TERMS OF REFERENCE
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.