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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk L39 2DF. View directions

Contact: Kirsty Breakell 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received on behalf of Councillors D. Daniels and D. Evans, Parish Councillors J Stopford and Linda Webster and from Independent Person, Mr Steve Garvey.

2.

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:

There were no changes to the Membership of the Committee.

3.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 299 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:

There were no Declarations of Interest.

4.

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.

5.

Public Speaking pdf icon PDF 243 KB

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 10.00am on Friday 17 September 2021. A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There was no public speaking

6.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 260 KB

To receive as a correct record the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 16 March 2021

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2021, be approved as a correct record.

7.

COMPLAINTS STATISTICS pdf icon PDF 29 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Legal and Democratic Services Manager presented the Complaints Statistics as contained on pages 11 – 14 of the Book of Reports, which provided Members with statistical information in relation to Standards Complaints for the period 17 March 2021 to 21 September 2021. There were no complaints for this period.

 

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

 

8.

Code of Conduct Seminar for Officers, Borough and Parish Councillors

To receive an update from the Legal and Democratic Services Manager.

Minutes:

The Legal and Democratic Services Manager updated Members on the proposed Code of Conduct training to be held in November 2021.

 

RESOLVED: That the update be noted.

9.

Standards Committee - Annual Report 2019-2020 pdf icon PDF 125 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Legal and Democratic Services Manager presented the Standards Committee Annual Report as contained on pages 15 – 24 of the Book of Reports.

 

RESOLVED: That the Standards Committee Annual Report 2020/21, attached as an Appendix to the report, be noted, endorsed and published on the Council's website.

 

 

10.

Update on Whistleblowing Code pdf icon PDF 160 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Legal and Democratic Services Manager presented the draft Whistleblowing Policy as contained on pages 25 – 58 of the Book of Reports, which sought Members approval of the revised Policy and the same being subject to a public consultation, before final approval being sought from Council in December 2021.

 

Comments and Questions were raised as follows:

·         Policy being passed to the Unions and Corporate Consultancy Group

·         Compulsory training to be provided and to become part of the induction pack

·         Any previous whistleblowing

·         Complaints being assessed on their individual merits

 

RESOLVED:

·         That the draft Whistleblowing Policy be agreed

·         That the revised draft Whistleblowing Policy be subject to a public consultation.

·         That the Legal & Democratic Services Manager and Monitoring Officer, be given delegated authority to amend the draft Whistleblowing Policy having considered any comments received from Audit and Governance Committee and responses from the consultation exercise (as outlined at paragraph 6 of the report) prior to the revise Whistleblowing Policy being reviewed at full Council on the 15 December 2021.

                       

 

11.

Members Code of Conduct pdf icon PDF 141 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Legal and Democratic Services Manager presented the revised Members Code of Conduct as contained on pages 59 – 132 of the Book of Reports, which sought Members approval of the revised Code of Conduct and the same being subject to a public consultation, before final approval being sought from Council in December 2021.

 

Comments and questions were raised as follows:

·         Social Media Protocols and training

 

RESOLVED:

·         That the draft Members Code of Conduct be agreed

·         That the Legal & Democratic Services Manager and Monitoring Officer be given authority to amend the draft Code of Conduct and supporting Guidance, having considered any comments received as a result of the said consultation exercise (as outlined at paragraph 5.5 of the report) and prior to the revised Code of Conduct being reviewed at full Council on the 15 December 2021.

12.

WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 189 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Work Programme be noted.