| Place: | Oaks Room |
| Present: | Cllrs H G Hancock and K W Palmer (chairman) Parish Cllr Mrs E Houghton and Mr R Hopkins |
| In attendance: | John Dakin (Corporate Director (Policy and Governance)), David Whelan (Legal Services Manager) and Carol Eddleston (Democratic Services Officer) |
| Public attendance: | No members of the public were present. |
| Other Officers: | No other officers were present. |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPEN ITEMS | ||||
| 9 |
Welcome and Introductions The chairman welcomed members to the meeting. |
Noted | ||
| 10 |
Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Mr Ellison and Councillors Heyworth and Sharratt. |
Noted | ||
| 11 |
Minutes of the Last Meeting held on 6 December 2007 Minutes 06-12-07 attached The Legal Services Manager agreed to pass on to members details of allegations made to the Standards Board for England about South Ribble borough, parish and town councillors. RESOLVED: that the minutes of the last meeting be signed as a correct record by the chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 12 |
Consultation on 'Orders and Regulations Relating to the Conduct of Local Authority Members in England' Covering Report attached Consultation Paper attached Draft Response to Consultation attached The chairman invited members to consider the draft responses contained in Appendix 2, prepared by the Legal Services Manager, in conjunction with the responses that Mr Ellison had submitted for consideration. Members noted that both sets of responses were generally consistent. The responses agreed by the committee would be submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government. [A copy of the agreed responses is appended to these minutes]. The committee acknowledged that it was not possible at this stage to anticipate the increase in volume in allegations. RESOLVED: that the responses to consultation, as agreed by the committee, be submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government. |
Agreed | ||
| 13 |
Progress Report-Action Plan for Promoting/Achieving High Ethical Standards Standards committee report attached Members noted the progress report and congratulated the council on the outcome of the recent Use of Resources assessment. It was agreed that a new action plan would be drawn up once the new Standards Committee had been established, in line with the new regulations. |
Noted | ||
| 14 |
Training Requirements The chairman reminded members that they had all been registered for the Lancashire Standards Conference 2008, to be held at Woodlands Conference Centre, Chorley, on Monday 31 March. The Corporate Director (Policy and Governance) said that officers were currently investigating possible training specifically for standards committee members in light of the new regime. The Legal Services Manager said he had had discussions with the North West Employers Organisation with a view to them providing training. Members agreed that it would be particularly useful if training could be arranged in conjunction with standards committee members from other local authorities. RESOLVED: that appropriate training events be identified for standards committee members. |
Agreed | Legal Services Manager | |
| 15 |
Date of Next Meeting The Corporate Director (Policy and Governance) said that the next meeting of the committee was currently scheduled for Thursday 5 June. However, there was a need for some flexibility as the process of recruiting for an independent chair would commence in due course. This might have a bearing on the timing of the next meeting. |
Noted | ||