Ethical framework update

Report: 5
Date: 17 January 2003
By: Clerk

Summary

This report updates the Committee on a number of issues relating to ethical standards and the role of the committee. It looks at changes anticipated shortly which will give Standards Committees powers to investigate some allegations of misconduct; it also updates on the work of the Standards Board for England and on what the MPA is doing in terms of ensuring member compliance with the code of conduct.

A. Recommendations

That the report be noted

B. Supporting information

Section 66 Regulations

1. Section 66 of the Local Government Act 2000 enables the Secretary of State to make regulations regarding the way in which matters referred to an authority’s monitoring officer and standards committee can be dealt with. At present the Standards Board for England is responsible for investigating all allegations of misconduct against members. The monitoring officer and local standards committee have no real role apart from receiving reports and recommended action from the Standards Board or an ethical standards officer.

2. The Secretary of State will shortly be issuing regulations to introduce a role for the monitoring officer and standards committee in investigating and deciding upon some allegations, on reference from an ethical standards officer (ESO). The regulations are expected this month – it was hoped that they would have been published before the Committee’s meeting, but they will be reported on at the meeting if published in the intervening period. There are likely to be two ways in which an ESO may refer a matter for local investigation and/or standards committee determination:

1. when the ESO has completed an investigation he/she may refer the matter to the monitoring officer for the standards committee to determine the matter on the basis of that report;
2. an ESO may decide not to proceed with an investigation but to refer the allegation to the monitoring officer for investigation and report to the standards committee.

3. The issues likely to be referred by an ESO to the monitoring officer include:

• less serious breaches
• breaches of local code provisions that are without national significance
• cases involving issues of an interpersonal nature (e.g. allegations that a member has not treated others with respect)
• breaches that do not merit referral to the Standards Board Adjudication Panel

4. A fuller report will be needed when the regulations are published. The Standards Board for England will also be issuing guidance for standards committees on the procedure to be followed in carrying out local adjudications. One point to note is that the regulations are likely to require that when a standards committee convenes to adjudicate on an allegation of misconduct, it should be chaired by one of the members who are independent of the Authority. That person will also be responsible for deciding which other members of the committee should sit in adjudication. The other main issue is the role of the monitoring officer (the Clerk is currently the MPA’s monitoring officer). There is a potential for conflicting roles – if the monitoring officer is advising the standards committee then she or he should not also carry out the investigation (or vice versa). This may not be so much of an issue for the MPA as for police authorities with a smaller staffing complement.

Standards Board for England

5. As at October, the Standards Board had received over 1300 cases in their first six months of operation. There is as yet no data published on the types of complaint, decisions or sanctions.

6. However, probably because the volume has exceeded expectations, the Board has decided to become more selective about those cases that will be investigated by an Ethical Standards Officer, so that the Investigations Team can focus on the more serious allegations. Allegations that may fail the new test include:

• the use of inappropriate or rude language
• aggressive tone without the threat of violence
• political point scoring and name-calling

7. It is not clear whether these types of allegation will be referred to monitoring officers to investigate once the new regulations come into force.

8. The Standards Board are arranging a series of road shows around the country which will offer a mixture of presentations and workshops on the new ethical framework. It will be an opportunity for members and officers to meet staff from all parts of the Standards Board to discuss issues of common interest and concern. The road show for London boroughs will take place on Wednesday, 22 January 2003 at a venue in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. Further details will be sent to members when available.

Metropolitan Police Authority update

9. Following adoption of the Authority’s code of conduct in April, all Authority members signed an undertaking to abide by it and returned details of their registerable interests within the required deadline. Members have also been provided with a form on which to declare any gifts or hospitality received worth over £25. The Standards Board produce guidance on declaring interests etc and copies of these have been sent to all members. The GLA have invited the MPA and other functional bodies to carry out joint ‘briefings’ for members on issues such as declarations of interest and the code of conduct. This suggestion will, hopefully, be progressed in the near future.

10. The onus is on the individual member to declare any change to their registerable interests. However, every six months members will be sent details of the interests they have declared and will be asked to inform the Clerk of any changes.

11. A recent District Audit review of the Authority’s corporate governance arrangements noted that only one member had declared an acceptance of some hospitality in the Register. This was seen as low compared to their experiences elsewhere. The Authority is being recommended to satisfy itself that all offers, including those that have been declined, are disclosed by all members. Members will be reminded of their responsibilities on a regular basis. The declaration of declined hospitality and gifts is not a legal requirement but will now be requested of members as a matter of good practice.

C. Equalities and diversity implications

12. There are no specific implications from what is reported in this paper. Equalities and diversity issues will need to be integral to any procedure for standards committee adjudications.

C. Financial implications

None.

D. Background papers

Standards Board bulletins

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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