Standards Committee

Terms of Reference  

(1)         To promote and maintain high standards of conduct by councillors, co-opted members and church and parent governor representatives. The Standards Committee is required to consider the Cooperative Council Principles so far as it may lawfully do so when discharging its functions.

(2)         To advise the Council on the adoption or revision of the Members’ Code of Conduct and associated local protocols.

(3)         To monitor and review the operation of the Members’ Code of Conduct and associated local protocols.

(4)         To develop for recommendation to the Council local protocols to supplement the Members’ Code of Conduct.

(5)         To enforce local protocols and applying sanctions in respect of breaches as appropriate.

(6)         To keep under review, amend and make additional provisions to the Protocol on Member/Officer relations.

(7)         To discharge all of the functions in the Localism Act 2011 (Part 1, Chapter 7, Standards) and all regulations made there under that may be discharged by standards committees and to appoint such sub-committees as may be required to discharge such functions as may be delegated by the Standards Committee. (To be reviewed to take account of the role of the Monitoring Officer and Independent Person).  

(8)         To discharge all functions relating to the determination of allegations that a member has failed, or may have failed, to comply with the Council's Code of Conduct for Members including, but not limited to, the appointment of sub-committees to discharge such functions on its behalf. (To be reviewed to take account of the role of the Monitoring Officer and Independent Person).   Membership   Five councillors, plus up to five non-voting co-opted members.  Notes:             

a.    co-optee attendance is not applied when calculating the quorum Independent person(s)   The Council must appoint at least one independent person, whose views are to be sought and taken into account before any decision is made on an allegation that the Members’ Code of Conduct may have been breached. Independent person(s) will be sought by advertisement in the press. Prospective candidates will be required to go through a recruitment process led by the Chief Executive, who will recommend the appointment/s to the Council. The Chief Executive may take into account the extent to which prospective candidates understand the Cooperative Council Principles and their application to the work of the Council in making his/her recommendation.   An independent person must be impartial and will not be appointed if:   a.    s/he is, or has been during the previous 5 years, a councillor, co-opted member or officer of the Council or is related to, or is a close friend of a councillor, co-opted member or officer of the Council. (Note that the reference to a ‘co-opted member’ does not include a former independent member of the Council’s Standards Committee).   Co-opted members will not be entitled to vote at the Standards Committee meetings