Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor C Cupit.

Members are requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or other interests, not already on their register of interests, in any item in the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

There were no declarations of interests made.

To approve as a correct record and the Chair to sign the Minutes of the Standards Committee held on 5 March 2025.

That the minutes of the meeting of the meeting held on 5 March 2025 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair, subject to Councillor H Wetherall’s name being spelt correctly.

Committee considered a report that presented the final draft version of the Constitution, prior to presentation at the Council’s Annual Meeting. The report included a table that detailed the changes in the draft Constitution, attached at Appendix 2.

Committee discussed the report and proposed changes to the Constitution. Some Members asked what the impact was of the changes made last year. Committee heard that there had been no issues as a result of the changes.

Committee discussed the proposed changes to the process in which planning applications were called in. Some Members suggested that there should be a process for Members to call in applications that generated significant public interest. It was agreed that this was a sensible approach.

RESOLVED –

That the draft Constitution be recommended to Council for approval.

Committee considered a report that detailed the outcome of the annual review of the RIPA Policy and Procedure. Committee heard that there had been no issues at the last inspection. Members were advised that the Council would be due an inspection soon and this would likely be done by questionnaire.

Committee discussed the report. It was shared that the next RIPA annual report was likely to come earlier on in the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED­ –

1. That subject to Members’ comments and relevant officers’ comments, the RIPA policy be approved.

2. That Members noted the guidance on the use of Social Media, the forthcoming training for Authorising Officers and applicants and the last inspection report from 2022.

3. That delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director of Governance to amend the Policy following any comments received from Members or Officers.

4. That an updated report be circulated in the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

Committee considered a report that detailed the guidance for those wishing to make a complaint to the Monitoring Officer that a Councillor has breached the Code of Conduct. The report included a breakdown of the details that should be provided when alleging that a Councillor had breached the Code of Conduct.

Committee discussed the report. It was agreed that the examples were useful, and the guidance was well written.

RESOLVED  -

That the new guidance be noted.

Committee considered a report that summarised attendance by Councillors at recent training sessions. The report highlighted the training that had been available to Councillors over the last Municipal Year and the number of Councillors that had attended each session.

Committee discussed the report. It was felt that there was room for improvement in terms of training numbers for certain courses. Planning training was highlighted as an area for improvement, and it was suggested that the Chair of Planning Committee receive a report on training statistics. Some Members suggested that Councillors may have qualifications or certificates that serve as proxy for the training provided by the Council and it should be investigated whether these could be taken into account so training wasn’t duplicated. It was also noted that Councillors had access to an online learning portal, and it was suggested that a reminder be circulated about what courses were available and how they could be accessed.

RESOLVED  -

1. That the report be noted.

2. That the Chairs of Planning and Licensing Committees be invited to receive a report on the attendance statistics of training events relevant to their Committees.

3. That Officers consider whether training Councillors undertook in other roles could be added to their Council training record.

Committee considered a verbal update on the training proposals for District Councillors. Members heard that mid-term training would be taking place in September.

Committee discussed the update. Members discussed the topics that should be covered in September’s training sessions. It was suggested that training on conducting hearings for Standards Committee Members should be developed and ready to roll out should a Standards Committee hearing be required.

RESOLVED –

That the update was noted.

Committee considered a verbal update on the training options for Parish Councillors. Members heard that a Parish Council Conference had taken place in April 2025 and the next one was due to take place in January 2026. There was the potential for the next event to include training sessions for Parish Councillors. Members heard that masterclasses, in association with DALC, were also being considered.

Committee considered the update. Members discussed the training areas that would benefit Parish Councillors the most. It was suggested that the masterclasses would be an important tool to support Parish Councillors in the wake of Local Government Reorganisation. It was suggested that Parish Councils should be invited to suggest the areas in which they would like training.

RESOLVED –

That the update was noted.

The committee considered its work programme for the upcoming 2025/26 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED  –

That the work programme be noted.

To consider any other matter which the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

None.