The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

Report: 7
Date: 21 June 2007
By: Chief Executive

Summary

This report updates the Committee on the provisions contained in this Bill relating to the operation of Standards Committees and the Standards Board for England.

A. Recommendation

1. That the Committee notes the provisions in this Bill and identifies any action it requires from the officers to enable it to be prepared, at the appropriate time, for its new role; and
2. That members agree to take part in an exercise being arranged by the GLA to trial the new arrangements

B. Supporting information

Overview

1. At its last meeting the Standards Committee was informed of the Government’s White Paper proposals for changes to the ethical standards regime. These proposals are now being taken forward as part of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, which at the time of writing this report was at the Third Report Stage in the Commons. This report summarises the main provisions currently contained in the Bill.

2. The proposals are aimed at devolving most decision-making on the conduct regime for local authority members to the standards committees, with a revised, regulatory role provided for the Standards Board for England. The measures provide for local standards committees to make initial assessments of misconduct allegations and for review arrangements for those assessments which lead to no action being taken. The provisions also give powers for the Standards Board for England to suspend a standards committee's role in making initial assessments of allegations, and for the Board to issue guidance to standards committees and ethical standards officers.

3. The Bill also makes provision for standards committees to take decisions in respect of local authority posts subject to political restrictions rather than, as now, the Independent Adjudicator, and to enable the Secretary of State to issue an order to allow the maximum pay of political assistants to be linked to a point on a relevant pay scale specified by the order (this latter provision does not apply to the MPA).

Specific provisions

Clause 131 - Conduct that may be covered by code

4. This clause amends the Local Government Act 2000 to provide that the principles which govern the conduct of members and co-opted members of relevant authorities and the provisions of the code of conduct which they are required to follow, are not limited only to members' conduct in their official capacity. It is understood, however, that the Government’s intention is that the Code would only apply to criminal activity committed in a private capacity and not other conduct which solely concerns a member’s private life.

Clause 132 - Assessment of allegations

5. This provides for individual local standards committees of authorities to undertake the role currently exercised by the Standards Board for England of conducting the initial assessment of allegations of misconduct which relate to one of their members or co-opted members. It sets out the courses of action open to a standards committee where such an allegation is received. The options are either to refer the allegation to the authority's monitoring officer for consideration; to refer the allegation to the Standards Board; or to take no action in respect of the complaint. The clause also makes provision for the Standards Board for England to issue guidance and give directions to a standards committee with respect to the exercise of these procedures, including the ability to suspend the committee’s power to carry out initial assessments of allegations.

6. Where a standards committee of an authority has made a decision that no action should be taken regarding an allegation, the person who made the allegation will be able to ask the standards committee to review its decision. The request for review must be made within 30 days of the date of the notice of the original decision. Following receipt of such a request, the standards committee must undertake a new assessment of the allegation.

Clause 133 - Information authorities must provide to the Standards Board

7. This clause requires standards committees to provide the Standards Board with periodic information on the allegations of misconduct it has received, any requests received to review its decisions to take no action in respect of allegations, and the exercise of any functions by the standards committee or the monitoring officer.

Clause 134 - Chairmen of standards committees

8. This provides that standards committees of authorities should be chaired by a person who is neither a member nor an officer of the authority (i.e. an Independent Member of the committee).

Clause 135 - Sub-committees of standards committees

9. This clause enables a standards committee to appoint a sub-committee to undertake any of its functions.

Clause 136 - Joint committees of relevant authorities in England

10. This clause empowers the Secretary of State to make regulations under which two or more authorities may establish a joint committee and arrange for functions otherwise exercisable by their standards committees to be exercisable by the joint committee.

Clause 137 - Standards Board for England: functions

11. This clause provides that the Standards Board may issue guidance to ethical standards officers with respect to the exercise of their functions, and enables the Board to take action to facilitate the functions of standards committees or monitoring officers.

