Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications.

To elect a Chairman for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

To elect a Vice Chairman for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 1 February 2022.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution, which is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is 4 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a public statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

This report provides a summary of the complaints received and determined which were made against councillors for alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct.

The Standards Committee has a duty to consider an annual report and to promote and maintain high standards of conduct.

This report provides Members with an update on complaints regarding alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct against councillors received or concluded since the last report to the Committee in February 2022.

The Committee is responsible for maintaining high standards of conduct by Members of BCP Council and the Town and Parish Councils, monitoring the operation of the Code of Conduct, and considering the outcome of commissioned independent investigations.

In relation to the items of business appearing below, the Committee is asked to consider the following resolution: -

‘That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.’

This report provides the Standards Committee with the conclusions of the investigation following two complaints made about Councillor of BCP Council under references BCP-021 and BCP-022. The investigator’s report is attached at Appendix 1. The investigator concludes that there are two grounds with sufficient evidence to uphold the complaint.

The Committee is asked to consider the investigator’s report.