1. To oversee and promote the Council’s
arrangements to ensure and maintain probity and the highest standards of governance
in the conduct of business by members (including co-opted members) and
officers.
2. To oversee and advise Full Council and the
City Mayor on matters relating to the Council’s corporate governance and
ethical framework.
3. To receive the Council’s annual Corporate
Governance Review Statement.
4. To oversee, promote, monitor observance and
recommend necessary change to Members’ and officers’ Codes of Conduct and
Political Conventions.
5. To oversee and ensure the provision of
appropriate training to Members and officers to enable them to adhere at all
times to the provisions of the Council’s Political Conventions and governance
arrangements.
6. To appoint a subcommittee ( the Standards
Advisory Board or where appropriate, a Hearing Panel) to scrutinise, hear and
determine appropriate allegations (as set out in the Authority’s “Arrangements
for dealing with Standards Complaints”) that a Member of the Council has
failed, or may have failed, to comply with the Council’s Code of Conduct.
7. Save in exceptional circumstances, to accept
the recommendations of the subcommittee who have determined that an Elected or
Co-opted Member of the Council has failed to comply with the City Council’s
Code of Conduct for Members, including its recommendations as to the
appropriate remedy or sanction for such breach.
8. To consider under Sections 1 and 2 of the
Local Government and Housing Act 1989:-
(a) any application received from any officer of
the Council for exemption from political restriction in respect of the post
held by that officer and may direct the Council that the post shall not be
considered to be a politically restricted post and that the post be removed
from the list maintained by the Council under Section 2(2) of that Act; and,
(b) upon the application of any person or
otherwise, consider whether a post should be included in the list maintained by
the Council under Section 2(2) of the 1989 Act, and may direct the Council to
include a post in that list.
9. Temporary appointments of Independent
Members may be made in accordance with the law and upon appropriate advice from
the Monitoring Officer.
10. The Standards Committee:
·
Composition
- The Standards Committee shall comprise nine Members, made up of four Elected Councillors
and five Independent Members. The Independent Members shall be co-opted
non-voting members of the Standards Committee, and it shall be chaired by an
Elected Councillor. The Councillor make-up of the Committee will, wherever
possible, reflect the political balance of the Council.
·
Quorum
– The quorum for a meeting of the Standards Committee shall be three Councillor
Members.
·
Frequency
of Meetings –The Standards Committee will meet as and when required.
11. The subcommittee (Standards Advisory Board
and Hearing Panel):
·
Composition
- The subcommittee shall comprise nine Members, made up of four Elected
Councillors and five Independent Members. The Independent Members shall be
co-opted voting members of the Board, and it shall be chaired by an Independent
Member.
·
Quorum –
The quorum for a meeting of the subcommittee shall be three, with a majority or
equal number of Independent Members (with the Independent Chair having the
casting vote).
·
Frequency
of Meetings –The relevant subcommittee will meet as and when required.
12. The role of the Independent Person (IP) –
the Independent Person is not a member of either the Standards Committee or its
subcommittee. He/she remains completely neutral to the political and scrutiny
process, and works closely with the Monitoring Officer on individual complaints
at the initial decision and review phases. He/she does remain a standing
invitee to meetings of the relevant subcommittee and will attend subcommittee
meetings to offer advice on the progression of individual complaints, which may
or may not be adopted by the subcommittee.
Matters
Reserved to the Committee:
1.
All
matters of significance in respect of policy, governance or training are
reserved to the Committee.
2.
All
matters within the Terms of Reference of the Standards Committee which are not
reserved to Full Council or this Committee, either by legislation, regulation
or local determination, are delegated to the City Barrister and Head of
Standards.