Meeting documents

Present:

Mrs Val Bracken (Chair)
Councillors Baines, Bell, Kitchen and S Quinn, Mrs Barnes, Mr Berry, and Reverend Thomas.

Also in attendance:

Sandra Stewart (Borough Solicitor/Monitoring Officer) and Pam Williams (Borough Treasurer) and Paul Turner (Deputy Borough Solicitor).

Apologies for Absence:

Steven Pleasant, Chief Executive

52. Declarations Of Interest

There were no declarations of interest submitted by members of the Standards Committee.

53. Minutes

The Minutes of the proceedings of the Standards Committee held on 15 March 2011, having been circulated, were taken as read and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

54. Membership Of Standards Committee 2011/12 And Terms Of Reference

The Borough Solicitor submitted a report which provided details of the Membership of the Standards Committee and its Terms of Reference. She advised that information was awaited from Mossley Town Council regarding their representatives. This was due to the fact that the previous representatives, Valerie Carter and Melanie Anderson, had not been successful in the recent elections held on 5 May 2011 and as a consequence they were no longer members of the Standards Committee.

On behalf of the Committee the Chair formally recorded her thanks for the support and contribution to the work of the Committee that Valerie and Melanie had made during their terms of office and wished them well for the future. She made particular reference to their attendance at annual conference, participation in a variety of training days and their enthusiasm would be missed by their colleagues. The Chair requested that letters of thanks be sent in these terms.

Resolved

1. That the content of the report be noted.
2. That letters be sent to Valerie Carter and Melanie Anderson thanking them for their contribution to the work of the Standards Committee.

55. Probity In Planning

Further to Minute 44 – The Future of the Standards Board Regime – the Deputy Borough Solicitor submitted a report setting out an updated draft Code of Conduct on how the Council would maintain high standards of probity in its planning function. He explained that the Council was the local planning authority responsible for taking decisions about a wide range of planning issues – from setting the planning policies for Tameside in the local development framework to deciding planning applications and taking enforcement action against unauthorised development. Planning could be a contentious area which involved balancing competing factors in the public interest. Most planning applications were decided by Council staff under delegated powers but major or controversial applications were decided by members of the Speakers’ Panel (Planning).

He stated that the planning system works best when the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the process essential to its effective operation were clearly understood and it was vital that councillors and planning officers understood their roles and the context and constraints in which they operated. It was felt useful that the rules by which the Speakers’ Panel (Planning) operated should be set out in a single document to ensure those involved in the process were aware of what was expected of them and when to seek advice. In addition, the updated Code of Conduct could help explain how the planning process worked to newly elected members and also take account of the general public’s expectation that a planning application would be processed and determined in a transparent, open, reasonable and fair manner.

He commented that some of the laws around standards of behaviour, particularly the law of predetermination and bias was judge made law. This meant that cases changed the emphasis of the law and this area had been the subject of recent judicial activity. The Deputy Borough Solicitor commented that the review and update of the existing guidance was to ensure that it continued to provide the best possible advice for councillors and officers.

The Borough Solicitor added that the Local Government Group (previously known as the Local Government Association) had produced guidance note on good planning practice, and the existing code had been written in consideration of this advice and was being updated in line with the revised national guidance.

The members of the Panel welcomed the proposal to update the local Probity in Planning protocol in Tameside and made particular reference to the Localism Bill which would abolish the statutory code of conduct for councillors. As discussed at the previous meeting there would be a duty on local authorities to maintain standards of conduct, allowing Councils to have a voluntary code of conduct and a local means of investigating and dealing with complaints that the code had been breached. The Probity in Planning currently forms part of the Council’s ethical framework and it was envisaged that this would continue as part of a local code.

Resolved

1. That the Committee supports the updating of the existing local Probity in Planning protocol in Tameside as set out in the proposed draft.
2. That the updated and revised protocol be the subject of consultation with the relevant interested parties including councillors and planning officers and that the comments received during this process be reflected in a report to the next meeting of the Standards Committee in order that it can be recommended to Council for adopting as part of local ethical framework.

55. Urgent Items

The Chair advised that there were no urgent items for consideration at this meeting.

56. Date Of The Next Meeting

It was noted that the next meeting of the Standards Committee would take place on 13 September 2011 commencing at 4.00 pm with the briefing for Standards Committee Members only with the Chair at 3.45 pm.

Chair