Agenda item

To receive and note the Monitoring Officer’s Annual Report.

The MO introduced the report and informed Members that it covered the lawfulness of the Council’s decision making, and its adherence to the governance framework. It was reported that there had been no findings of maladministration, and that the register of gifts and hospitality was also included for review. The MO stated that the report also covered complaints of misconduct, which had remained stable, with the majority of these complaints relating to Town and Parish Councils as a result of unclear governance arrangements and processes. In such cases, an assessment framework was applied to determine how to progress complaints, and it was often the case no breaches were found. It was reported that no cases had been referred for further investigation at district level, and there had been no breaches of the Council’s own protocols. The MO informed Members that preventative training was provided to avoid breaches at both district and parish level, and that the Standards Committee had met and discussed initial proposals for changes to the Model Member Code of Conduct, with a briefing for Members planned in the coming weeks. It was noted that there was a separate code of conduct for officers, and that the Employment and Appeals Committee were available to consider any disciplinary action when required. In terms of probity, the MO reported that she had been consulted on most policy proposals, the Council’s accounts and any matters of legal concern, in order to provide advice alongside the Section 151 Officer. It was noted that there had been a review of the Council’s project management framework, and further action had been recommended for improvements in this area, in addition to the significant improvements to the risk management framework that had already been made. The MO noted that any exemptions to standing orders were listed in appendix 2.

Questions and Discussion

In reference to reports of misconduct, the Chairman asked whether these cases should be referred to as alleged misconduct, to which the MO replied that she would be happy to review and rephrase the wording. The Chairman then stated that 27 complaints had been received for Parish and Town Councils, and asked if this was due to a lack of training. The MO replied that this could be a cultural issue, but with most Parish and Town Councils only having one officer, it could also result from a lack of HR support. She added that it was difficult for some Councillors to separate criticism of processes from individuals, which often led to confrontation, but the LGA were in the process of reviewing the Members code of conduct to improve civility in public debate.

The Chairman referred to key issues raised on p14, and asked whether any of the issues would be missed due to the current circumstances of Covid-19. The MO replied that some of these issues, such as reviewing the Anti-Fraud, Corruption and Bribery Policy were already in progress and it was hoped that they would be completed soon.

RESOLVED

To note the report.