Standards Committee - General Procedure Rules

1. The Council will have a Standards Committee, as referred to in Article 9 of the Constitution and determine its composition in accordance with the Local Government Act 2000 and The Relevant Authorities (Standards Committee) Regulations 2001.

2. Composition

The Standards Committee now comprises ten members made up as follows:

(a) Five Councillors, excluding the Mayor and Leader, and no more than one member of the Cabinet;

(b) Three persons who are not Councillors or officers of the Council or any other relevant authority (as defined by Section 49(6) of the Local Government Act 2000) (independent members);

(c) Three Parish Councillors nominated by the Shrewsbury and Atcham Area Committee of Parish and Town Councils.

No substitute members shall be appointed to the Standards Committee.

3. Independent members

Independent members will be entitled to vote at meetings of the Committee.

4. Procedure for appointment of independent members to the Standards Committee

The recruitment, selection and appointment of members to the Standards Committee will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of The Relevant Authorities (Standards Committee) Regulations 2001 and also the following:

(a) any vacancy must be advertised in one or more newspapers circulating in the Council’s area;

(b) application forms and particulars of appointment will be issued to persons responding to the advertisement;

(c) the shortlisting of applicants who have completed the necessary application form shall be carried out by a politically balanced Panel of five members of the Council made up of one member from each group plus the ungrouped member;

(d) the Panel of Members will interview the shortlisted candidates;

(e) upon the selection of the most suitable candidate from those applicants interviewed the Panel will submit a report to the Council recommending the appointment of that person;

(f) the Council will formally appoint the independent member to the Standards Committee, approval for which will be required by a majority of members of the Council.

The Local Government Act 2000 and The Relevant Authorities (Standards Committee) Regulations 2001 specifically prohibit the following persons from being appointed as an independent member of the Standards Committee:

(a) members or employees of this Council or of any relevant Authority;

(b) persons who have within the period of 5 years immediately preceding the date of the appointment, been members or officers of this Council;

(c) any person who is a relative or close friend of a member or employee of this Council;

(d) persons who have not completed an application form for the position as an independent member of the Standards Committee;

(e) persons who apply for appointment as independent members, but where no vacancy exists and where no advertisement has been placed in a local newspaper circulating in the Council’s area.

The term of office for a person appointed as an independent member will normally be for four years unless otherwise directed by the Council.

 

5. Parish members

Parish members will be entitled to vote at meetings of the Committee. At least one parish council member must be present when matters relating to parish councils are being considered.

6. Chairing the Committee

If a member of the Cabinet is appointed to the Committee he/she may not chair the Committee.

7. Quorum

Notwithstanding Council Procedure Rule 8, the quorum for a meeting of the Committee shall be one quarter subject to a minimum of three, to include at least one independent member and, when matters relating to Parish Councils or Parish Councillors are concerned, to include at least one Parish member.

The requirement for the quorum to include an independent member shall not apply where that member was prevented or restricted from taking part as a consequence of having a prejudicial interest as referred to in paragraph 10(1) of the Council's Code of Conduct.

8. Role and function of Committee

The Committee will be responsible for carrying out the roles and functions listed in Article 9.03 of the Constitution.

9. Speaking at meetings of the Committee

Subject to the normal rules regarding the conduct of meetings, all members of the Committee may speak at its meetings.

Members of the Council who are not appointed members of the Standards Committee will have no inherent right to speak. Upon the invitation of the Chairman such members may be called upon to address the Committee on specific and relevant items of business.

10. Who can put items on the Committee agenda?

The Chairman of the Committee (or the Vice-Chairman in his/her absence) and/or the Council Manager and/or the Monitoring Officer and/or the Chief Financial Officer may include items for consideration on the agenda for a Standards Committee meeting.

11. Complaints against members who may have failed to follow the Code of Conduct

The procedure rules to be followed in respect of complaints against members who may have failed to follow the Code of Conduct are governed by the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008 and Guidance from the Standards Board for England. Special rules shall govern the hearings procedure to be followed in the determination of a complaint against a member alleged to have breached the Code of Conduct and these are set down in Annex A.

The Standards Committee is responsible for appointing:

(i) an Assessment Sub-Committee comprising 3 members which will determine whether an allegation of member misconduct should be investigated;

(ii) a Review Sub-Committee comprising 3 members which will consider any request to review decisions of the Assessment Sub-Committee; and

(iii) a Hearings Sub-Committee comprising 3 members to determine whether a member has breached the Code of Conduct and where appropriate, to impose a sanction on that member.

