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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Cabinet/Committee Room - 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk L39 2DF

Contact: Helen Peek 

Items
No. Item

19.

Apologies

Minutes:

There were no apologies received.

20.

Membership of the Committee

To be apprised of any changes to the membership of the Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.  This rule should only apply to the Standards Committee in exceptional circumstances and if the nominated substitute has been appropriately trained.

Minutes:

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, the Committee noted the termination of Councillor Howard, and the appointment of Councillor De Freitas for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the Political Groups.

21.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 112 KB

If a Member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Legal and Democratic Services Manager in advance of the meeting.   (For the assistance of members a checklist for the use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet).

Minutes:

Councillor Westley declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 7 because as a parish councillor, he had been a former colleague of one of the applicants, George Pratt, but was not a close friend.

22.

Urgent Business

Note: No other business is permitted unless, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified at the meeting, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items of business.

23.

Public Speaking

Residents of West Lancashire, on giving notice, may address the meeting to make representations on any item on the agenda except where the public and press are to be excluded during consideration of the item.  The deadline for submission is 5.00pm on Thursday 14 September 2023    A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

24.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 174 KB

To receive as a correct record the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on Tuesday 14 March 2023.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2023 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

25.

Appointment of Parish / Town Council Representatives on Standards Committee pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To Consider the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, regarding the Nominated Parish Councillors to be appointed to Standards Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Legal & Democratic Services submitted a report asking the Standards Committee to consider the suitability of two applications from Parish Councillors to be appointed to Standards Committee.

 

Members considered the concerns raised regarding the potential for accusations of conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest in any future business of the Committee as outlined in the report, which might preclude Parish Councillor George Pratt from undertaking the role of Parish Council Representative.

 

RESOLVED: That the application from Parish Councillor Andrew Grant be approved and the application from Parish Councillor George Pratt be rejected.

 

26.

Complaints Statistics pdf icon PDF 38 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services & Monitoring Officer.

Minutes:

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services presented the Complaints Statistics as contained on pages 15-18 of the Book of Reports, which provided Members with statistical information in relation to Standards Complaints for the period 14 March 2023 to 19 September 2023.

 

In total 4 complaints had been received, 3 of which related to parish councillors. The other was in relation to a person who was no longer a borough councillor. None required further action. The Head of Legal and Democratic Services thanked both Independent Persons for their invaluable input.

 

Councillors asked about the process for dealing with vexatious complaints and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services said the procedural rules covered the steps that could be taken.

 

RESOLVED: That the Standards Complaints Statistics attached at appendix 1, be noted.

27.

Standards Committee Annual Report 2022-2023 pdf icon PDF 80 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services & Monitoring Officer.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services presented the Standards Committee Annual Report as contained on pages 19-30 of the Book of Reports and explained that when the new governance arrangements were in place, reports would be back on the regular cycle.

 

Councillors asked whether offensive messages about the council made by members of the public could be removed from the council's social media accounts, and it was agreed that this would be raised with the Communications Team.

 

RESOLVED: That the Standards Committee Annual Report 2022/23, attached as an Appendix to the report, be noted, endorsed, and published on the Council's website.

 

28.

Work Program pdf icon PDF 93 KB

To note the work program and consider and items for inclusion.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the work programme be noted.