Agenda and minutes

Cllr Ogg attended as a substitute member for Cllr England.  Cllr Gosling attended as a substitute member for Cllr Ali.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of this committeeheld on 8 July 2021, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded and be signed by the chairman.

The Director: Governance & Partnerships submitted a report updating the Standards Committee on the Local Government Association (LGA) Model Councillor Code of Conduct and subsequent guidance and consultation responses.

The LGA published the Model Code of Conduct in December 2020, and proposed preparing and publishing a number of guidance documents, and also a summary of the consultation responses. 

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that these guidance documents had now been published, and that initial consideration shows that the LGA Model Councillor Code of Conduct and associated guidance are largely aligned with current arrangements in North Lincolnshire.  The Monitoring Officer’s view was that wholesale changes to the Council’s Code of Conduct are not considered necessary. Despite this, there were some minor amendments and improvements that may be made to local arrangements, particularly around social media usage.

The Committee discussed the guidance, seeking advice from the Monitoring Officer as appropriate. The Monitoring Officer also confirmed that he had benchmarked with other councils and specialists through existing networks in order to gain the views of others. 

Resolved: (a) That the Committee notes the LGA Model Councillor Code of Conduct and the LGA’s supporting guidance; and (b) That a further report be submitted to the Committee following review of local arrangements in light of publication of the supporting guidance.

The Director: Governance & Partnerships submitted a report updating the Standards Committee on progress made on all outstanding complaints and any relevant issues related to the Complaints Schedule.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

There were no other items which the Chairman decided were urgent.

There were no declarations of interests made at the meeting.