At a meeting of the Standards Committee of Newham Council, Councillor Steve Brayshaw was appointed Chair, and a discussion was held on the composition of the committee, specifically regarding the possibility of having a committee comprised entirely of independent members. The committee also reviewed the government's consultation outcome on remote attendance and proxy voting in local authorities, and received a quarterly report on member training attendance.

Standards Committee Composition

The committee discussed the composition of the Standards Committee, focusing on a request from the previous meeting to explore the possibility of having a committee comprised entirely of independent members, rather than elected members.

Manjia Grant, Principal Governance Lawyer, presented a note outlining the legal position. She explained that while it is legally possible to have a committee composed entirely of co-optees¹, it would require a unanimous vote by the full council to disapply the political proportionality rules outlined in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. She added that such a composition would be highly unusual, as no other council in the country has been found to operate in this way.

The discussion revealed differing views among the committee members. Ashuk Hussain, JP MBE, supported the idea of a fully independent committee, drawing from his experience on the committee. He suggested that it could remove any political aspects, even though the committee is not meant to be political.

Councillor Caroline Adaja expressed caution, noting that most of the current members were not present during the initial conversation and suggested deferring to the Constitutional Working Group.

Councillor Steve Brayshaw said he did not understand the rationale behind a fully independent committee, arguing that elected members ensure transparency and fairness.

Other members acknowledged both the positives and negatives of each approach. Some felt that a series of unfortunate events in the past had prompted the suggestion, while others believed that members being responsible to other members was a positive aspect of the current structure.

Ultimately, the committee agreed to feed the discussion back to the Constitutional Working Group for further consideration and asked for the advertisement for independent members to be shared with their networks.

Remote Attendance and Proxy Voting

The committee discussed the government's consultation outcome on remote attendance and proxy voting in local authorities. Manjia Grant, Principal Governance Lawyer, presented the report, highlighting that the government intends to legislate to permit council meetings to be conducted remotely, and to allow proxy voting.

The government's consultation found that the majority of respondents were in favour of allowing remote attendance at council meetings, with 86% agreeing with the broad principle. However, views were more divided on proxy voting, with 47% opposed and 36% in favour.

The report noted that the government plans to allow local authorities to develop their own policies on remote attendance, while requiring principal councils² to implement proxy voting schemes for meetings of full council, specifically for members who are absent due to becoming a new parent, or for serious or long-term illness.

The committee noted the report and acknowledged the significant changes it could bring to local authority operations.

Member Training - Quarterly Report on Attendance

The committee received a quarterly report on member training attendance. Akhtar Ali, Head of Elections and Interim Head of Democratic Services, provided an overview of the report, which included an appendix detailing the attendance records of all members since the delivery of training commenced in 2025.

Councillor Sabia Kamali ( Majority Group Assistant Whip) asked if a clash between training and other meetings would affect a councillor's performance. Akhtar Ali, Head of Elections and Interim Head of Democratic Services, explained that efforts are made to avoid clashes, and training sessions are recorded to allow members to catch up later.

Councillor Caroline Adaja suggested exploring alternative training methods, such as online modules with questions and answers, to accommodate members with personal commitments. Akhtar Ali, Head of Elections and Interim Head of Democratic Services, responded that the council had explored a number of options to make training more accessible, including recording sessions. He said that the possibility of providing a test following training sessions could be explored.

The committee noted the report and its accuracy in capturing member attendance at training sessions.

Standards Committee Work Programme

The committee considered and agreed to the proposed work programme. It was noted that the protocols on member/officer relationships and social media would be deferred to the September meeting, as they were also due to be considered by the Constitution Review Working Group.

Ethical Framework Update

The committee received an update on the ethical framework, which included declarations of interest made at meetings and any gifts and hospitality declared by members. It was noted that there had been no declarations of gifts and hospitality during the reporting period. The committee noted the update.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The committee resolved to exclude the press and public from the meeting to discuss exempt information, as defined in the Local Government Act 1972.