Standards Committee
On this page you'll find the general work of the
Standards Committee and transparency of decision making in the
council.
The Standards Committee and Localism Act
As outlined in the standards provisions of the
Localism Act 2011, there are a number of changes effecting the
Standards Committee. The Standards Committee will no
longer be a statutory committee of the authority and will cease its
current statutory function on a date to be confirmed but expected
to be 01 July 2012.
The Act has abolished the Standards Board for
England and placed a duty on local authorities to promote and
maintain high standards of conduct. The Act requires that standards
must be consistent with the ‘Nolan' principles of public life, i.e.
selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness,
honesty and leadership.
This means that Standards for England
will no longer have powers to accept new referrals from local
Standards Committees or conduct investigations into complaints
against members. Copies of the Act and explanatory
notes are available on the Legislation
website
Recommendations detailing the Councils approach to the new
standards regime, as required in the provisions of the Localism Act
2011, will be considered by the Standards Committee and
Council in due course.
What the Standards Committee does
Functions of the Standards Commission include promotion
of high standards of conduct amongst our local politicians,
monitor the effectiveness of the Code of Conduct for Members and to
decide whether there has been a breach of the code.
Membership of our Standards Committee
The Committee is made up of 8 independent members and 7
councillors.
Terms of Reference
The terms of reference for the Standards Committee can be
downloaded here.
Terms of
Reference (28kb)
When the Standards Committee meets
We publish details of all our committee meetings. Search
the calendar to find the relevant Standards Committee
meeting.
Code of Conduct
Every council is required to adopt a Code of Conduct that sets
out the rules governing the behaviour of its members. All elected,
co-opted and independent members of the council are covered by the
Code of Conduct.
A
Pocket Guide to the Code of Conduct and Guide for Members to the
Code of Conduct is available from the Standards for England
website.
The following online guides, provided
by the Standards Board, focus on and provide summary for
a number of key points and frequently asked
questions regarding the Code of Conduct:
- Bullying and the Code of Conduct
- Lobbying
- Personal and prejudicial interests
- Disclosing confidential information
- Gifts and hospitality
- Predisposition, predetermination or bias, and the Code
Online guides from the Standards for England website
Complaints and investigations against councillors and co-opted
members
Any person can make a complaint that a councillor or co-opted
member has breached the Code of Conduct.