Present at the meeting:
- Councillor Mrs S Dewhurst
- Councillor J Ellis
- Councillor B J Fagan
- Councillor Mrs J Prescott
- Councillor F B Walker
Independent Members
- Mr P G Pennington(Chairman)
- Mrs P Wheal
Parish Council Members
- Councillor M J Crosby (Shevington)
- Councillor M A Thomson (Haigh)
Officers in attendance
- M Williamson – Committee Services Officer
Officers presenting reports
- K P Lawson – Service Director, Borough Solicitor
- M Kenyon – Head of Risk Management
1 Apologies for absence: Councillors T W Halliwell and P Thompson and Mr R Kidd and Mr D Lea.
2 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 24 March 2009 were approved as a correct record.
3 Ethical Framework Seminar – feedback and further actions: The Committee considered a report of the Service Director – Borough Solicitor, which advised Members of the views of Members and officers who attended a series of seminars on an ethical framework for a local authority.
The seminars were facilitated by Professor A Lawton. The areas covered were general in nature to enable Members to identify which areas they would benefit from further discussion and training. The Member/Officer protocol was an area that Members considered to be an area that would favour further work. This was followed by further training on the Members’ Code of Conduct.
Steps to consider how to measure the health of the ethical framework in Wigan were also favoured as was work in extending the ethical framework to partners of the Council and community.
Members of the Committee agreed that training on the Member/Officer protocol, the Members’ Code of Conduct and a mediation process were priority training and development areas for Elected Members.
Resolved: The Committee requests the Service Director – Borough Solicitor to establish training seminars for Members on the Member/Officer protocol the Members’ Code of Conduct and the establishment of a mediation process.
4 Review of Member/Officer protocol: The Committee considered a report of the Service Director – Borough Solicitor, which sought Members’ views on a proposed process for reviewing the Member/Officer protocol.
The Committee was advised that the protocol on Member/Officer relations had been adopted by the Council for approximately six years. The current protocol set out the roles of officers and Members and how those two roles interacted. However, it had been several years since it was introduced and a review of the protocol was now appropriate.
It was proposed that an initial questionnaire to all Members and senior officers be issued which would seek their views on how the protocol worked and what areas could be improved. Following on from this, it was proposed that seminars or discussions would be arranged to progress the review of the protocol.
Resolved: The Committee endorses the proposal to review the Member/Officer protocol.
5 Guidance for Members of the use of Council premises: The Committee considered a report of the Service Director – Borough Solicitor, which informed Members of the proposal to introduce guidance to Members on the use of local authority premises.
The Committee was advised that at a recent meeting of the Members Services Group, a possible protocol on the use of Council premises had been considered. The protocol had been put forward as a result of concern expressed by some Members that premises owned by the Council were being used for party political purposes beyond the accepted uses by individual Members and political groups.
It was also proposed that the protocol could include a comprehensive guide to Members on the use of Council resources as opposed to merely use of premises.
The Committee considered the proposed protocol but felt that to implement and monitor would require too much time of Members and officers. The Committee also felt that the current guidelines on what Council premises could be used for as set out in the proposed guidance were clear and adequate
Resolved: The Committee declines to proceed with a Members’ protocol on the use of Council resources.
6 Access to Members’ Register of Interests: The Committee considered a report of the Service Director – Borough Solicitor, which sought Member’s views on whether the register of Members’ interests should be placed on the Council’s website.
The Committee was advised that the register was currently maintained by the Service Director – Borough Solicitor and was available for inspection by members of the public at Wigan Town Hall. The Audit Commission, in their Use of Resources Review, had suggested that those authorities who placed their register of interests on their websites demonstrated good practice in openness and transparency.
The Committee expressed some concern about the potential lack of privacy that would ensue if the register was placed on the website, in particular Independent Members did not feel it was appropriate for their personal addresses to be made available to members of the public as they did not hold a political post. It was suggested that in some circumstances the consent of the individual could be sought prior to any information being published on the website.
Having considered the proposal, the Committee felt that there was no immediate requirement to publish the register on the Council’s website. It was felt that the current arrangement to inspect the register at Wigan Town Hall was adequate.
Resolved: The Committee agrees to review the issue in six months time.
7 Minutes of the Standards Assessment Sub Committee: The Committee considered the minutes of the meetings of the Assessment Sub Committee held on 14 May 2009.
The Committee was advised that the Assessment Sub Committee had considered six cases. Of the six cases considered:-
- four had been considered by the Assessment Sub Committee, who, having taken account of the available information, did not believe that a potential breach of the Code of Conduct had occurred;
- one had been deferred as it had been part heard by a different Committee and it was the Sub Committees view that the same members should continue to consider the case; and
- one had been referred to the Standards Board for England for consideration as it was in connection with a previous complaint which had also been referred.
Members were recommended to reserve comment should they be required to consider any cases as part of an investigation or a Review Sub Committee.
Resolved: The Committee notes the report.
8 Adjudication Panel for England/ethical standards officers’ decisions: There were none.
9 Parish issues: There were none.
10 Annual Standards Board Conference, 12-13 October 2009, Birmingham: The Committee considered a report of the Service Director – Borough Solicitor, which sought nominations for Members to attend the Standards Board Conference on 12-13 October 2009 in Birmingham.
The Committee was advised that four places were available in total. Two places had been allocated to the Chairman of the Standards Committee and the Service Director – Borough Solicitor. The Committee was asked to consider which other Members should be invited to attend the conference.
Resolved: The Committee agrees to nominate Councillors J Ellis and T W Halliwell to attend the Conference, subject to their availability.
11 Annual Governance Statement and supporting documents: The Head of Risk Management, M Kenyon, presented a draft of the Councils Annual Governance Statement for review and comments by the Committee. The Statement was a statutory document to accompany the Statement of Accounts and provide an assurance that the Council’s governance arrangements were sufficiently robust to ensure the most effective use of the public monies that it managed.
The statement was supported by two separate reports: The Annual Internal Audit report provided a report on a review of the systems of Internal Audit as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations.
Members were provided with details of Internal Audit work and reviews performed in 2008/09, which included information on the coverage, performance, assurance opinions and effectiveness of the Internal Audit Service and the Council’s internal control environment.
The Annual Governance Statement was also supported by a report, which evaluated the adequacy of application of the Council’s Local Code of Corporate Governance, which was set up in line with best practice guidance from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE).
Members were advised that there were strong levels of compliance with the code and there were considerable ongoing efforts to maintain and improve on existing governance arrangements.
Members were advised that the Annual Governance Statement was still in a draft format and any comments if appropriate, would be included in the final version. The report would also be considered by the Audit, Governance and Improvement Review Committee and the Cabinet at the meetings to be held on 11 June and 18 June 2009 respectively.
Resolved: The Committee notes the Annual Governance Statement.
