Agenda for Councillor Conduct Committee on Tuesday, 1st March, 2022, 6.30 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA. View directions

Contact: Email: Democracy@enfield.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

WELCOME & APOLOGIES

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Cllr Claire Stewart (substitute Cllr Christine Hamilton).

 

Cllr Gylnnis Vince was appointed as Chair.

 

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or

non-pecuniary interests relating to items on the agenda.

Minutes:

No declarations for interests were received.

3.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 86 KB

To receive and agree the minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2021.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 9th September were agreed with the following amendments:

 

·         In attendance; Joan Mansfield

·         To circulate the minutes held on 23 September 2020.

 

ACTION: Terry Osborne, to circulate the minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2020 and report back to the next meeting.

4.

INDEPENDENT PERSON RECRUITMENT pdf icon PDF 169 KB

To receive a report on the recruitment to the Council’s vacant “Independent Person” post. 

 

To confirm the arrangements for the “Independent Person” interviews. 

Minutes:

Members noted that Christine Chamberlain had sadly passed away, after her dedicated service to Enfield Council.

 

Terry Osborne (Interim Director of Law and Governance) explained the importance of the role and having a second independent person on the committee.  It was recommended to start the recruitment process after the election on 5th May 2022.

 

Members noted the suggested job description and advertisement.

 

AGREED: To recruit an independent person using the suggested job description and advert after the election.

5.

UPDATE ON COMPLAINTS

To receive a Confidential Appendix from the Director of Law and Governance

on the complaints currently being considered.

Minutes:

AGREED in accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for consideration of Item 4 listed on Part 2 of the agenda, on the grounds that confidential information would be disclosed to them in breach of the obligation of confidence; and nothing in this Part shall be taken to authorise or require the disclosure of confidential information in breach of the obligation of confidence.

- For the purposes of subsection (2) above, “confidential information” means—

(a)information furnished to the council by a Government department upon terms (however expressed) which forbid the disclosure of the information to the public; and

(b)information the disclosure of which to the public is prohibited by or under any enactment or by the order of a court;

and, in either case, the reference to the obligation of confidence is to be construed accordingly.

(c)A principal council may by resolution exclude the public from a meeting during an item of business whenever it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during that item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as defined in section 100I below.

(d)A resolution under subsection (4) above shall—

(a)identify the proceedings, or the part of the proceedings, to which it applies, and

(e)state the description, in terms of Schedule 12A to this Act, of the exempt information giving rise to the exclusion of the public,

and where such a resolution is passed this section does not require the meeting to be open to the public during proceedings to which the resolution applies.

 

The committee noted the updated list of complaints against councillors prepared by the Director of Law and Governance and noted progress made on investigating those complaints.

 

Members of the committee felt that all members should be requested to attend the training offered on the Councillor code of conduct as part of the member induction programme in May. Members asked if training on social media awareness and appropriate use could be included in the member induction programme.

 

AGREED: To recommend that all members be requested to attend training on the Councillor Code of Conduct after the election in May.