Agenda item

Report of the Borough Solicitor and Monitoring Officer.

The Chair confirmed that about 800 people attended the Annual Conference.  It had been useful and constructive.    The report from the Minister of State was attached; it emphasised the fundamental need for public trust of elected members being a prerequisite of effective democracy. 

The Monitoring Officer confirmed it was critical for the Council to develop and encourage trust in local democracy thereby confronting negative local perceptions where they exist.  By far, Northampton Borough Councillors work hard, are committed to what they do and are jealous of their deserved individual reputation.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed it was critical for the Council to develop trust in local democracy and all elected Councillors as the public had a perception of local politicians.  Most politicians work hard and were committed to what they did.

The Chair advised that the Council had a lot of work to do to ensure the public were content with the Borough and County Councils and considered that the Committee should have more members to undertake the extra workload.

T. Morris confirmed that the aim of the Committee was to encourage councillors to attain high standards and raise their profile.  At the away day Standard Committee members had been encouraged to speak to people and to meet other Councillors and officials

The Chair referred to a national debate on the future of the Standards Board for England he noted that there was 98% support for the Model Code of Conduct and 97% support for it from Monitoring Officers.  He confirmed that he would meet with the Leader of the Council and Leaders of all political parties to explain what the Committee did and give a brief outline of what it intended to do and would look for support from them.  He would then seek authority to attend all group meetings in order that the same message should be communicated.

Councillor Capstick advised that all members new and old should be properly trained and money should be ring fenced for this.

The Chair confirmed that the promotion of the Standards Committee both within the Council and with the public was essential.  The Code of Conduct itself was being changed during 2010 and the vision for the future was to work within the community and have support from all elected members and so prove to be worthy for consideration of an award at national level.

The Monitoring Officer advised that when going out to the community and encouraging democratic involvement in the process, public perception and democracy, the role of the Committee, its powers, vision, standards and expected conduct must be fully explained. Local criteria must be created for the local assessment process, fully taking into account and following the Standards Board’s guidance.

The Chair commented that councillors should understand that the Committee was not a threat but an asset to them both individually and to the Council as a whole.

In response to a question from the Chair, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that the employee survey results had improved over recent years which would suggest that staff morale had improved.

Councillor Matthews commented that the Council was no different than any other business or institution and because of the current economic climate staff would still be concerned about redundancies.  Although he perceived that interparty relationships within the Council had improved.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.