General update

Report: 5
Date: 16 May 2003
By: Clerk

Summary

This paper:

• reports on the current position regarding legislative changes, for instance to give Standards Committees powers to adjudicate on complaints
• gives some information on the work of the Standards Board for England
• reports on any relevant issues that have occurred within the MPA since the last meeting of the committee

A. Recommendation

That the Committee notes this report.

B. Supporting information

Legislative update

1. As members will be aware from the last meeting of the Committee, Section 66 of the Local Government Act 2000 enables the Secretary of State to make regulations empowering standards committees to adjudicate on allegations against members, on referral from the Standards Board for England.

2. In February the government placed a statement in parliament on its intention to issue regulations in two parts:

• the first set to establish the regime within which local standards committees will be able to consider reports on alleged member misconduct completed by the Standards Board ethical standards officers (ESOs) and referred to an authority’s monitoring officer. The intention was to lay these regulations before parliament in early April, but this does not appear to have happened yet.
• the second set of regulations will provide for the conduct of investigations by monitoring officers or their deputies, following a decision by an ESO to cease an investigation and refer the matter to the monitoring officer. These regulations require a change to the Local Government Act 2000. The necessary legislative changes are currently before parliament as part of a Local Government Bill and the intention is to lay the regulations before parliament in the Autumn.

3. This Local Government Bill provides for:

• a standards committee to appoint a sub-committee from amongst its membership. This purpose of this provision is to enable a standards committee to regulate the number of members present when considering misconduct cases.
• monitoring officers to nominate another person to carry out an investigation of misconduct allegations when it would be improper for the monitoring officer to do this, for instance because she or he had previously given advice to the member.

4. So, although there has been some progress on these regulations, we still do not know how standards committees will be expected to operate in considering misconduct cases. The Standards Board will be issuing guidance to standards committees and monitoring officers once the regulations are published.

Standards Board for England update

5. The Local Government Bill referred to above also includes a clause giving the Standards Board power to delegate any of its functions to an officer of the Board, a committee or sub-committee of the Board, or an individual Board member. This is because the Act under which the Board was established – the Local Government Act 2000 – did not provide for the Board to delegate any of its functions. Consequently, it has had to consider every application to decide whether or not it should be investigated.

6. As at the end of February, the Board had received 2,702 allegations since April 2002. In January and February just over 310 allegations were received per month. Of these:

• 55% concerned parish councils; 25% district councils; and 20% others (including county councils, London boroughs and police authorities)
• 43% of the allegations were made by fellow councillors; 16% by authority employees; and 41% ‘other’, such as members of the public
• 16% of allegations referred for investigation concerned ‘bringing the authority into disrepute’; 17% ‘failure to register financial interests’; 17% ‘failure to register other interests’; 13% ‘failure to treat others with respect’; and 37% ‘other’
• 43% of allegations were referred for investigation (and 57% were not)
• in completed cases, the final findings were: 25% ‘no evidence of breach’; 25% ‘referred to Adjudication’; 50% ‘no further action’ (this group includes cases that would have been referred for local adjudication if the Section 66 regulations had been in force)

7. As shown above, 57% of allegations received by the Standards Board were not referred for investigation. In general these cases fell into two categories:

• allegations that fell outside the Board’s jurisdiction, for instance because they concern behaviour or events that predated the adoption of an authority’s code of conduct
• allegations which the Board decides do not merit investigation either because no potential breach is disclosed or because the allegation is insufficiently serious to warrant a publicly-funded investigation

There is no right of appeal where the Board decides that an allegation should not be investigated.

8. The Standards Board has produced guidance on what information a monitoring officer should share with a standards committee about an ESO’s investigation. The Board recommends that when a monitoring officer is informed that an investigation is taking place, he or she should advise the committee in brief detail of the name of the complainant, the nature of the allegation, and the name of the member that the allegation has been made against. The standards committee should not discuss the allegation to avoid prejudicing themselves if the case is referred back to them.

9. The second Annual Assembly of Standards Committees will be held in Birmingham on 9 & 10 June. It will include two days of specialised workshops on the practical implementation of the code of conduct and will give detailed information about the Section 66 regulations, on the assumption that they are published by then. Cecile Wright, the Committee’s Chair, and David Riddle, the Deputy Clerk and Monitoring Officer, will be attending.

Metropolitan Police Authority update

10. Every six months members will be sent details of the interests they have declared and invited to inform the Monitoring Officer of any changes. The first six monthly exercise has now been completed and all except three members have responded.

11. Members are also reminded on a regular basis of the need to declare gifts and hospitality to a value of £25 or above. A District Audit report on corporate governance in the MPA 2001/02 commented on the fact that only one member had declared acceptance of any hospitality. The position for the financial year 2002/03 was as follows:

• A total of 17 declarations were made by five members
• Of these, 14 related to official dinners, receptions etc; two related to official visits abroad; and one related to provision of transport to attend an official function

12. The Monitoring Officer will review and sign off all returns referred to above on a six monthly basis.

13. As recommended by the last meeting of the Standards Committee, the Authority has agreed a new Scheme of Members’ Expenses, which came into operation on 1 February. All members have been sent a copy of this, together with a reminder on the need for timely expenses claims backed up by receipts. Internal Audit are in the process of reviewing the MPA’s financial and business systems. This review includes the members’ allowances and expenses schemes. This element of the review will be reported to the Standards Committee when completed.

C. Equality and diversity implications

None

D. Financial implications

None

D. Background papers

• Standards Board Bulletin No. 10
• Members’ gifts and hospitality declarations 2002/03

E. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile, Secretariat, MPA.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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