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

The Committee considered the Independent Remuneration Panel’s and Independent Persons’ terms of office, with the aim of exploring alternative options as to future recruitment, with a view to making recommendations to full Council on this matter.

Members were reminded that, 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. Those four persons had been also confirmed as the Council’s Independent Persons for the purposes of standards arrangements. Those appointments were in place until the Annual Meeting of the Council in May 2023.

The Committee was advised that Full Council had last considered the Members’ Allowances Scheme in September 2020 together with the related recommendations from the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP). It had been highlighted that, if the Council approved a Scheme of Allowances for the following two financial years (being 2021/22 and 2022/23) the next scheduled time for the IRP to review the Allowances Scheme for this Council would be prior to the start of 2023/24 and that therefore this would concern the Scheme of Allowances to be paid following the scheduled elections to this Council in May 2023.

Therefore, without alternative arrangements in place, there would be a need to recruit a new Independent Remuneration Panel and new Independent Persons in time to make new formal appointments at Annual Council in May 2023, whilst simultaneously undertaking a review on the Members’ Allowance Scheme, with the support of officers in the late Autumn/early Winter 2022.

Recruitment and alternative options

It was reported that with regard to the roles of Independent Persons for the Ethical Standards arrangements, a pool of Independent Persons was available through the Public Law Partnership (which covered Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk) that could be called on by any authority, subject to the necessary approvals through formal appointments. Those arrangements were considered to be appropriate to use where capacity or conflicts of interest were an issue.  Whilst this Council (TDC) had approved and adopted this flexibility, using the pool had not yet been required due to TDC having four Independent Persons.  Therefore, it was still considered prudent for TDC to continue appointing its own Independent Persons whilst retaining the flexibility of a wider pool to call upon if necessary. 

It was noted that the Independent Persons and the Independent Remuneration Panel could continue as joint appointments or be separated. 

It was suggested that this Council could also look to alternative arrangements such as joint Independent Remuneration Panels with other Councils, either on a flexible or a formal basis.  Early research had indicated that a small number of Councils might be interested in a joint approach, but no commitments could be made at this time, therefore, any recruitment undertaken by TDC, would have to reflect some flexibility within its recommendations to Full Council.

Since the previous recruitment undertaken in 2018, the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) had published its report in January 2019, on the role of the Independent Persons and their recommendations had been responded to by the Government in March 2022.  Therefore, it was timely for TDC to review its own approach and give consideration to different options.

The CSPL reported the outcome of their national review in a report published in January 2019, which had included a number of recommendations relating to Local Government Ethical Standards.  The report had also included a number of Best Practice recommendations. Those which had related to the role and responsibilities of the Independent Person were:

Recommendation 8: The Localism Act 2011 should be amended to require that Independent Persons are appointed for a fixed term of two years, renewable once.

Whilst, it had not translated into a formal recommendation or within the list of best practice, the CSPL report had also stated on page 56 that: “The terms of multiple Independent Persons should ideally overlap, to ensure a level of continuity and institutional memory”.

In a letter dated 18th March 2022, from Kemi Badenoch MP (then Minister of State for Equalities and Levelling Up Communities) to Lord Evans, Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, in response to this recommendation it was stated:-

“The government does not accept this recommendation as appropriate for legislation on the basis that it would be likely to be unworkable. The government’s view is that it would be more appropriately implemented as a best practice recommendation for local authorities.

In principle, it may be attractive to limit the terms Independent Persons serve to keep their role and contribution “fresh” and avoid them becoming too closely affiliated with the overriding organisational culture. However, discussions with Monitoring Officers indicate that in practice most local authorities would likely find servicing this rate of turnover unachievable. There is frequently a small pool of people capable and willing to undertake the role, who also fit the stringent specifications of being amongst the electorate, having no political affiliation, no current or previous association with the council, and no friends or family members associated with the council.

When local authorities have found effective Independent Persons who demonstrate the capability, judgement and integrity required for this quite demanding yet unpaid role, it is understandable that they may be reluctant to place limitations on the appointment.”

CSPL Best Practice 7:  Local authorities should have access to at least two independent Persons.

CSPL Best Practice 8:  An Independent Person should be consulted as to whether to undertake a formal investigation on an allegation, and should be given the option to review and comment on allegations which the responsible officer is minded to dismiss as being without merit, vexatious or trivial.

Statutory and Constitutional Requirements

Members were reminded that Section 28(6) and (7) of the Localism Act 2011 required the Council to appoint at least one Independent Person to work with the Monitoring Officer within the Standards Framework.

Section 20 of The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) England Regulations 2003 required that an Independent Remuneration Panel be established in respect of each local authority and that the Panel would consist of at least three people.

The Committee was advised that within TDC’s Constitution, the advertisement of vacancies 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, were delegated to the Chief Executive or the Monitoring Officer. However, as both of those independent roles did have strong engagement with Councillors it was considered appropriate that a representative from this Committee was involved in the recruitment process.  It was recommended by Officers that the existing Independent Persons’ term of office be extended for a year in order to allow the joint working opportunities for the Independent Remuneration Panel to be explored further.

The Committee then duly considered and discussed this matter. That discussion included the following:-

(i)         Keeping the role of Independent Persons and the Independent Remuneration       Panel separate as different skills were needed for each role;

(ii)        The idea of a pool of Independent Persons;

(iii)       What would happen to the roles in the event of Local Government Reorganisation?;

(iv)       The advantages of joint working with other Local Councils.

It was moved by Councillor Land, seconded by Councillor Placeyand unanimously:-

RESOLVED that the Standards Committee:-

(a)    notes the contents of the Deputy Chief Executive’s report;

(b)    recommends to Full Council that alternative arrangements for the Independent Remuneration Panel are 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; and

(c)    recommends further to Full Council that the term of office for those Independent Persons, who express an interest in doing so, be extended for a further year without an application process, in order to allow the review within resolution (b) above to be undertaken.