AUDIT AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON FRIDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2017

Transcription

1 AUDIT AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON FRIDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2017 Present: Councillors Bonner, in the Chair; Martin Barbour, Gwynneth Everett, Joan Hully, Gilbert Scurrah, Graham Sunderland and Gillian Troughton Apologies for absence were received from Councillors: David Riley Officers: Julie Betteridge (Director of Customer and Community Services) and Clive Willoughby (Democratic Services Officer) AU42 Declarations of Interests in Agenda Items: Councillors Gwynneth Everett, Joan Hully, Martin Barbour, Gilbert Scurrah, Graham Sunderland and Gillian Troughton declared interests in the Members to which the complaints refer due to knowing them as Borough Councillors. Michael Bonner opened the meeting by confirming his position as Independent Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee and introduced Anthony Payne as Independent Person who was tasked to observe, challenge and observe. The Solicitor/Monitoring Officer, went on to detail the procedure which was to be followed and the role which Julie Betteridge (Director of Customer and Community Services), held through the process. The Solicitor/Monitoring Officer also stated that a request had been made for the meeting to be held in public and confirmed that in his opinion this would not be in the public interest and there would be a controlled release of information. Both the Chairman and the independent person confirmed that the decisions would be made public. AU43 Exclusion of Press and Public It was moved, duly seconded and RESOLVED That the press and public be excluded for the remaining items of business in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1-3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The Chairman confirmed that as the meeting was in private recording was strictly prohibited. Members of the Committee, Independent Person and Officers all confirmed that they were not recording proceedings. Members to which the complaints refer and Complainants were all advised the meeting was being held in private as they joined the meeting, all of whom confirmed they were not recording proceedings. AU44 To consider complaint no.3 under the Councils Code of Conduct Consideration was given to a number of complaints made against a named member of Copeland Borough Council, largely relating to the use of social media and entries made on facebook.

2 AU45 Complaint 3 (a) The Commercial Manager introduced to the committee - a complaint she had assessed regarding uploading a defamatory entry onto the Harbour Ward facebook page. The Commercial Manager presented on behalf of the Complainant, the evidence collated stating from who and when. In closing she stated that it was her opinion that the named Member was in breach of Council s Code of Conduct, the relevant sections being: 5(4) You must not bring your office or your Authority into disrepute; 5(5) You must treat others with respect and promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability; and 5(11) You must promote and support high standards of conduct when serving in your office. The Solicitor/Monitoring Officer made an unreserved apology to the Complainant for the delay in bringing this complaint to the Committee. He also reflected that due to the severity of the complaint, it warranted being dealt with on its own and for this he further apologised. The Chair invited questions of the named Member. A full and open debate then took place and the Commercial Manager and complainant summed up. Committee agreed that all complaints would be determined when all the evidence had been heard. AU46 Complaint 3 (b) The Commercial Manager presented to committee on behalf of the Complainants- a complaint she had assessed regarding the making of defamatory statements on Twitter. The Commercial Manager presented on behalf of the Complainants, the evidence collated stating from who and when. In closing she stated that it was her opinion that the named Member was in breach of Council s Code of Conduct, the relevant sections being: 5(4) You must not bring your office or your Authority into disrepute; 5(5) You must treat others with respect and promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability; and 5(11) You must promote and support high standards of conduct when serving in your office. A full and open debate then took place before the Commercial Manager summed up. AU47 Complaint 3 (c) The Commercial Manager presented to committee on behalf of the Complainant- a complaint she had assessed regarding the making of defamatory statements on facebook regarding a Whitehaven Town Councillor.

