Agenda and minutes

Resolved: That under Section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the whole item, including the decisions referred to at Agenda item 5 on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in doing so state:

(1) the type of interest concerned; and

(2) the nature of the interest concerned

If any member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 19 July 2016 as a true and correct record.

The Committee agreed that the minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2016 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The purpose of this report is to consider a proposed revision of the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure.

Mr Towers, Director of Governance and Partnerships / Monitoring Officer, reminded Members that under the Council’s constitution the Standards Committee had a duty to monitor and review the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy. 

The current procedure had been reviewed and a revised procedure proposed.  The proposed changes to the procedure were outlined to the Committee.  Mr Towers confirmed that the proposed changes reflected the latest Council’s constitution and supporting policies.  The proposed changes also incorporated updates in current legislation.  Changes to the departmental contacts list was also proposed to include additional named key contacts for dealing with whilstleblowing cases.  The suggested changes to the procedure reflected the best practice requirements from the Whistleblowing Commission – Code of Practice.  Mr Towers confirmed that the Unions had no objection to the revised procedure.

Subject to the Committee’s approval, the intention was to raise awareness of the Whistleblowing procedure throughout the Council and to provide relevant coaching to the proposed departmental contacts.

The Committee agreed to the revisions to the Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure.

To consider an update report from the Monitoring Officer on standards issues raised during the previous 12 months under the standards framework.

The Committee received an update report from Mr Towers on standards issues raised during the last 12 months under the standards framework for dealing with allegations of member misconduct.

Mr Towers provided Members with a schedule of matters arising since the last report to the Committee, categorised into areas of conduct relating to the alleged breach. Monitoring of issues was continually undertaken to identify particular patterns of behaviour.

A recent pattern of behaviour had been identified as relating to the non-disclosure of interests and a detailed report on this issue was included for consideration by the Committee as a separate agenda item.

The Committee agreed to note the update report and the issues raised to date.

(This item contains personal information regarding the individual(s) and information relation to any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime, which are exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraphs 1 and 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972).

Mr Towers reported on recent cases of a failure to disclose of Disposable Pecuniary Interest on the Register of Interest form and one occasion of a failure to disclose a Disposable Pecuniary Interest at a meeting. The consequences of the failure to disclose a Disposable Pecuniary Interest were outlined to the Committee, which included the potential to commit a criminal offence. Where there had been failures in relation to Disposable Pecuniary Interests the cases had been referred to Lancashire Constabulary after due process had been followed, and the outcome of the referrals was awaited.

Mr Towers reminded the Committee of the obligations contained within the Code of Conduct in relation to the registering and disclosing of interests.  The two types of interests were explained, which included the legal requirement for registering a Disposable Pecuniary Interest and the requirements in relation to the Code of Conduct for discretionary ‘Local Choice’ Interests.

The Committee was advised of the over reliance on officers in some instances to remind Elected Members of their obligations in relation to interests and Mr Towers emphasised the responsibility and accountability for Elected Members in registering and disclosing their interests. He emphasised the requirement to state the type of interest being disclosed at meetings.

Members were informed of a lack of case law relating to the interpretation of the Section 34 of Localism Act but legal advice suggested that the Government’s intention in introducing the offences relating to the non-disclosure of a Disposable Pecuniary Interest had been to ensure that Elected Members did not abuse their position for their own gain, but this interpretation had yet to be tested.

The reasons put forward for the non-disclosure of a Disposable Pecuniary Interest at a meeting included the failure to notice the potential breach due to the number of agenda  items and a lack of preparation for the meeting resulting in a lack of awareness of the potential interest.  Further reasons for not registering and declaring interests included a lack of knowledge of the different types of interest and the lack of seeking advice from the appropriate officers.

Mr Towers reported on good practice to have in place a published protocol between the Police and the Council for the reporting of potential offences setting out clear roles and responsibilities. Following discussions with Fylde Borough Council’s Monitoring Officer, it was recommended that a protocol to include initially Blackpool Council, Fylde Borough Council and Lancashire Constabulary be drafted and submitted to the Committee for approval at its next meeting. 

The trend in relation to recent breaches had been discussed with the Independent Persons and Group Leaders and it was recommended, with the support of the Independent Persons, that Elected Members be required to attend mandatory face to face training and the completion of an IPool module.  Mr Towers requested the Committee’s support in helping to promote the message across all Elected Members regarding their responsibilities in terms of registering and declaring interests and preparing adequately for meetings. Support for the requirement for mandatory  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee is asked to note that the date of the next meeting will be Tuesday 28 November 2017.

The Committee noted the date of the next meeting as Tuesday 28 November 2017.