Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

a)  To agree the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 June 2023

b)  Any matters arising

The Minutes of the meeting held on 29 June, 2023 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

Report of the Chief Legal Officer

The Ethics Committee received a report of the Chief Legal Officer that provided an update on national issues in relation to the ethical behaviour of Elected Members and the local position in Coventry regarding Code of Conduct issues.

RESOLVED that the Ethics Committee:-

1.  Notes the position with regard to matters concerning local authorities nationally; and

2.  Notes the local position in relation to the operation of the Council’s Code of Conduct and delegates any actions arising from these to the Chief Legal officer, in consultation with the Chair of the Ethics Committee.

Report of the Chief Legal Officer

The Ethics Committee considered a report of the Chief Legal Officer that reviewed declarations of gifts and hospitality made by Officers, in line with the Committee’s Work Programme to review declarations on a regular basis. The Committee last reviewed the gifts and hospitality register entries received from 1 July to 31 December 2022, at its meeting on 30 March, 2023 (Minute 39/2022 refers). Appendices to the report detailed the most recent declarations for the period 1 January to 30 June 2023.

RESOLVED that the Ethics Committee notes the declarations of gifts and hospitality made by Officers for the period 1 January to 30 June 2023.

Report of the Chief Legal Officer

The Ethics Committee considered a report of the Chief Legal Officer that reviewed declarations of gifts and hospitality made by Members, in line with the Committee’s Work Programme to review declarations on a regular basis. The Committee last reviewed the gifts and hospitality register entries received from 1 July to 31 December 2022, at its meeting on 30 March, 2023 (Minute 38/2022 refers). Appendices to the report detailed the most recent declarations for the period 1 January to 30 June 2023.

RESOLVED that the Ethics Committee notes the declarations of gifts and hospitality made by Officers for the period 1 January to 30 June 2023.

Report of the Chief Legal Officer

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Legal Officer which indicated that the Committee has been monitoring the work of the Local Government Association (LGA) programme around Civility in Public Life and Digital Citizenship. This work is in response to the increasing concern about intimidation and toxicity of debate and the impact that this has been having on democratic processes. The report provided an update on the national and local response to this work.

The report indicated that in July 2023 the LGA issued a new publication outlining how Councils can better support Councillors to prevent and handle abuse.  External consultants have worked with Councils and relevant partners to inform the report, which includes principles for Councils to consider, top tips and good practice case studies.

As detailed in previous reports the LGA had found that seven out of 10 Councillors had experienced abuse from the public in the previous year, and that this was seriously impacting civic life and local democracy. The LGA has been working on a series of projects to address the issue of abuse and intimidation of elected Members. This project focuses on what local agencies can do to prevent and address abuse perpetrated against Councillors.

The project is based on the premise that individuals and organisations have different levels of autonomy and agency within specific structures, and that there is an inherent tension between agency and structure. Councillors have both more agency and fewer legal protections than other elected Members.

The report detailed the background and methodology to the project, which identified the following challenges:-

Challenge 1: Councillors feel vulnerable to abuse and ill-equipped or supported to handle abuse, harassment, and intimidation

·  Councillors are susceptible to verbal, psychological and physical abuse and intimidation from various sources, including members of the public. Without specific training and support, they may not possess the necessary skills to confidently identify risky situations and diffuse potentially volatile situations.

·  Councillors may also struggle to manage the aftermath of individual or ongoing incidents, including the need to engage with various agencies, such as the council, their political party and the police, to handle serious abuse.

Challenge 2: Lack of clear process around reporting abuse, harassment and intimidation to the Council results in Councillors not knowing who to turn to when an incident occurs

·  Council officers support Councillors with a range of needs associated with their elected role, including assisting Councillors to deal with abuse, harassment, and intimidation they might experience. However, the thresholds and levels of support are not set out in statute.

Challenge 3: There is inconsistent engagement and response from the police to abuse and harassment of Councillors

·  The diversity among police forces results in variable responses and levels of support provided to Councillors based on geographical location. This makes it difficult to develop effective interventions to prevent abuse, harassment, and intimidation of Councillors.

The following findings were detailed in the report:-

·  Normalisation of abuse and intimidation in public and political discourse is a well-established growing issue. Councils may  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Report of the Chief Legal Officer

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Legal Officer, appended to which was the Committee’s Work Programme for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.

Further to Minute 14 above and the Committee’s concerns in relation to the level of abuse received by Councillors, the Chief Legal Officer was requested to investigate submitting a report to a future meeting detailing incidents of abuse received by Councillors in order to establish if there are any patterns.

RESOLVED that the Committee’s Work Programme for 2023/24 be noted.

There were no other items of urgent public business.

The Chair, Councillor Nazir, indicated that Sarah Harriott, Corporate Governance Lawyer, was attending her last meeting before leaving the Council to take up a new role at West Northamptonshire Council.

On behalf of the Committee, Councillor Nazir thanked Sarah for all her support and advice to the Ethics Committee and Members wished Sarah all the very best for the future.