3 The Commercial Manager presented on behalf of the Complainant, the evidence collated stating from who and when. In closing she stated that it was her opinion that the named Member was in breach of Council s Code of Conduct, the relevant sections being: 5(4) You must not bring your office or your Authority into disrepute; 5(5) You must treat others with respect and promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability; and 5(11) You must promote and support high standards of conduct when serving in your office. A full and open debate then took place and the Commercial Manager and complainant summed up. AU48 Complaint 3 (d) The Commercial Manager presented to committee on behalf of the Complainant- a complaint she had assessed regarding the making of defamatory statements on facebook regarding a Copeland Borough and Whitehaven Town Councillor. The Commercial Manager presented on behalf of the Complainant, the evidence collated stating from who and when. In closing she stated that it was her opinion that the named Member was in breach of Council s Code of Conduct, the relevant sections being: 5(4) You must not bring your office or your Authority into disrepute; 5(5) You must treat others with respect and promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability; and 5(11) You must promote and support high standards of conduct when serving in your office. A full and open debate then took place and the Commercial Manager and complainants summed up. AU49 Complaint 3 (e) The Commercial Manager presented to committee on behalf of the Complainant- a complaint she had reviewed regarding allowing others to post inappropriate comments on the Harbour Ward facebook page and sending a malicious tweet to an individual s employer about him. The Commercial Manager presented the evidence and concluded that the internal review disagreed with the initial investigators draft report. In the assessor s opinion the named Member was in breach of Council s Code of Conduct, the relevant sections being: 5(4) You must not bring your office or your Authority into disrepute; 5(5) You must treat others with respect and promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability; and

4 5(11) You must promote and support high standards of conduct when serving in your office. A full and open debate then took place before the Commercial Manager summed up. AU50 Complaint 3 (f) Committee were advised that a petition had been received on 27 November 2016 Lodging a formal complaint against a named Copeland Borough Councillor for offensive postings on various websites. A full and open debate then took place and the Commercial Manager and complainant summed up. Members were asked to receive and note the petition as it showed the level of feeling against the named Councillor s use of social media. AU51 To consider complaint no.4 under the Council's Code of Conduct The Commercial Manager presented to committee on behalf of the Complainant- a complaint against a named Whitehaven Town Councillor she had reviewed regarding an entry placed on facebook which is disrespectful to a member of the public. The Commercial Manager presented on behalf of the Complainant, the evidence collated stating from who and when. A full and open question and debate then took place, prior to the Commercial Manager summing up. AU52 Policy relating to the failure to complete a declaration of interest Councillors Martin Barbour and Gilbert Scurrah left the room during the discussion of this item. Committee considered a report stating that a number of complaints had been received regarding the failure to properly register pecuniary and other interests with 28 days of being elected. During the discussion that followed Committee was advised that the discrepancies listed had been corrected, an explanation of beneficial interest in land given and no Councillor had gained by not making a disclosure. In addition to the recommendations contained within the agenda report, it was suggested that a copy of this report be sent to the Chief Officer of Police, for information only, to make him aware that due to a technical ambiguity a number of Parish and Borough Councillors had breached the regulation, however, steps had been taken to correct the situation and to improve the performance in future. RESOLVED: That a) the complaints be noted; b) the notification of interests form be amended to include further reference to a member s partner, etc. and a separate column for such interests, and to include clarification of what a beneficial interest in land is;

5 c) that all members of this Council and the Parish Councils be advised of the fact that complaints have been received, that the Committee is concerned about the situation, and that they be requested to ensure that their forms are correct, up to date and if they are a dual hatted member to ensure that their notifications correspond; d) if, within 28 days of being advised of c) a member has still failed to register a pecuniary interest which existed between the 5th May 2015 and 4th June 2015 that either (i) if new procedures are adopted the Member be referred to an Audit and Governance Standards Sub-Committee or (ii) if new procedures are not adopted that the Monitoring Officer be requested to investigate and assess the matter as if a complaint had been received; e) if, within 28 days of being advised of c) a member has still failed to register a nonpecuniary interest that the options in recommendation d) apply to that failure; f) no further action be taken in respect of the breaches alleged in paragraph 3.3 of the agenda report which have been corrected and that in respect of those alleged breaches not corrected that the matter be dealt with in accordance with recommendations c)-e); g) the Audit and Governance Committee review (i) that part of the code of conduct relating to pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests with a view to introducing an additional requirement to keep the notifications updated during a term of office and to review the categories of non-pecuniary interest; and (ii) to review the notification form, and to report back to this Committee in January 2018; and h) a further report on this matter be made to the next Audit and Governance Committee on the 24th January 2018 detailing the progress made with recommendations b) to g). i) a copy of this report be sent to the Chief Officer of Police, for information only, to make him aware that due to a technical ambiguity a number of Parish and Borough Councillors had breached the regulation, however, steps had been taken to correct the situation and to improve the performance in future. Note - The Solicitor/Monitoring Officer and Commercial Manager left the meeting before Committee began their deliberations on each complaint and any sanctions were determined. AU53 Complaint deliberations, decisions and sanctions Committee reviewed the evidence for each complaint, reached a decision and, where applicable, decided the sanctions to be applied. The Committee noted the sanctions available were: (a) No action should be taken; (b) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or (c) In addition to (b) that the member should be reported to and his conduct noted by full (d) In addition to (b) and (c) the conduct is so serious that a recommendation should be (e) (f) That the member should be required to undergo training; and or If the breach relates to the use of a council computer, laptop, phone, etc. or web sites maintained or associated with the Council that the member should be prevented from using such equipment or making entries on such sites. AU54 Complaint 1a (Minute AU26 refers) It was clear the named Councillor acted on advice of the Town Council Clerk, at the time believing it to be correct.

