Agenda item

To enable the Committee to comment on Independent Persons’ recruitment pack prior to advertisement and to determine the representatives of the Standards Committee on the interview panel.

It was reported 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 Persons for the purposes of standards arrangements.

Those appointments as Independent Persons (IPs) had subsequently been extended for a year from May 2023, at the Full Council meeting held on 22 November 2022 (Minute 52 referred).

More recently, at the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 30 April 2024, Members had approved (Minute 14 referred) that –

1.      The previous local arrangements for joint appointments to both roles, being the Independent Remuneration Panel and Independent Persons ceases;

2.      Future arrangements continue to be explored for a joint Independent Remuneration Panel with other Councils, and the delegation for recruitment be extended to the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer for recommendations to be made to a future meeting of Full Council;

3.      For the purposes of (b) above the term of office of future Independent Remuneration Panel members be for a period of up to 7 years, being staggered if appropriate, to cover the Review of the Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2026/27 and into the net term of office for District Councillors; and

4.      The term of office for those Independent Persons who express and interest in doing so, be extended for a further year without an application process, in order to allow a separate recruitment exercise to be undertaken for the sole role of Independent Person.

Recruitment and Alternative Options

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

Members were made aware that since the recruitment last undertaken in 2018, the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) had published its report in January 2019, which had included recommendations with regards to the role of the Independent Persons. The then Government had then responded to them in March 2022.  Therefore, it was timely for Tendring District Council to review its own approach and give consideration to different options and to determine the best one for its own governance arrangements. The Government supported such choices to be determined at a local level.

Term of Office

It was highlighted that whilst the term of office would be determined by Full Council upon appointment, the practice which had been adopted since 2018 had been to appoint Independent Persons for a term of 4 years, which aligned with the term for elected Members.  However, it was also felt essential to provide continuity, as developing the relationship between the Independent Persons and the Monitoring Officer was important to ensure the robustness in the delivery of, and confidence in, the arrangements and building upon the expectations of the Nolan Principles.

Eligibility

The Committee was informed that the CSPL had recommended in its review in 2019 that the role of the Independent Person should be fixed to a term of office for 2 years and renewed once.  Whilst it was understood how this approach could demonstrate a perception of independence, the competencies required for the Independent Persons to demonstrate confidence in the arrangements and the training necessary required dedicated resources being committed by the Council, to ensure the role was sufficiently performed.  In addition, experience obtained depended upon the number of Member Code of Conduct complaints received and this could not be predicted in advance; a longer term of office and renewals being permitted, would allow previous experienced Independent Persons to reapply and would assist with the opportunity for experience to be gained.  However, previous local appointments should not detract other members of the public interested in the role from applying and the Council would always encourage individuals to express an interest in the role.

In relation to the “Independent Persons Information and Application Pack”, it was moved by Councillor Talbot, seconded by Councillor Alexander and:-

RESOLVED that the “Independent Persons Information and Application Pack” include a message from the Chairman of the Standards Committee in addition to the usual message from the Chief Executive.

It was further moved by Councillor Alexander, seconded by Councillor Oxley and:-

RESOLVED that -

a)     the contents of the Monitoring Officer’s report (A.1) be noted;

b)     the proposal to recruit four Independent Persons, for a term of office for four years at the suggested allowance of £600 per annum plus expenses be supported (subject to Full Council approval on appointment);

c)      the Committee endorses previously appointed Independent Persons being permitted to reapply for this role;

d)     the recruitment pack for the role of the Independent Persons, as amended by the Committee’s earlier resolution detailed above, be supported; and

e)     the Chairman of the Committee, the Vice-Chairman of the Committee and Councillor Alexander (with Councillor Newton as the designated substitute Member) be authorised to form part of the Interview Panel for Independent Persons.