Agenda item

The Standards Committee considered a report which set out areas of the Council’s Constitution which required review. 

The Constitution was the Council’s Rule Book and set out how the Council operated and how it made its decisions.  Council approved its latest version of the Constitution at the Annual Council meeting in May 2019. 

At its meeting in July 2019 the Standards Committee had agreed a number of areas of the Constitution for review and a table within the report listed the timetable for review of these areas and also other Committees of the Council where matters would need to be referred to for consideration. 

·                 The areas for review to consider at this meeting were:-

·                 Standards Committee Terms of Reference;

·                  Joint Employment and Appeals Committee;

·                  Questions and Motions. 

An appendix to the report set out the proposals and rationale for the review for each of the three areas. 

Standards Committee Terms of Reference

In response to the Standards Committee’s consideration of the recent Parliamentary Committees Review into Standards in Public Life, a revised Terms of Reference (TOR) was presented for consideration.  Appendix 2 set out a tracked changes version of the Terms of Reference with suggested revisions including:-

·                  Inviting co-opted representatives to sit on the Committee;

·                  Having an over-sight of Member training and attendance;

·                  Website content; and

·                  Promoting understanding of the Code of Conduct. 

In addition, the Committee considered the role of the Independent Person and their term of office and Members were agreeable to consider a County-wide arrangement for Independent Persons. 

On the subject of training, Members were supportive of moving to online platforms and filming forthcoming training sessions. 

RESOLVED – That:-

(1)       The revised Terms of Reference for the Standards Committee, as set out in the report, be supported; and

(2)       A further review be undertaken on the Independent Persons’ terms of office and this be presented to a future meeting of the Standards Committee for consideration.

(Governance Manager)

Joint Employment and Appeals Committee

It was noted that the current Terms of Reference for the Joint Employment and Appeals Committee did not make any reference to a scenario where one singular Authority may need to undertake a recruitment for an SAMT member who would work solely for that Authority.

The Committee agreed that the following wording be added to the Joint Employment and Appeals Committee Terms of Reference for North East Derbyshire only posts:-

‘Where the authority determines to recruit a Head of Service or Director post outside of the Strategic Alliance or determines to take any disciplinary action in relation to such a post the Member Panel will be called the Employment and Appeals Committee and will comprise the four members of the JEAC’. 

This proposed amendment was to be submitted to the next Council meeting, rather than as part of the full Constitutional review at Annual Council, due to the ongoing Senior Management re-structure and recruitment taking place during the year. 

RESOLVED – That the above wording be added to the Joint Employment and Appeals Committee Terms of Reference and that the Strategic Alliance Management Team recommend this to Council in November 2019. 

(Monitoring Officer)