Issue - meetings

Report of the Monitoring Officer.

4.1      Tasnim Shawkat, Monitoring Officer, introduced the item stating that it is considered best practice for the council to receive an annual or biannual report in relation to standards.

4.2      The Committee considered and commented on a draft biannual report which covered the committee’s work between March 2018 and March 2020. The Monitoring Officer advised that the provision of such a report emphasises the importance the council places on the profile of ethical standards across the organisation and affords the opportunity to highlight key achievements and areas of good practice and identify any requirements for improvement.

4.3      The committee welcomed the report and put forward a number of suggested changes which included providing an explanation of how the council’s Independent Persons are appointed as well as referencing all of the councillors that had sat on the committee over the period that the report covers.

4.4      The Committee suggested that thought should be given when drafting the next biannual report on whether the committee’s work should be presented thematically rather than chronologically. Members also suggested that future reports could include more statistics such as figures on the number of complaints received against members each year alleging a breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

4.5      RESOLVED: That subject to the recommended changes being incorporated the report be approved and recommended to Full Council for noting.