STANDARDS COMMITTEE – 24TH April 2002

1.

PROGRESS REPORT - ADOPTION OF CODES OF CONDUCT BY CHILTERN DISTRICT COUNCIL AND THE TOWN AND PARISH COUNCILS ESTABLISHED IN CHILTERN

To advise the Committee of the progress made by the Chiltern District Council and the Town and Parish Councils established in Chiltern in adopting local Codes of Conduct

1.2

Section 49 of the Local Government Act 2000 (“the Act of 2000”) gave the Secretary of State the power to specify the principles which are to govern the conduct of elected and co-opted member of relevant authorities in England and Wales, including District and Town and Parish Councils.  The Secretary of State duly made the Relevant Authorities (General Principles) Order 2001, which came into force on 6 April 2001 and a copy is attached as Appendix 1.1.  The Order set out the following  general principles of conduct:-

·

Selflessness

·

Objectivity

·

Accountability

·

Openness

·

Personal Judgement

·

Respect for Others

·

Duty to uphold the Law

·

Stewardship

·

Leadership.

1.3

These ten principles were intended to underpin the power given to the Secretary of State by Section 50 of the Act of 2000 to issue Model Codes of Conduct to the relevant authorities. In the case of Chiltern District Council and the Town/Parish Councils, these took the form of the Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) (England) Order 2001 and the Parish Councils (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2001. Both were made on 5 November 2001 and came into force on 27 November 2001 and copies are attached as Appendices 1.2 and 1.3. Although the Secretary of State had the power to specify optional as well as mandatory provisions, it should be noted that all the provisions of the Model Codes are in fact mandatory.

1.4

Section 51 of the Act of 2000 placed the relevant authorities under a duty to adopt Codes of Conduct which incorporated all the mandatory provisions of the relevant Model Code within six months of the date that the Model Code was made, i.e. by 5 May 2002. If an authority failed to adopt a Code by that date, it remained under a duty to comply ”as soon as is reasonably practicable” and the mandatory provisions of the Model Code were automatically applied to members and co-opted members in the meantime.

1.5

Sections 51(5) and (6) of the Act of 2000 also provides that as soon as reasonably practicable following adoption or revision of a Code of Conduct  an authority must  :-

(1)

make a copy available for inspection by members of the public at the offices of the authority at all reasonable hours;

(2)

send a copy to the Standards Board for England; and

(3)

publish a notice on one or more newspapers  circulating in its area, which states that it has  adopted or revised  a Code  and specifies the  times during which and the office at which the Code can be inspected by members of the public

1.6

Two other practical consequences arise as a result of the adoption of a Code of Conduct. Firstly, within 28 days of the date of adoption of a Code, all elected and co-opted members of an authority must register certain financial and other information in the authority’s Register of Members Interests by providing the relevant information to the Monitoring Officer (who is responsible for establishing and maintaining the Registers). Secondly, within two months of the date of adoption, all elected and co-opted members of an authority have to give a written undertaking to the proper officer to observe the Code of Conduct. New members will give that undertaking as part of the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.  Section 52(1) of the Act of 2000 goes on to provide that if a member or co-opted member fails to provide a written undertaking within two months of the date on which a code of conduct is adopted, s/he will cease to be a member of the authority after that date.

1.7

Although Section 54(2) of the Act of 2000 provides that one of the specific statutory functions of the Standards Committee is advise authorities on the adoption or revision of Codes of Conduct, this role has been diminished by the fact that the published  Model Codes are comprehensive as well as compulsory, thus removing most of the scope for local variations upon which the Committee might be expected to advise. In addition, in order to promote consistent enforcement, the Standards Board for England has been advising all the relevant authorities to only adopt the compulsory provisions of the applicable Model Code, at least initially.  Instead, they recommend that any desired local variations are introduced by protocol, thereby falling outside the jurisdiction of the Standards Board, but within the jurisdiction of the Standards Committee. Copies of the Guidance issued by the Standards Board to District and Town/Parish Councils respectively is attached as Appendices 1.4 and 1.5

1.8

As a result, a number of the Town and Parish Councils established in Chiltern have been moving forward with the adoption of Codes of Conduct, the first being Amersham Town Council on 21 January 2002.  In addition, now that the Standards Committee has been established, one of its first tasks will be to advise Chiltern District Council on the adoption of a Code of Conduct – the next report refers. The Table below sets out the current position and a further update will be given at the meeting.

RECOMMENDATION

That the report be noted

2.

ADOPTION OF CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE ELECTED AND CO-OPTED MEMBERS OF CHILTERN DISTRICT COUNCIL

2.1

To consider the terms of a Code of Conduct for Chiltern District Council and to make recommendations to full Council concerning the adoption thereof .

2.1

Members are referred to the previous report and appendices for information about the requirement imposed on the Council to adopt a Code of Conduct incorporating the mandatory provisions of the Model Code of Conduct (see Appendix 1.2).  As the Model Code is comprehensive and all its terms are mandatory, then taking into consideration the advice of the Standards Board for England, it is recommended that the Council  adopts a Code of Conduct which incorporates only  the  provisions of the Model Code. A draft is attached for Members consideration as Appendix 2.1. As the adoption of a Code of Conduct is a function of full Council that cannot be delegated to a Committee, it is the responsibility of the Standards Committee to recommend  the terms for adoption to full Council.

2.2

On the assumption that full Council will adopt a Code of Conduct on 8 May 2002, it is proposed that that the Councils adoption advertisement is combined with those of the Town and Parish Councils which have adopted a Code by that date. This will be administratively less complex and probably significantly cheaper than the placing of up to seventeen separate advertisements.

2.3

In terms of the  obligation  imposed on the Members and co-opted Members of Chiltern District Council  to enter certain financial and other interests in the Register of Members Interests within 28 days of the date of adoption of a Code of Conduct,  a draft of an appropriate registration form is attached for approval as Appendix 2.2 

2.4

So far as the  obligation imposed on Members and co-opted Members to  undertake to abide by the Code of Conduct is concerned, the form of the undertaking has been prescribed by the Secretary of State in the form of the Local Elections (Declaration of Acceptance of Office) Order 2001  which came into force on 27 November 2002.  A copy is attached as Appendix 2.3 It should be emphasised that failure on the part of any Member or co-opted Member to give an undertaking to observe the Code of Conduct before 8 July 2002 will result in that Member or co-opted Member automatically ceasing to hold office.

RECOMMENDATION

Background Papers: None

3.1

To consider the training requirements of District, Town and Parish Councillors in relation to the new Codes of Conduct.

3.2

One of the responsibilities that falls to the Standards Committee is to assist Councillors and co-opted members to observe their adopted Codes of Conduct and to advise on, or arrange suitable training on matters relating to the Codes. As a first step it is recommended that the Committee itself considers whether there is a need for induction training on the ethical requirements of the Codes, with particular emphasis on registration and declaration of interests and the treatment of gifts and hospitality.

3.3

This task has been made considerably more simple by the comprehensive and mandatory nature of the published Model Codes, so in reality, at this stage the Committee only has to consider training, guidance and advice in relation to two nearly identical Codes of Conduct, one for the District Council and the other for the Towns and Parishes. However, it should be noted that the picture may become more complex over time if local protocols are adopted, because the giving of advise and guidance on these as well as dealing with compliance failures, will lie entirely with the Standards Committee.

3.4

If Members are so minded, the Head of Legal Services will provide suitable induction training on the Model Codes. Members are asked to bring their diaries to the meeting so that a suitable date can be fixed.  

RECOMMENDATION

That Members consider their training needs in relation to the new Codes of Conduct