This report provided the Committee with an
update on standards activity. It
provided statistics setting out the level of activity within West
Suffolk together with any national and local developments.
The Monitoring Officer advised Members that
following the consultation which took place earlier in the year, on
4 December 2020 the Local Government Association (LGA) had issued a
final version of the Model Code of Conduct.
She was pleased to report that the LGA had
listened carefully to the consultation and she highlighted specific
elements that had been raised by West Suffolk Council in their
consultation response and which had now been included in the
document.
The Committee was informed that a meeting was
due to take place the following week between all Suffolk Monitoring
Officers in respect of the LGA’s Code.
The Cabinet Member in attendance asked if the
Monitoring Officer could seek fellow Suffolk authorities’
views on reducing the declaration limit in the LGA code for gifts
and hospitality from £50 to £25, as is presently stated
in the Suffolk Code.
A number of Members
made reference to the difficulty of preconceived bias and public
perception; particularly when an elected Member was considering an
item at Committee which they had already determined in their parish
level capacity.
The Monitoring Officer reminded the Committee
of the training offered to Councillors on this topic and also informed them that the Constitution Review
Group was due to consider this matter at their meeting later that
week.
Lastly, discussion took place on the volume of
recent complaints as set out in the report. Historically,
the majority of the complaints had been
made by Councillors against their fellow elected Members and the
same individuals/councils were disappointingly responsible for a
large number of the total.
The Monitoring Officer explained that she
repeatedly stressed to the parties concerned the importance of
working together for the benefit of the electorate.
The Cabinet Member asked if an additional
column could be added to the data table for future reports
in order to highlight those cases where
a Councillor resigns from office following a complaint.
Related discussion took place on the level of
online abuse that Councillors were often subjected to.
The Monitoring Officer explained that she was
exploring ways in which support could be offered to Members and how
this matter could be included within a Councillor induction
programme.
It was proposed by Councillor Margaret Marks,
seconded by Councillor Cliff Waterman and with the vote being
unanimous, it was
RESOLVED
That the content of the report be noted.