Issue - meetings

Claire Storey, Independent Co-Opted Members, introduced a report on the revised Members’ Code of Conduct.  The revised Code clarified that the Code applied to all means of communications, including the use of social media.  The most significant change to the Code was the extension of the disclosure of pecuniary interests to cover unpaid directorships.  The change had implications for Woking Borough Council Members appointed to Council-owned companies and, in order to avoid such members being prevented from participating fully in Council business, it was proposed that a dispensation would be made for those Members, the details to be recorded in the Register of Members Interests which was open for inspection.

The arrangements for dealing with instances where the Code of Conduct was broken was raised by Councillor Barker who expressed concern over the lack of action to be taken in such cases, and the convoluted procedure for such complaints.  It was an issue that Councillor Barker would seek to be reviewed by the Standards and Audit Committee in the coming year.

In response to a question, the Council was advised that there were no changes proposed in the Council’s Code of Conduct from the Local Government Association’s model Code of Conduct.

          RESOLVED

That  (i)    the Local Government Association’s Model Code of Conduct appended to this report be adopted with effect from the start of the 2021/22 Municipal Year (20 May 2021);

          (ii)   Council notes the intention to grant dispensations to Members to participate in items where they have an interest arising from being appointed, by the Council, to the body concerned; and

          (iii)  Council resolves that compliance with Standards Protocols shall be deemed to be a requirement of the Local Government Association’s Model Code of Conduct, as adopted by the Council.

Reporting Person – Peter Bryant

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services, Peter Bryant, introduced the report on the Members’ Code of Conduct and stated that the Local Government Association (LGA) had undertaken a consultation on a new Model Members’ Code of Conduct that could be adopted by Councils, as part of the LGA’s work on supporting the local government sector to continue to aspire to high standards of leadership and performance.  All members of Woking Borough Council and neighbouring authorities had been given the opportunity to respond to the consultation and, following consideration of the responses, the LGA published its new Model Code of Conduct in December 2020.  The Committee was requested to recommend to Council that the new Model be adopted from the start of the next Municipal year (20 May 2021). 

The Chairman noted that breach of locally approved protocols under the existing code of Conduct would continue under the new Model, as set out in paragraph 2.9 of the report, and that the Confidentiality Protocol would continue to apply to Member complaints regarding another Member. 

A change to the existing Code was that there was an option for Disclosure of Pecuniary Interests to be extended to include unpaid Council-appointed Directors, which the Council was recommended to adopt.  Under section 33 of the Localism Act, the Monitoring Officer held authority to grant dispensations to Members who held a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and the intention was that the authority would be used to allow Councillors to participate in business affecting the companies of which they were an unpaid Council-appointed Director.  It was also noted that Councillor and Officer Directorships were unpaid, with only the Independent Directors receiving a small payment, and any proposal to change that arrangement would require a decision by Full Council.

The dispensations granted by the Monitoring Officer would be recorded in the Register of Members Interests, received by the Committee annually and available on the Council’s website.  There would also be a stand-alone Register of Dispensations available in hard copy form for inspection and also included as a Register on the website. 

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL That      

(i)      the Local Government Association’s Model Code of Conduct appended to this report be adopted with effect from the start of the 2021/22 Municipal Year (20 May 2021);

(ii)     Council notes the intention to grant dispensations to Members to participate in items where they have an interest arising from being appointed, by the Council, to the body concerned; and

(iii)   Council resolves that compliance with Standards Protocols shall be deemed to be a requirement of the Local Government Association’s Model Code of Conduct, as adopted by the Council.