Notes: The Standards Committee is also empowered under the above mentioned Regulations to carry out hearings and determine whether a member has breached the Code of Conduct.

Each of the above mentioned Sub-Committees must be Chaired by an independent member and if the allegation relates to a parish councillor, the relevant Sub-Committee membership must include a parish council representative.

12. Complaints against a member who may have failed to comply with any Protocol adopted by the Council

Procedure rules shall govern the consideration of complaints against members alleged to have breached any of the Protocols adopted by the Council which are contained in Part 5 of the Constitution. The procedure rules are set down in Annex C.

13. Attendance at Assessment, Reviews and Hearings

Members of the Committee (or any Sub Committee) appointed to attend assessments, review or hearings to determine whether or not a member has breached the Code of Conduct or any of the Protocols adopted by the Council must be present throughout the entire assessment, review or hearing. Any member who attends after the hearing commences or leaves the room for any period during the assessment, review or hearing will be debarred from determining the outcome.

14. Application of Council Procedure Rules

Council Procedure Rule 24 (application to Cabinet, Committees and Sub-Committees) shall take effect subject to these Procedure Rules.

ANNEX A

HEARINGS PROCEDURE FOR LOCAL DETERMINATION OF A COMPLAINT AGAINST A MEMBER ALLEGED TO HAVE BREACHED OF THE MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT

The following procedures will apply to determine whether or not a member has failed to follow the Code of Conduct and, if so, what penalty should be applied.

Interpretation

‘Member’ means the member of the authority who is the subject of the allegation being considered by the Standards Committee, unless stated otherwise. It also includes the member’s nominated representative.

‘Investigator’ means the Ethical Standards Officer (ESO) who referred the report to the authority, and includes his or her nominated representative. In the case of matters that have been referred for local investigation, references to the investigator means the Monitoring Officer or other investigating officer, and his or her nominated representative.

"Committee" also refers to "a standards sub-committee".

"Legal advisor" means the officer responsible for providing legal advice to the Standards Committee. This may be the Monitoring Officer, another officer of the authority who is legally qualified, or someone appointed for this purpose from outside the authority.

The pre-hearing process

Prior to the hearing the Council’s Monitoring Officer or his/her nominated representative will undertake a pre-hearing process to:

• identify whether the member who the allegation has been made about disagrees with any of the findings of fact in the ESO’s report;
• decide whether or not those disagreements are significant to the hearing
• decide whether or not to hear evidence about those disagreements during the hearing;
• decide whether or not to recommend that the hearing or part of it should be held in private; and
• decide whether or not to recommend that parts of the ESO’s report or other documents should be withheld from the public.

 

The pre-hearing process will normally be carried out in writing, although occasionally a face to face meeting with the Chairman, the people involved and their representatives may be necessary.

Representation

The Member

The member may be represented or accompanied during the meeting by a solicitor, counsel or, with the permission of the committee, another person.

The Complainant

With the permission of the Committee, the complainant (i.e. the person who has submitted/registered a complaint about the member to the Standards Board) may address the Committee and/or answer any questions put by the Committee during the course of the hearing.

Legal adviser

The committee may take legal advice from its legal advisor at any time during the hearing or while they are considering the outcome. Any legal advice will be taken by the committee before all parties.

Setting the scene

After all the members and everyone involved have been formally introduced, the Chairman will explain how the hearing will be run.

Preliminary procedural issues

The committee will then resolve any issues or disagreements about how the hearing should continue, which have not been resolved during the pre-hearing process. In addition it will determine whether the hearing or any parts of it should be held in private, having regard to the Standards Board's advice on the admission of the press and public to Standards Committee hearings.

Making findings of fact

After dealing with any preliminary issues, the committee will then move on to consider whether or not there are any significant disagreements about the facts contained in the investigator's report.

If there is no disagreement about the facts, the committee will move on to the next stage of the hearing.

If there is a disagreement, the investigator, if present, will be invited to make any necessary representations to support the relevant findings of fact in the report. With the committee's permission, the investigator, complainant or member complained against, may call any necessary supporting witnesses to give evidence. The committee will give all parties an opportunity to challenge any evidence put forward by any witness called by the investigator, complainant or member complained against.

The Hearing

1. The Monitoring Officer will outline the case, up-date the Committee on the pre-hearing process and introduce his/her report.

2. The Committee will then consider the report of the investigator and any verbal representations from him/her and any witness called by him/her(if present).

3. The member will through the Chairman, be given the opportunity to ask questions of the investigator and any witness called by the investigator.

