The committee received a report of the Group Head of Democracy and Governance including the draft model code of conduct proposed by the Local Government Association (LGA).

The Group Head of Democracy and Governance explained that the draft model code of conduct had been produced following a report by the Committee for Standards in Public Life.  The report had been considered by this committee in February 2020 and the council had responded to consultation on the code.  The draft model code of conduct had been attached for members’ consideration.  It had been suggested that the same code be used across the county to enable those that had member roles on the county council and district councils to have one consistent code to follow.

The Group Head of Democracy and Governance commented that the model code was not very different from the council’s current code.  One of the main differences was the inclusion in the model code of ‘bringing the council into disrepute’.

Members welcomed the new code and asked the Group Head of Democracy and Governance questions related to it. 

The Group Head of Democracy and Governance advised that the code would be reviewed annually by the LGA and if there were any changes in primary legislation that affected the code then the code would be updated to reflect the new legislation.  Any changes would initially be presented to Standards Committee for the members’ views.  With reference to training, this was carried out by the Group Head of Democracy and Governance for all new councillors as part of their induction; other members were also welcome to attend for a refresher.  Following questions about arbitration, the Group Head of Democracy and Governance advised that the council had agreed a set of protocols which were followed.  It was noted that the Independent Persons were not invited to Standards Committee as it was not part of their role.

RESOLVED

that Standards Committee recommends to Council the adoption of the LGA Model Code of Conduct.