Agenda item

“That the Authority be recommended to:

 

1.     Note the benchmarking report (Annex A) regarding the 15 Best Practice Recommendations in CSPL’s Local Government Ethical Standards Report;

 

2.     Approve that:

 

a.     the Code of Conduct is reviewed on an annual basis commencing 2021/22; and where possible taking into account the views of the public, community organisations, and neighbouring and appointing authorities.

 

b.     in any review of the Code of Conduct:

 

i.          the outcomes of the LGA’s consultation on its draft Code of Conduct be taken into account;

 

ii.         the prohibition on ‘harassment’ be added to the prohibition of bullying;

 

iii.         definitions and examples of both bullying and of harassment be included; and

 

iv.        the requirement on Members to comply with any formal standards investigation be included.

 

c.      the ‘Procedure for the handling of allegations under the Code of Conduct against Members of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority’ be amended to include a non-exhaustive list of public interest factors which will be taken into account at the filtering stage of a complaint.”

The report considered by the Overview and Audit Committee is attached at Item 7(a)

 

Executive Committee – 18 November 2020

Minutes:

The Director of Legal and Governance advised Members that the genesis for this report was the letter to the Chief Executives of all local authorities published in July 2020 from the Committee on Standards in Public Life about its report on Local Government Ethical Standards which it published in January 2019. The report made 26 recommendations mostly aimed at government requesting changes to legislation; and one aimed at the Local Government Association (LGA) to create a new model draft Code of Conduct after consultation with councils. The LGA had stated that it was due to report on its final model Code of Conduct later this calendar year.

 

The Director of Legal and Governance advised Members that the Committee on Standards in Public Life report also included 15 Best Practice recommendations which, as its July letter stated, it would expect all Local Authorities to implement. In its letter, the Committee on Standards in Public Life stated that it would be writing to Local Authorities again in the Autumn to ascertain progress against its 15 Best Practice recommendations.

 

An audit was undertaken of the current arrangements, benchmarked against the 13 recommendations applicable to combined fire and rescue authorities. There was nothing in the findings which gave cause for concern, however, there were some aspects of the recommendations which he invited the Overview and Audit Committee to recommend to the Authority to agree.

 

The first substantive Recommendation to the Authority was that it should agree to the Code of Conduct being reviewed on an annual basis in line with the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s recommendations, but that this should wait until 2021/22 so as not to pre-empt the content on the new model LGA Code of Conduct.

Therefore, the outcome of the LGA’s consultation on its draft Code of Conduct should be considered when this Authority’s review was undertaken.

The Director of Legal and Governance advised Members that when the Code of Conduct was reviewed, the prohibition on ‘harassment’ be added to the prohibition of bullying; and that definitions and examples of both bullying and of harassment be included.

 

A Member asked that with any standards investigation the first filter would be, was the member acting in their capacity as a member of the Fire Authority, and some case examples should be added, or their constituent authority, or where they are acting as a member of the public, particularly when it comes to social media.

 

RESOLVED –

 

1.     That the benchmarking report (Annex A) regarding the 15 Best Practice Recommendations in CSPL’s Local Government Ethical Standards Report be noted;

2.     a) that the Code of Conduct is reviewed on an annual basis commencing 2021/22; and where possible taking into account the views of the public, community organisations, and neighbouring and appointing authorities;

b) that in any review of the Code of Conduct:

i. the outcomes of the LGA’s consultation on its draft Code of Conduct be taken into account;

ii. the prohibition on ‘harassment’ be added to the prohibition of bullying;

iii. definitions and examples of both bullying and of harassment be included; and

iv. the requirements on Members to comply with any formal standards investigation be included.

 

It being moved and seconded that the following text be added to recommendation 2c: “and a non-exhaustive list of examples when a Member may be deemed to be acting as a Member of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority.”

 

It was RESOLVED -

 

c) that the ‘Procedure for handling of allegations under the Code of Conduct against Members of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority’ be amended to include a non-exhaustive list of public interest factors which will be taken into account at the filtering stage of a complaint; and a non-exhaustive list of examples when a Member may be deemed to be acting as a Member of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority.

 

                           (Councillor Minns joined the meeting)

Supporting documents: