Shrewsbury & Atcham
Borough Council

PRESENT: Councillors Armstrong, Mrs Freestone and Parkhurst

Mr LJ Bradburn and Mrs B Carlyle

Officers in attendance: Assistant Council Manager (Monitoring Officer) and Assistant Solicitor (Deputy Monitoring Officer),

MINUTES: 8^th April 2008 – confirmed

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Councillor Mrs Holyoak, Mrs J Buckley, Mr P Davies, Mrs E Francis and Mr J Till

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND DISPENSATIONS GRANTED BY THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE: The following members declared their personal interest or personal and prejudicial interest in the item shown below:

That Mrs J Buckley be appointed Chairman of this Committee for the period to the dissolution of the Council in March 2009.

That Mr L.J. Bradburn be appointed as Vice Chairman of this Committee for the period to the dissolution of the Council in March 2009.

The Chairman referred to recent death of Mr Frank Leath OBE JP who had been a member of this Committee for many years. The Committee joined the Chairman in expressing their appreciation of Mr Leath’s lengthy and valuable contribution to the Committee.

Consideration was given to a report by the Monitoring Officer in relation to the new regime of determination of local complaints against members who may have breached the Code of Conduct.

That it be recommended to Council that:

1. The establishment of assessment, review and hearings sub-committees of the Standards Committee be approved and that authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the chairman or in his absence the vice chairman to determine the membership of each sub-committee.
2. That the proposed amendments to the Constitution, Standards Committee General Procedure Rules and Scheme of Delegation to Officers as a consequence of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008 attached to the report of the Monitoring Officer at Annex B be approved.

(c) The Monitoring Officer be requested to carry out any other measures or take action in respect of procedures required to be fulfilled as a result of the introduction of the local assessment of complaints against members who may have breached the Code of Conduct.

Consideration was given to the full written decision of the Standards Sub-Committee which had been held on 12^th May 2008 in relation to a breach of the Code of Conduct by Councillor Bebb of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.

RESOLVED:

1. That the full written decision be noted
2. That training be made available to all members of the Development Control and Environmental Protection Committee and the Licensing Committee in relation to personal and personal and prejudicial interests.

Consideration was given to a decision of the Standards Board for England to not investigate an allegation that Councillor Mrs Sandford of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council had failed to comply with the relevant Code of Conduct.

RESOLVED:

That the decision of the Standards Board for England to not investigate an allegation which had been made against Councillor Mrs Sandford of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council be noted.

Consideration was given to the Work Programme and whether or not any amendments might be required.

That the Work Programme be approved.

RESOLVED:

That consideration of the final four local assessment training exercises be deferred to the next meeting of this Committee.

6.30 p.m. – 7.05 p.m.