Agenda item

Please note the following documents will be published as a supplement:

·         Declarations of interest flow chart (revised version).

·         Draft Glossary

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The Monitoring Officer explained that following the previous meeting when the Committee had considered the LGS Mode of Conduct and Members had provided feedback and input to areas of the Council’s previous code which should remain in the new code and the Committee’s attention was drawn to the proposed amendments to the LGA Code which would fit better for the Council’s local purposes.  The Monitoring Officer had prepared a further draft for Members to consider.

The Committee’s attention was drawn to the supplement published entitled proposed additions to code of conduct document, a table which set out every single proposed change to the LGA Model Code and since a request to the LGA a word document of the Model Code of Conduct had been received and the proposed changes had been incorporated into the tracked document (highlighted in red) and a clean copy of the document had also been published.

The Monitoring Officer presented a revised flow chart which set out the process for declaration of interests.

The Monitoring Officer presented the proposed amendments to the Model Code highlighted in red on the tracked changes document.

The proposed changes/comments put forward by Members of the Committee set out below were agreed:

·         Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination – add “behaviour likely to cause offence, etc.”

·         Monitoring Officer to research if there was an available definition for the public interest test.

·         9.2 Interests – remove and/or the Council’s interest, remove reference to impartial.

·         12 – Disclosure of other interests – remove and/or the Council’s interest.

Councillor Nash requested that it be recorded in the minutes that he asked for a definition on the public interest test for the purpose of the Model Code of Conduct.

The Monitoring Officer explained that the complaints handling guidance/sanctions would be reviewed and presented to the Standards Committee at a future meeting.

The Committee was advised that the LGA had a training induction pack would be rolled out to all Borough and Parish/Town Councils.

The Monitoring Officer advised that a further meeting would be required towards the end of January in order that the recommendations could be considered by Cabinet on 7 February and to Full Council on 23 February 2023 for adoption.

RESOLVED: 1) The declarations of interest flow chart be published with all Council agendas with immediate effect.

2) Behaviours/Bullying, etc. – add work behaviour likely to cause offence to make clear the objective test.

3) The Monitoring Officer to research if there was an available definition for the public interest test.

4) Amendments set out above be incorporated into the Model Code of Conduct document.