Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business on the agenda, and/or indicate that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

The City Barrister and Head of Standards submits the procedure to be followed during hearings of an investigator’s report regarding complaints against Councillors. The Sub-Committee is asked to note the procedure.

AGENDA

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO NOTE

Under the law, the Sub-Committee is entitled to consider certain items in private.  Members of the public will be asked to leave the meeting when such items are discussed.

The Sub-Committee is recommended to consider the following reports in private on the grounds that they contain ‘exempt’ information as defined by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, and consequently that the Sub-Committee makes the following resolution:-

“that the press and public be excluded during consideration of the following report in accordance with the provisions of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, because it involves the likely disclosure of 'exempt' information, as defined in the Paragraphs detailed below of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act and, taking all the circumstances into account, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the information as exempt outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information”

Paragraph 1

Information relating to any individual

Paragraph 7c

The deliberations of a standards committee or of a sub-committee of a standards committee established under the provisions of Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2000 in reaching any finding on a matter referred under the provisions of section 60(2) or (3), 64(2), 70(4) or (5)

The City Barrister and Head of Standards submits a report

Having decided to conduct a hearing in public session, the Sub-Committee found that, in his dealings with officers that led to him being given a Parking Exemption Permit and to the cancellation of Penalty Charge Notices and the cancellation of bailiff action, Councillor Wann was acting in his capacity as a Councillor, so the Code of Conduct applied to him in those instances.

The Sub-Committee further found that:-

·           Councillor Wann was in breach of paragraph 3(2)(d) of the Code of Conduct in that he acted in a way which compromised, or was likely to compromise, the impartiality of those who work for, or on behalf of, the Council.  He knew, or ought to have known, that the effect of his contacting senior officers would have the result of a failure to apply the normal rules of parking permissions and enforcement in the Council;

·           Councillor Wann was in breach of paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct, in that he had conducted himself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing his office or authority in to disrepute.  A reasonable member of the public would regard his actions of by-passing normal Council enforcement and permit eligibility rules as undermining public confidence in the authority’s ability to fairly enforce those rules for other people; and

·           Councillor Wann was in breach of paragraph 6(a) of the Code of Conduct, in that he used his position as a Member to improperly confer or secure for himself an advantage.  In his official capacity he improperly obtained a parking exemption permit (PEP) outside of the normal rules of eligibility and he obtained the discharge of enforcement action in respect of three Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).  In doing so he put his own convenience before the wider public interest in fair parking enforcement.

The Sub-Committee considered that, had suspension been available as a sanction, the Sub-Committee would have given active consideration to that, but having regard to the range of sanctions available and that Councillor Wann’s actions were assisted by some senior officers of the Council, the Sub-Committee decided to censure the Councillor.

Note:

The Member has 28 days from receipt of the full written decision of the Sub-Committee in which to appeal against that decision.

The meeting closed at 5.29 pm