Agenda and minutes

In the absence of Councillor S Walsh, Councillor L Bigham was elected as Chair of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

a)  To agree the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 10 January, 2019

b)  Any matters arising

The Minutes of the meeting held on 10 Janaury, 2019 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

Report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Services

Group Leaders, Deputy Leaders and Group Whips have been invited to attend for consideration of this item.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Services which indicated that the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) issued its report on Local Government Ethical Standards at the end of January, 2019. The report puts forward 26 recommendations for changes to the current regime, the bulk of which will require a change in the law.

The CSPL recognises that it could take some time to find parliamentary time to enable these recommendations to be enacted. It has however also put forward a set of fifteen recommendations of “Best Practice” which it feels that local authorities could look at implementing immediately without waiting for a change in the law.

The Ethics Committee received a presentation at the meeting which outlined:-

·  The main report findings

·  The main areas for concern

·  An overview of the recommendations

·  The fifteen “Best Practice” recommendations

The Committee considered the presentation in detail and expressed their support for the “Best Practice” recommendations, noting that the City Council already complies with a number of them, for example information in relation to Members gifts and hospitality is published on the Council’s website and there are four Independent Members on the Committee (as opposed to the recommendation that there should be at least two).

RESOLVED that the Ethics Committee:-

(1)  Supports the “Best Practice” recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

(2)  Requests the Monitoring Officer to draw up a Work Programme for the 2019/20 Municipal Year based on integrating the Best Practice recommendations into the Council’s codes and practices.

Report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Services

The Committee noted their Work Programme for 2018/19, which would be updated for the new Municipal Year to incorporate those issues referred to in Minute 36.

There were no items of urgent public business.