4. The Committee will then be able to ask questions of the investigator and any witness called by the investigator.

5. The complainant and any witness called by the complainant (if present) may be given the opportunity to address the Committee.

6. The investigator, through the Chairman, will then be able to ask questions of the complainant and any witness called by the complainant.

7. The member will, through the Chairman, be able to ask questions of the complainant and any witness called by the complainant.

8. The Committee will then be able to ask questions of the complainant and any witness called by the complainant.

9. The member and any witness called by the member will, through the Chairman, be given the opportunity to make representations to the Committee. He/she will also be invited to give relevant reasons why the Committee should not decide that he/she has failed to follow the Code of Conduct.

10. The investigator, through the Chairman, will then be able to ask questions of the member and any witness called by the member.

11. The Committee is then able to ask questions of the member and any witness called by the member.

12. The investigator will be invited to make any final statement, but will not be permitted to introduce any new points.

13. The member will be invited to make any final statement, but will not be permitted to introduce any new points.

14. The committee will then move to another room to consider the representations and to decide whether or not the member has failed to follow the Code of Conduct.

15. If the Committee decides that the member has failed to follow the Code of Conduct, it will consider:

a) whether or not to set a penalty and what form any penalty should take; and

b) whether or not it should make any recommendations to the authority, with a view to promoting high standards of conduct among members.

16. On its return, the Chairman will announce the committee's decision. A full written decision will be issued as soon as possible after the hearing and in instances where a member was found to be in breach of the Code of Conduct the committee's decision will be published in a local newspaper.

17. In the event that the committee finds that member is not guilty of having breached the Code of Conduct he/she will be given the opportunity to decide whether he/she wishes a notice to that effect to be published in a local newspaper.

 

Annex B

PROCEDURE RULES FOR INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS REFERRED TO THE MONITORING OFFICER FOR LOCAL INVESTIGATION AND DETERMINATION

The following procedures will apply where the Standards Board for England (S.B.E.) has referred a complaint regarding member misconduct for local investigation and determination.

Interpretation

"Member means the member of the Authority who is the subject of the allegation being investigated, and possibly considered by the Standards Committee, unless stated otherwise.

"Investigator" means the Monitoring Officer or his/her deputy or other investigating officer and his/her nominated representative.

"ESO" means Ethical Standards Officer at the S.B.E.

"Committee" also refers to "A Standards Sub-Committee."

"Legal Advisor" means the officer responsible for providing legal advice to the Standards Committee or Standards Sub-Committee. This may be the Monitoring Officer, another officer of the Authority who is legally qualified, or someone appointed for this purpose from outside the Authority.

Local Investigation of Complaint

1. Section 60 of the Local Government Act 2000 ("the Act") provides for an Ethical Standards Officer (ESO) at the Standards Board for England to refer to the Monitoring Officer for local investigation, a complaint that a member or co-opted member may have failed to comply with the Authority's Code of Conduct.

2. Section 66 of the Act also provides for a Monitoring Officer to conduct a local investigation of any matter referred to him/her by the E.S.O. regarding any allegation of a breach of an Authority's Code of Conduct. The Act also provides for the Committee to consider his/her report and to take action in accordance with the Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 ("the Regulations")

3. The Monitoring Officer, unless directed otherwise by the E.S.O., will inform the member who is the subject of the allegation of failure to comply with the Code of Conduct, the person who made the allegation and any Parish Council involved, that the matter has been referred to him/her for investigation.

4. Subject to paragraph 9 below, the Monitoring Officer, or the Investigator will proceed to carry out an investigation into the matter referred to him/her.

5. The Monitoring Officer or Investigator will give any Member who is the subject of the investigation the opportunity to comment on the allegation made.

6. During any investigation carried out, the Monitoring Officer or Investigator must have regard to any guidance issued by the S.B.E. in pursuance of Section 57(5) of the Act or any order made under Section 57(3) of that Act.

7.  The Monitoring Officer or Investigator may, in carrying out any investigation:

• require any of the Authorities concerned to provide such advice and assistance as he/she may reasonably need to assist him/her in the investigation;

• require any of the Authorities concerned, other than a Parish Council, to meet the reasonable cost of advice and assistance provided;

• if any of the Authorities concerned is a Parish Council require the Borough Council to meet the reasonable cost of advice and assistance provided;

• require any of the Authorities concerned to afford him/her reasonable access to such documents in the possession of that Authority as appear to him/her necessary for the purpose of conducting his/her investigation;

• use tape recording or any other means for gathering and/or recording evidence.

