Agenda and minutes

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Ferguson, Land and Wiggins and Sue Gallone (Independent Person). There were no substitutions.

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee, held on Wednesday 19 July 2023.

It was moved by Councillor Talbot, seconded by Councillor J Henderson and:-

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on Wednesday 19 July 2023 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registerable Interests of Non-Registerable Interests, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were no Declarations of Interest made by Members at this time.

Subject to providing two working days’ notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.

No Questions on Notice had been submitted by Members pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 38 on this occasion.

To enable the Committee to comment on the Independent Remuneration Panel and Independent Persons’ term of office, exploring alternative options and future recruitment, with consideration to recommendations to Full Council.

The Committee considered whether to comment on the Independent Remuneration Panel and Independent Persons’ term of office, exploring alternative options and future recruitment, with a view to making relevant recommendations to Full Council.

The Committee was reminded of the current situation as follows:-

At its meeting held on 27 November 2018, Full Council had agreed the appointment of Mr David Irvine, Mrs Clarissa Gosling, Mrs Jane Watts and Mrs Sue Gallone as the Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel for the purposes of making recommendations to Council on Members’ allowances. Mr David Irvine, Mrs Clarissa Gosling, Ms Jane Watts and Ms Sue Gallone had also confirmed as the Council’s Independent Persons for the purposes of standards arrangements.

The roles of Independent Remuneration Panel and Independent Persons were still separate but the same individuals had been appointed to both and were, currently, in place until Annual Council in April 2024.  Each role was covered by separate legislation and were different in their nature.

The appointments as Independent Persons (IPs) had been extended for a year from May 2023 to April 2024, by Full Council at its meeting held on 22^nd November 2022 (Minute 52 referred) and as Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) members by Full Council at its meeting held on 2^nd March 2023 (Minute 108 referred).

Following the decision by Full Council on 22^nd November 2022, there was a requirement that alternative arrangements for the IRP be explored further in order to maximise options available with other Councils within Essex and to give consideration to the outcome prior to any future recruitment. During the last year, Braintree District Council (BDC) had expressed an interest in joint working on the role of the IRP (not IP) and had recently advertised to recruit to their IRP role and had included reference to working with other Essex Councils (although Tendring District Council had not been not specifically named).

The Assistant Director (Governance) & Monitoring Officer had participated in the BDC interview process and each candidate had confirmed that they would be interested in joint working with TDC, if this was approved locally as an approach going forward.

Following the aforementioned decision of Full Council in November 2022, the Monitoring Officer reported there was interest in a joint working arrangement whereby a pool of IRPs could be appointed to undertake reviews of Members’ Allowance Schemes for different Councils and the successful candidates through the BDC process could be recommended for appointment by Tendring District Council.

The advertisement of  vacancies for the position of Independent  Person(s) and the Independent Remuneration Panel, the review of applications received, the interview of suitable candidates and the making of recommendations to Council as to who should be appointed was delegated to the Chief Executive under the Council’s Constitution. It was recommended that this delegation be amended to include the Monitoring Officer together with the Chief Executive, so that the administrative process for Tendring could be undertaken and recommendations made to Full Council in July 2024.  Currently, there was no requirement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

To note the Pre-Election Publicity Guidance produced for elections within the Tendring District ensuring that its contents are clear for Members and Officers in readiness for the May 2024 Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner elections.

The Committee was requested to note the Pre-Election Publicity Guidance produced for elections within the Tendring District ensuring that its contents were clear for Members and Officers in readiness for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election due in May 2024.

Members were reminded that a Guidance Note concerning publicity and resources had been routinely issued, to all District Council Members and Officers, in the run up to elections since 2014, in the format as shown in Appendix A to the Monitoring Officer’s report (A.2). In readiness for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election in May 2024, the Standards Committee was requested to provide any comments or seek clarification on the content of the guidance to ensure that it was clear, concise and easily understood. The Standards Committee’s feedback would be considered by the Chief Executive (who was also the Local Returning Officer for the aforementioned election in the District of Tendring) when issuing the revised guidance later on in March 2024.

It was reported that, in preparing the guidance now presented, due regard had been given to the LGA’s published advice about the applicability of pre-election restrictions and the need for caution to avoid doing anything which offered undue influence or advantage that might affect the forthcoming election.

It was moved by Councillor J Henderson, seconded by Councillor Newton and:-

RESOLVED that the Standards Committee -

a)     notes the contents of the Monitoring Officer’s report (A.2);

b)     endorses the Guidance being circulated to all Tendring District Councillors together with a reminder of paragraph 7 of the Members’ Code of Conduct; and

c)      supports the Guidance being circulated to all Town and Parish Councils in the District.

The Committee will receive the Monitoring Officer’s quarterly update regarding standards complaints together with an update on other pertinent matters.

The Committee had before it the Monitoring Officer’s quarterly schedule, which updated it on existing and new conduct complaint cases, along with other general matters.

The Committee NOTED the foregoing.