6 When advised that the advice was unlawful, he failed to act promptly to rectify. Committee disregarded the comments made by the Solicitor/Monitoring Officer in italics within section 6c (page 32 of the agenda) as they felt this did not form part of the complaint. The written statement to all Members from the complainant was noted and the proposed sanctions disregarded. At the conclusion of the deliberation it was RESOLVED - that the Complaint be Upheld and the following Sanctions be applied: (b) (c) (e) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or In addition to (b) that the member should be reported to and his conduct noted by full That the member should be required to undergo training; It was further recommended that Whitehaven Town Council offer the training to all members. AU55 Complaint 1b (Minute AU26 refers) It was clear that the Whitehaven Town Council was dysfunctional. All members of the Whitehaven Town Council were aware of the Health & Safety Policy. As there was no evidence that one single member had overall responsibility for Health & Safety, all Town Councillors had a duty of care to each other. At the conclusion of the deliberation it was RESOLVED - that there was No Case to Answer, however, it was strongly recommended that all members of the Whitehaven Town Council undergo training on Health & Safety and proper procedures be put in place. AU56 Complaint 1c (Minute AU26 refers) The Press release was prepared and sent directly from the Whitehaven Town Clerk to the press with the Chairman being copied in. The Chairman had the opportunity to stop the statement being published, but failed to do so. Members felt this was not the expected behaviour from an experienced Councillor. RESOLVED - that the Complaint be Upheld and the following Sanction be applied: (b) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or AU57 Complaint 3a (Minute AU45 refers)

7 Members were of the opinion that the named Councillor showed a complete lack of integrity and care in what he was doing and thought he was being clever. The named Councillor showed a total disregard for diversity and equality. The named Councillor failed to apologise to the complainant, and had only made an apology to the public. The behaviour of the named Councillor was totally unacceptable and fell well below the standard expected of a borough councillor. RESOLVED - that the Complaint be Upheld and the following Sanctions be applied: (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or In addition to (b) that the member should be reported to and his conduct noted by full In addition to (b) and (c) the conduct is so serious that a recommendation should be That the member should be required to undergo training; and or If the breach relates to the use of a council computer, laptop, phone, etc. or web sites maintained or associated with the Council that the member should be prevented from using such equipment or making entries on such sites. AU58 Complaint 3b (Minute AU46 Refers) Members believed the comment was a blatant sexual reference. This was a pathetic attempt by the Councillor at being funny. The Councillor claimed the post had been used elsewhere. This was seen as an invalid excuse or defence for it to be re-posted. Committee were disappointed that the named Councillor found it too easy to apologise, did not believe it was genuine, did not appear to learn and generally had a poor standard of behaviour. RESOLVED - that the Complaint be Upheld and the following Sanctions be applied: (b) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or (c) In addition to (b) that the member should be reported to and his conduct noted by full (d) In addition to (b) and (c) the conduct is so serious that a recommendation should be (e) That the member should be required to undergo training; and or (f) If the breach relates to the use of a council computer, laptop, phone, etc. or web sites maintained or associated with the Council that the member should be prevented from using such equipment or making entries on such sites. AU59 Complaint 3c (Minute AU47 Refers)