8. The Monitoring Officer/Investigator may, at any time prior to the completion of his/her investigation, make a written request to the E.S.O. that the matter be referred back to

that E.S.O. for him/her to undertake an investigation. Any such request must set out the reasons for making it.

9. If the Monitoring Officer/Investigator refers a matter to the E.S.O., the E.S.O. must respond within 21 days of its receipt. In so doing, the E.S.O. may:

(a) direct that the matter be referred back to him for investigation, in which case the Monitoring Officer/Investigator shall cease his/her investigation; or

(b) direct the Monitoring Officer/Investigator to continue his/her investigations in accordance with the Regulations. The Monitoring Officer/Investigator may not then make any further request under paragraph 8 above in respect of that matter.

10. At the conclusion of any investigation carried out by the Monitoring Officer or Investigator, he/she shall:

(a) make one of the following findings –

(i) that he/she considers that there has been a failure to comply with the Code of Conduct of the Authority concerned, or as the case may be of any other Authority concerned ("a finding of failure"); or

(ii) that he/she considers that there has not been a failure to comply with the Code of Conduct of the Authority concerned, or as the case may be of any other Authority concerned ("a finding of no failure")

(b) prepare a written report concerning his/her findings;

(c) send a copy of that report to the Member who was the subject of the investigation;

(d) where the report concerns a finding of failure, refer that report to the Committee for a hearing;

(e) where the report concerns a finding of no failure refer that report to the Standards Committee.

Report to Committee on finding of "no failure"

11. The Standards Committee when it receives a report under 10(e) above, shall consider it and either:

(i) accept the Monitoring Officer's/Investigator's findings of "no failure" ("a finding of acceptance"); or

(ii) determine that the matter should be considered at a hearing of the Committee.

12. After finding "no failure", the Standards Committee will give written notice of the finding to

• the member who is the subject of the finding of no failure;
• the E.S.O. concerned;
• any person who made an allegation that gave rise to the investigation;
• any Parish Council concerned,
• the Standards Committee of the Authority concerned, if not the Standards Committee that made the finding;
• the Standards Committee of any other Authority concerned, if not the Standards Committee that made the finding.

13. Unless the Member requests otherwise, a notice will then be published in a local newspaper stating that there has not been a failure on the part of the member to comply with the Code of Conduct.

Hearings by Standards Committee (or Standards Sub-Committee)

14. A hearing by the Committee shall be convened in relation to an allegation that the member failed to comply with the Code of Conduct of the Council or, as the case may be, of any other Authority concerned if the Monitoring Officer refers a report from an E.S.O. under Section 64(2) of the Act, or refers his/her report in accordance with procedure rule 10(b) above or the Standards Committee makes a finding in accordance with procedure rule 11(ii) above.

15. The hearing shall be convened and held within the timescales set in the Regulations and conducted in accordance with the procedure rules for the Standards Committee, Annex A, or in accordance with any Order made under Section 57(3) of the Local Government Act 2000.

16. The Committee may, at any stage prior to the conclusion of the hearing, adjourn and require the Monitoring Officer to obtain further information or undertake further investigation on any point it specifies. The Committee may not adjourn the hearing more than once under the provision of this paragraph.

17. The Committee may, at any stage prior to the conclusion of the hearing adjourn and make a written request to the E.S.O. that the matter be referred back to him to carry out an investigation. The request must set out the Committee's reasons for referral.

18. Within 21 days of receipt of a referral back the E.S.O. will respond and either:

(a) direct that the matter be referred to him for investigation and consequently the Committee shall cease its investigation of the matter, or

(b) direct that the Committee continues to deal with the matter and in which case will not be able to make further requests under procedure rule 17 above on this matter.

19. The Committee will reconvene to consider the matter within three months of the E.S.O's direction under procedure rule 18(b) above.

N.B THE RULES NUMBERED 16-19 ARE IN ADDITION TO THE RULES REFERRED TO IN 15 ABOVE

Sanctions

20. If the Committee finds that the member, who was the subject of the hearing failed to comply with the Code of Conduct, and that a sanction should be imposed, it shall then impose any one of, or any combination of the following sanctions:-

(i) censure of that member;

(ii) restriction for a period up to a maximum of three months of that member's access to the premises of the Authority and the member's use of the resources of the Authority, provided that any such restriction imposed upon the Member are reasonable and proportionate to the nature of the breach, and do not unduly restrict the member's ability to perform his/her functions as a member;

(iii) partial suspension of that member for a period up to a maximum of three months;

(iv) suspension of that member for a period up to a maximum of three months;

(v) a requirement that the member submits a written apology in a form specified by the Committee;

