Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillor I McIntosh and Town Councillor R White.

To authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee held on 5 December 2022 as a correct record.

The Chair was authorised to sign the minutes of 5 December 2022 as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the report of the Head of Legal and Monitoring Officer.

The Committee received the report of the Head of Legal and Monitoring Officer (copy filed with signed minutes).

A         Referral of Councillors to Public Services Ombudsman

A1.      Town and Community Councillor Referrals

The current position regarding matters with the Ombudsman is detailed below:

11/21/TCC      Ombudsman investigating

12/21/TCC      Referred to the Adjudication Panel for Wales [APW] – as reported verbally at the last meeting

03/22/TCC     Ombudsman deciding whether or not to investigate.

B.        Dispensations

B1.      Applications - Town and Community Councillors

No applications for dispensation had been received from Town or Community Councillors.

C.        Ombudsman Wales – Our Findings

D.        Meeting Dates

            The following Committee dates were noted:

2023

14 June at 2pm

25 October at 2pm

An Independent Member referred to a document titled “Positive conduct equals positive democracy toolkit” produced by Wiltshire County Council for the parish councils in its area.  The toolkit provides a guide on how to behave at meetings which may assist new community councillors.  The Head of Legal and Monitoring Officer thanked the Independent  Member for bringing this to his attention and he advised he would circulate a copy to the Committee.  It was noted that it was something which could be discussed with One Voice Wales [OVW]. 

The training of town and community councillors on the Code of Conduct was raised as an issue.  The Head of Legal and Monitoring Officer advised that:

(i)            he would establish whether the trainer who provided the Code of Conduct training to new county councillors in May 2022 would agree to the video of the training being shared with town and community councils in Powys.  It was noted that there may be a cost to this.

(ii)          he would establish if OVW currently provided such training.  It was noted however, that not all town and community councils are members of OVW. 

(iii)         he also advised he would raise this with other Monitoring Officers as training on the Code of Conduct may be an issue which needs addressing across Wales.  

An Independent Member advised that OVW and the Society of Local Council Clerks were stakeholders in this discussion regarding the provision of Code of Conduct training.  He understood that the Smaller Authorities Audit Arrangements Company may have some money for some development work.  There were also opportunities for larger town councils to host training events on the Code by using a training video and also giving participants the opportunity to discuss issues.