Agenda item

The Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) will deliver a brief training session on the complaints process.

The Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) suggested that the proposed training be deferred.

Following the resignation of Mrs Patricia Higginbottom, in January 2020, there was a need to appoint additional independent persons to serve in relation to standards matters.   The role of an independent person was threefold:

·       To advise individual councillors who were the subject of a complaint;

·       To advise a Standards Hearing Sub Committee in a non-voting capacity;

·       To advise a Standards Assessment Panel in a non-voting capacity.

An Assessment Panel would be convened in those instances where the Monitoring Officer determined that the matter required peer elected Member input to determine the appropriate course of action, particularly in instances where the situation was politically sensitive.  The Assessment Panel could:-

·       Agree no further action;

·       Recommend that matter be dealt with informally by the Monitoring Officer;

·       Approve a formal investigation with a report to be submitted to a Standards Hearing Sub Committee.

The Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) had delegated authority to appoint new independent persons and three such individuals had recently been identified as follows:-

·       Laurence Loft – a former clerk to the magistrate’s court and previously the independent (i.e. non-councillor) chair of Standards Committee under the former standards regime.  The new standards regime implemented pursuant to the Localism Act 2011 had required serving non-councillor members of the Standards Committee to have a minimum break of 5 years before they could be appointed as “independent persons” under the new standards regime.

·       Frank Whitehead – previously a non-councillor member of the Standards Committee and a serving member of the Independent Remuneration Panel.  Mr Whitehead’s experience included being a chief officer at Chorley Borough Council, Governor at St Christopher’s CE High School and St John’s CE Primary School.

·       Rahila Hussain – a careers and education adviser for Lancashire County Council who currently served on the Independent Remuneration Panel.

Members were informed that there were two complaints currently progressing to the Assessment Panel.  Referral of a complaint to the Assessment Panel was not, of itself, an indication that the matter was serious in nature.

Members’ availability for the Assessment Panel would be sought within the next few weeks to consider both cases.  The Panel would need to include one independent person and, accordingly, a training session would be held on the criteria at the start of that meeting.

The Chair asked if, having previously investigated a complaint by virtue of his role within the Labour Party, he would then be able to sit on an Assessment Panel or Standards Hearing Sub Committee.  The Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) indicated that it would be best not to serve on the Panel or Sub Committee in those circumstances.

The Chair enquired if the Panel needed to include Members from both political parties.  The Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) responded that this was not a requirement, but that it was advisable.  Councillors serving on the Panel should consider each case from the perspective of a peer Member, not on a political party basis.  The use of cross party membership was helpful in demonstrating transparency and an even-handed approach.

Resolved                           -    To note the deferral of the training session and the update on membership issues.