(vi) a requirement that the member undertakes training as specified by the Committee;

(vii) a requirement that the member undertakes conciliation as specified by the Committee;

(viii) suspension or partial suspension of the member for a period up to a maximum of three months or until such time as he/she submits a written apology in a form specified by the Committee;

(ix) suspension or partial suspension of the member for a period up to a maximum of three months or until such time as he/she undertakes such training or conciliation as the Committee may specify;

21. Any sanction imposed shall commence immediately following its imposition by the Committee except that the Committee may direct that a sanction imposed under any sub-paragraphs (ii) to (ix) of procedure rule 20 above shall commence on such date, within a period of six months after the imposition of that sanction, as the Committee may specify in its direction.

Directions from E.S.O.

22. If an E.S.O. directs the Monitoring Officer to deal with any matter* referred to him otherwise than by conducting an investigation, the Monitoring Officer will:-

(a) deal with the matter in accordance with the direction; and

(b) within three months from receipt of the direction submit to the E.S.O. a written report indicating what action he/she has taken or proposes to take to comply with the direction.

23. If the E.S.O. is not satisfied with the action taken or proposed to be taken he may require the Monitoring Officer to, and the Monitoring Officer must, publish a statement in a local newspaper giving details of the E.S.O's direction and the Monitoring Officer's reasons for not fully implementing it.

* N.B. Such matters could possibly include those relating to Council policies or practice.

 

ANNEX C

HEARINGS PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINATION OF A COMPLAINT AGAINST A MEMBER ALLEGED TO HAVE BREACHED ONE OF THE COUNCIL'S PROTOCOLS

The following procedures will apply to determine whether or not a member has acted in breach of one or more of the Protocols adopted by the Council and which are contained in Part 5 of the Constitution.

1. Upon the receipt of a complaint that a member has acted in breach of one or more of the Protocols of the Council, the Council's Monitoring Officer or his/her nominated representative will carry out a preliminary investigation.

2. At the conclusion of the preliminary investigation, the Monitoring Officer or his/her nominated representative may:

(i) following consultation with the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Standards Committee dismiss the complaint as frivolous, trivial, mischievous or vexatious; and/or may determine that no further action needs to be taken, in which case s/he will report the complaint and the findings to the Standards Committee; or

(ii) conduct a detailed investigation of the complaint.

3. If the complaint is dismissed the complainant will be notified.

Detailed Investigation

1. If, at the conclusion of the preliminary investigation, the Monitoring Officer or his/her nominated representative decides that the complaint be investigated in more detail, he/she shall notify the complainant and member against whom the allegation is made and proceed with an investigation into the allegations.

2. The investigation will be carried out by the Monitoring Officer or his/her nominated representative, hereafter referred to as the Investigator.

3. The Investigator, following the completion of a detailed investigation into the allegations, will prepare a report thereon and decide which of the following three findings is appropriate in the circumstances:-

(i) there is no evidence that the member has breached the relevant Protocol or any part thereof.

(ii) there is evidence of a breach of protocol and no action needs to be taken in relation to the matters investigated; or

(iii) the matter should be referred to the Standards Committee (or Standards Sub-Committee) for determination.

4. The Monitoring Officer will then arrange for a hearing of the allegations and determination by the Standards Committee (or a Standards Sub-Committee) and notify both the complainant and the person against whom the allegation has been made, of the date and time of the proposed hearing.

5. The person against whom the allegation of a breach of the relevant Protocol has been made shall be given a copy of the Investigator's report and his/her findings.

The Hearing

1. The hearings procedures to be followed for an alleged breach of a Protocol shall be the same as those relating to a complaint against a member alleged to have breached the Members' Code of Conduct, as contained in Annex A of the Standards Committee General Procedure Rules (Part 4 of the Constitution); except that the Standards Committee may impose the sanctions below:

Penalties/Sanctions

1. The following penalties/sanctions will be available to the Committee in the event of a member having been found to have breached the relevant Protocol(s) of the Council:-

(a) that no further action be taken;

(b) censure the member;

(c) restrict the member's access to member resources for up to

three months provided that any such restriction imposed upon the Member is reasonable and proportionate to the nature of the breach and does not unduly restrict the Member's ability to perform his/her functions as a Member;

(d) recommend to the Council that the relevant political group/group leader be requested to remove the member from a Committee or Committees for a specified period;

(e) recommend to the Council the removal of the member from a Committee or Committees if that member is not affiliated to any political group on the Council;

(f) request a written apology from the member.

2. The Committee may impose any one or a combination of the above penalties/sanctions.