Minutes

of the Meeting of the

Standards Sub-Committee

Tuesday, 26th September 2017

held at the Town Hall, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

Meeting Commenced: 1.00 pm Meeting Concluded: 2.30 pm

Councillors:

P John Ley-Morgan	P Richard Nightingale
P Dawn Payne

P: Present

A: Apologies for absence submitted

Also present (co-opted, non-voting): Nick Carter-Brown (Independent Lay Person)

Officers in attendance: Sara Saunders (Solicitor, Corporate Services Directorate), Julia Parkes (Corporate Services Directorate)

SSC 1

Election of Chairman for the Meeting (Agenda Item 1)

Resolved: that Councillor Ley-Morgan be elected Chairman for the meeting.

(Councillor Ley-Morgan in the Chair)

SSC 2

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (Standing Order 37) (Agenda Item 3)

None

SSC 3

Minutes of the Meeting held on 31 January 2017 (Agenda Item 4)

Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting be approved as a correct record.

SSC 4

Exclusion of Press and Public

Resolved: that the press, public and officers not required by the members or officers advising to remain during the exempt session be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that its consideration will involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Section 1001 of the Local Government Act 1972.

Minute no. SSC 4 Reason for the Exemption

Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972

SSC 5

Complaint against a North Somerset Councillor (01/2017) (Agenda Item 5)

The Sub-Committee considered a complaint received from a member of the public regarding a North Somerset Councillor stating that he had breached the North Somerset Council Code of Conduct applicable to councillors.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer outlined the complaint.

The Sub-Committee considered the complaint, together with the response from the councillor concerned and received the views of the Independent Lay Person. It was noted that the guidance for use of social media for councillors was not circulated until July and that this complaint was prior to this date. However it was also considered that the tone of the message, and subsequent emails, were abrupt, and not conducive to resolving the matter.

In discussing the key issues the Sub-Committee did not consider the Councillor’s actions had breached the Code of Conduct.

Resolved:

(1) that the Sub-Committee does not find that the Councillor’s conduct breached the Code of Conduct but recommended that an apology should be made to the complainant from the Councillor; and

(2) that the Deputy Monitoring Officer write to the complainant giving reasons for the decision.

SSC 6

Complaint against a North Somerset Councillor (02/2017) (Agenda Item 6)

The Sub-Committee considered a complaint received from a member of the public regarding a North Somerset Councillor stating that he had breached the North Somerset Council Code of Conduct applicable to councillors.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer outlined the complaint.

The Sub-Committee considered the complaint, together with the response from the Councillor concerned and received the views of the Independent Lay Person.

In discussing the key issues the Sub-Committee did not consider the Councillor’s actions had breached the Code of Conduct. The Sub-Committee particularly noted that no action was taken immediately following the alleged incident, either to North Somerset Council or an alternative body.

Resolved:

(1) that the Sub-Committee does not find that the Councillor’s conduct breached the Code of Conduct; and

(2) that the Deputy Monitoring Officer write to the complainant giving reasons for the decision.

SSC 7

Complaint against a North Somerset Councillor (03/2017) (Agenda Item 7)

The Sub-Committee considered a complaint received from a member of the public regarding a North Somerset Councillor stating that he had breached the North Somerset Council Code of Conduct applicable to councillors.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer outlined the complaint.

The Sub-Committee considered the complaint, together with the response from the Councillor concerned and received the views of the Independent Lay Person.

In discussing the key issues the Sub-Committee did not consider the Councillor’s actions had breached the Code of Conduct. It was noted that there had been a number of complaints against the complainant and that the Councillor had reported them to the appropriate officers in accordance with his remit as a North Somerset Councillor.

Resolved:

(1) that the Sub-Committee does not find that the Councillor’s conduct breached the Code of Conduct; and

(2) that the Deputy Monitoring Officer write to the complainant giving reasons for the decision.

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Chairman

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