Issue - meetings

Questions Submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 10

Meeting: 24/04/2019 - Council (Item 47)

Questions Submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 9

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 (Public Participation), one question has been submitted by Mr S Hearn, resident of Ladybank, Hanworth ward.

 

The full text of the question is set out below, to be answered by Councillor Allen, Chair of Governance and Audit Committee:

As you will be aware, there is a large number of people across the country who are concerned with the increase of tolerance towards racist comments that are being shared on various social media platforms and also within our national press. This is in conjunction with sharing of extremist ideology and bullying behaviours that are not compatible with what is expected of elected members chosen to represent the electorate.

What, if any, processes does the Council have in place for members of the public to raise concerns about a councillor’s behaviour or standards of conduct, and what does the Council do to ensure that any process it has is transparent?

 

Minutes:

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 (Public Participation), a question was submitted by Mr S Hearn, resident of Ladybank, Hanworth.

 

The Mayor invited Mr Hearn to put the following published question to Councillor Allen, Chairman of Governance and Audit:

 

As you will be aware, there is a large number of people across the country who are concerned with the increase of tolerance towards racist comments that are being shared on various social media platforms and also within our national press. This is in conjunction with sharing of extremist ideology and bullying behaviours that are not compatible with what is expected of elected members chosen to represent the electorate.

 

What, if any, processes does the Council have in place for members of the public to raise concerns about a councillor’s behaviour or standards of conduct, and what does the Council do to ensure that any process it has is transparent?

 

Councillor Allen responded to say that the Council took Councillor conduct very seriously, and that the Member Code of Conduct was freely available on the Council website. All Councillors were offered training on conduct as part of their induction, and there was a mandatory requirement for members to sign a copy of the Code of Conduct prior to taking office.

 

Where a member of the public or of Council staff felt that the Code of Conduct had been breached, they were able to lodge a complaint through the Council website. All complaints were received by the Council’s Monitoring Officer – a role which was currently delivered by the Borough Solicitor – who would decide whether a formal investigation was required. This decision would be taken in discussion with the Independent Person to ensure impartiality.

 

Full Council received a Standards Annual Report to update on the number of complaints against Members and their outcomes.

 

Councillor Allen noted that the Code of Conduct was part of the Council’s Constitution, which was a living document under constant review. Council was able to make changes to this document, and to the criteria for granting disposals.

 

The Committee for Standards in Public Life issued a report to Government in January 2019 setting out various proposals relating to the national standards framework. The government is expected to respond to the recommendation set out in the report towards the end of the year, and any arising legislative changes would be implemented in its internal Standards Framework.

 

In response to a supplementary question regarding whether the processes and outcomes were available in the public domain, the Borough Solicitor answered on Councillor Allen’s behalf to state that the process would remain confidential until a hearing was called. Hearings would be held under the procedure for Council meetings, but the hearing would be held in private if it was likely that confidential or exempt information would be disclosed. The outcomes of all hearings would be made public.

 


 

Contact Information

Democratic services

Email: committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk