Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Scaitcliffe House, Ormerod Street, Accrington. View directions
Contact: Rachael Calvert Democratic Services (01254) 380136
No. | Item |
---|---|
Apologies for absence, Declarations of Interest and Dispensations Minutes: Apologies for Absence were given by Councillor Marleen Haworth.
Councillors Clare Yates, Stephen Button and Ethan Rawcliffe declared an interest in Agenda Item 3 – Dispensations, on the grounds that they had submitted an application for the granting of certain dispensations to be considered at this meeting.
There were no declarations of interest.
|
|
Minutes of Last Meeting To submit the Minutes of the following meetings:
- 20th October 2022 - 15th August 2024 - 19th September 2024
for approval as a correct record.
Recommended – That the Minutes be received and approved as a correct record. Additional documents: Minutes: The Minutes from the Hearing Sub Committee on the 20th of October 2022, Standards Committee 15th of August 2024 and Hearing Sub Committee 19th of September 2024 were submitted for approval as a correct record.
Resolved - That the Minutes be received and approved as a correct record |
|
Grant of Dispensations To consider the granting of dispensations to a number of Hyndburn Councillors and Altham Parish Councillors, to speak and vote on certain issues.
Recommended – That Standards Committee approve the requests submitted by Hyndburn Borough Council members to grant dispensations to speak and vote on the issues set out in Section 3.2 of the report for the period indicated in Paragraph 3.8; and
That Standards Committee approve the requests from Altham Parish Council members to grant dispensations to speak and vote on the issues set out in Section 3.5 of the report for the period indicated in Paragraph 3.8. Additional documents: Minutes: In June 2012, Hyndburn Borough Council and Altham Parish Council each adopted a new Code of Conduct following the introduction of the new standards regime under the Localism Act 2011. Unlike the previous codes, the new Codes do not expressly enable Councillors to speak and vote on a number of specific issues where a large number would have an interest, e.g. setting the Council Tax. Or in the case of Altham Parish Council, the setting of the precept. Therefore, Standards Committee will need to consider granting dispensations on those issues where legislation does not specifically allow Hyndburn and Altham Parish Councillors to speak and vote.
Following the Elections in May 2024, a number of councillors were newly elected: Hyndburn Councillors Vanessa Alexander, Edward Blake, Stewart Eaves, Shabir Mohammed Fazal, Andy Gilbert, Clare McKenna, Clare Pritchard, Ethan Rawcliffe, Tina Walker and Clare Yates were elected and have submitted individual requests for dispensations and copies of the request forms are attached at Appendix 1.
The requests relate to dispensations to speak and vote on the following matters:- · An allowance, payment or indemnity given to Members; and · Ceremonial honours given to Members; and · Setting Council Tax or a precept under the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 as amended from time to time or any superseding legislation · Setting a local Council Tax reduction scheme for the purposes of the Local Government Finance Act 2012 as amended from time to time or any superseding legislation · Setting a local scheme for the payment of business rates, including eligibility for rebates and reductions, for the purposes of the Local Government Finance Act 2012 as amended from time to time and any superseding legislation
Renewal reminder emails have also been sent to existing Members who were returned at the Elections held in 2024 and had existing dispensations which were due to expire in 2024, comprising of Councillors Judith Addison, Noordad Aziz, Stephen Button, Paul Cox, Munsif Dad and Kathleen Pratt. All request forms have been returned and are also included at Appendix 1 for consideration by the Committee.
Dispensations, in the above terms, have previously been granted to the remaining 19 Hyndburn Borough Councillors and are not due to expire until either 2026 or the end of their respective terms of office.
Similarly, legislation is silent on the issue of Parish Councillors being able to speak and vote on the setting of a parish precept even though most, if not all of them, could have an interest in the decision as local residents. Councillor Helen Hummerston and Miles Parkinson have been invited to apply for a dispensation to speak and vote in respect of the setting of a precept under the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 (as amended from time to time) or any superseding legislation. The forms have been returned and are included at Appendix 2, for consideration by the Committee.
The Government takes the view that a dispensation is unnecessary in certain circumstances and that councillors do not have a disclosable pecuniary interest in ... view the full minutes text for item 189. |
|
Hearing Verbal report from the Monitoring Officer. Minutes: Monitoring Officer Jane Ellis presented an update to the Committee on the procedures and outcome of the previous Hearing Sub Committee on the 19th of September.
Miss Ellis reflected on the previous hearing and found that the procedural changes made worked well and asked for any feedback from Councillors.
Councillor’s feedback that they were happy with how the hearing was operated and noted that it felt like a fair proceeding.
|