'ex officio' and that following the death of the Lord Mayor on 12 August it was necessary for the Committee to appoint a member as chair of this meeting of the Committee.

Decision

To appoint Councillor Burns as Chair of the meeting.

Councillor Burns - In the Chair

ST/06/13 Minutes

Decision

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 1 February 2006.

ST/06/14 Independent Members

The Chair welcomed Mr John Andrew Snadden and Mrs Elizabeth Carmichael to their first meeting as independent members of the Committee.

Members also wished to thank Arthur Wright for his past services to the Committee since 2004 and recorded their appreciation of the excellent services rendered to the Committee since its inception by the late John Worstencroft-Parr.

Decision

1. To request the City Solicitor to write to Mr Wright extending the Committee's gratitude to him for his past service as an independent member of the Committee since 2004.

2. To record the Committee's appreciation of the excellent services rendered to the Committee and the Council by the late John Worstencroft-Parr as an independent member of the Committee since its establishment in 2002.

ST/06/15 Ethical Governance Toolkit

The Committee considered a report of the City Solicitor informing members of the review of ethical governance which is taking place to ensure that the Council is placed in a sound position for future comprehensive performance assessments and seeking members' comments in relation to this work.

Members were concerned that more focused training was necessary for members in relation to ethical standards issues and the suggestion was made that this should be considered as a mandatory pre-requisite to service as a Councillor. Reference was also made to the number of complaints to the Standards Board that related to parish Councillors and it was suggested that there may be specific training issues that need to be met in relation to parish Councillors. Officers were requested to explore the potential advantages of training being addressed across the county and including fire police and transport interests.

Decision

To note the work that is underway and to request the officers to focus specifically on the training needs of members of the Council in relation to ethical standards issues.

ST/06/16 Standards Board Fifth Annual Assembly

The Committee was advised that the Fifth Annual Assembly was to take place on 16-17 October 2006 at the International Conference Centre (ICC) Birmingham 'Bridging the gap towards effective local regulation'. Five places had been reserved at this event. Both of the independent members would be attending along with the Head of Democratic Services and the Committee was invited to nominate two elected members to attend. The Committee noted that it was intended that the conference would build on the foundations laid by last year's conference and delegates would be encouraged to assess where their authority was now in terms of delivering on the criteria that the ethical framework their communities and others within the local government family expect of them and to provide ideas and examples of best practice for driving forward change and improvement.

Decision

To authorise the attendance of Councillors Burns and Whitmore (or their nominees) at the conference.

ST/06/17 Registers of Interest and Gifts and Hospitality

The Register of Interests and the Register of Gifts and Hospitality were submitted for examination by Members.