8 The committee was surprised to hear that when asked why the named Councillor had attended Whitehaven Town Council meetings, he replied his party Leader and party whip had told him to. The named Councillor claimed he had attended Whitehaven Town Council meetings as a member of the public, but had posted as a Ward Councillor. Committee were of the opinion he had therefore attended as a Ward Councillor. The written statement to all Members from the complainant was noted and the proposed sanctions disregarded. Committee were appalled that the named Councillor was not prepared to offer an apology today, tomorrow or ever. Committee were surprised that when asked if he had any remorse, the named Councillor replied I have no remorse at all. Committee and the Chair recognised the stress caused to the complainant and asked if she had considered civil law. RESOLVED - that the Complaint be Upheld and the following Sanction be applied: (b) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or (c) In addition to (b) that the member should be reported to and his conduct noted by full (d) In addition to (b) and (c) the conduct is so serious that a recommendation should be (e) That the member should be required to undergo training; and or (f) If the breach relates to the use of a council computer, laptop, phone, etc. or web sites maintained or associated with the Council that the member should be prevented from using such equipment or making entries on such sites. AU60 Complaint 3d (Minute AU48 refers) It was noted that the named Councillor and complainant had recently made peace. Members felt there was still a case to answer as they were of the opinion that the defamatory comments made of the complainant and his family were not those expected from a Councillor and had impacted negatively on family members. RESOLVED that the Complaint be Upheld and the following Sanctions be applied: (b) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or criticism with such censure being in writing, copied to the leader of any political group the member is a member of and, if a parish member, copied to the clerk of the parish council; (c) In addition to (b) that the member should be reported to and his conduct noted by full (d) In addition to (b) and (c) the conduct is so serious that a recommendation should be (e) That the member should be required to undergo training; and or (f) If the breach relates to the use of a council computer, laptop, phone, etc. or web sites maintained or associated with the Council that the member should be prevented from using such equipment or making entries on such sites.

9 AU61 Complaint 3e (Minute AU49 refers) Members were clear that the named Councillor had allowed others to post defamatory comments on the Harbour Ward facebook page that he was the administrator for. Members believe that by going direct to the complainant s line manager at his place of work was nothing less than malicious and done to cause trouble. RESOLVED that the Complaint be Upheld and the following Sanctions be applied: (b) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or (c) In addition to (b) that the member should be reported to and his conduct noted by full (d) In addition to (b) and (c) the conduct is so serious that a recommendation should be (e) That the member should be required to undergo training; and or (f) If the breach relates to the use of a council computer, laptop, phone, etc. or web sites maintained or associated with the Council that the member should be prevented from using such equipment or making entries on such sites. AU62 Complaint 3f (Minute AU50 refers) Committee considered the petition. Although the named Councillor argued the petition contained false signatures and addresses outside the borough, members felt a significant number of addresses were local to Copeland, there was sufficient links to other complaints and was a summary of the public s feeling against the Councillor. Committee was also satisfied that when asked for further information, this was supplied by the petition organiser. Members were disgusted with the named Councillor s comment in his summing up that the verdict of the Audit and Governance Committee was not worth the air in the lungs, a quote which was attributed to his Party s Whip and Party Leader. RESOLVED that the Complaint be Upheld and the following Sanctions be applied: (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) The Member should be censored an expression of strong disapproval or In addition to (b) that the member should be reported to and his conduct noted by full In addition to (b) and (c) the conduct is so serious that a recommendation should be That the member should be required to undergo training; and or If the breach relates to the use of a council computer, laptop, phone, etc. or web sites maintained or associated with the Council that the member should be prevented from using such equipment or making entries on such sites.

10 AU63 Complaint 4 (Minute AU51 refers) All members declared an interest due to receiving an direct from Steven Robinson. Members believed the complainant had been given every opportunity to attend and/or clarify his complaint and make his case. Committee believed the named Councillor may have acted reasonably, as there is no evidence that the complainant exists. RESOLVED that in the absence of sufficient information from the complainant, the committee was unable to consider the complaint further. The complaint was not upheld. The Meeting closed at 5.00 pm Mayor