Clause 138 - Ethical standards officers: investigations and findings

12. This amends the description of two of the findings which an ethical standards officer can make and provides that his access to documents will not be limited, as now, to documents relating to a relevant authority. It also extends section 63 of the Local Government Act 2000 to provide that information obtained by an ethical standards officer in the course of an investigation may be disclosed where the disclosure is made to allow the monitoring officer to carry out his duties or it is made to the Commissioner for Local Administration or to the Electoral Commission for the purpose of their functions. An order making power is also provided for the Secretary of State to allow for such disclosures to be made to other people.

Clause 139 - Ethical standards officers: reports etc

13. This provides that a report by an ethical standards officer on the outcome of his investigation can be passed to the relevant standards committee in order to assist it in carrying out its functions.

Clause 140 - Disclosure by monitoring officers of ethical standards officers' reports

14. This clause provides for a monitoring officer to inform any member or officer of an authority of the outcome of an ethical standards officer's investigation into an allegation, and also to provide them with a copy of the report or any part of it where this will help to promote high standards of conduct by members and co-opted members of the authority.

Clause 141 - Matters referred to monitoring officers

15. This clause provides for regulations to enable a monitoring officer to refer back cases referred to him by a standards committee and set out the circumstances in which such a referral back may be made.

Clause 142 - References to Adjudication Panel for action in respect of misconduct

16. This clause provides for regulations to be issued in respect of the referral by a standards committee of a case to the Adjudication Panel where it considers the sanction available to it would be insufficient.

Clause 143 - Consultation with the Local Government Ombudsmen

17. This clause extends to standards committees the provisions of the Local Government Act 2000 to provide that the Local Government Ombudsman may consult the standards committee (as well as the Standards Board) about a case if he believes that the complaint he is considering relates partly to a matter which may be of concern to the committee.

Clause 147 - Exemption from Data Protection Act 1998

18.This clause provides that under section 31(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 personal data processed by a monitoring officer or an ethical standards officer for the purpose of discharging any function under Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2000 are exempt from the information provisions of the Act to the extent to which the application of those provisions to the data would be likely to prejudice the proper discharge of that function.

Clause 149 - Politically restricted posts: grant and supervision of exemptions

19. The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 provides that a person is disqualified from becoming a member of a local authority if he holds a politically restricted post. This clause amends the 1989 Act so that the granting and supervision of exemptions from the political restriction will be the responsibility of the standards committee of each local authority in England, rather than that of the Independent Adjudicator.

Next steps

20. It is not yet known when the Bill will be enacted or what it will finally contain. The officers will continue to monitor this and keep members informed. There are a number of issues that will need to be worked through particularly around the process for the Standards Committee’s initial assessment of allegations, any related training/development needs and the role of the monitoring officer. A further report will be put to the Committee in sufficient time to ensure that members are prepared in good time to take on these additional responsibilities.

21. The Greater London Authority Standards Committee has agreed to be a pilot authority working with the standards board in trialling the local filter arrangements for assessing complaints, and the scope for joint working between standards committees (thinking that there may be some merit in the GLA, the MPA and the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) working together on this in the future if appropriate). As a result, the Standards Board have asked the GLA standards committee to hold a mock committee to deal with 12 complaints and filter them as if they were real complaints. The meeting would not be a public meeting, and the idea is to learn lessons about the processes and procedures authorities need to put in place for the local filter exercise. The GLA intend to hold this mock committee probably in July and have invited MPA and LFEPA members and officers to participate/observe to also gain some experience and understanding of what will be involved. Subject to diary commitments, Standards Committee members are asked to indicate whether they would wish to take part in this exercise. There will hopefully be scope for other joint working in the future, for instance around member training on the new role.

C. Race and equality impact

If and when these provisions become law the Standards Committee will have a significant new responsibility in terms of being the “entry point” for allegations of misconduct against members. The procedures and approach it adopts to this role will need to ensure that no-one is disadvantaged either in their ability to pursue an allegation or in defending themselves against an allegation. An equalities impact assessment will be carried out at the time these procedures are developed.

D. Financial implications

The Committee’s expanded role will require more meetings to assess any allegations (for which the Committee’s Independent Members will be paid an allowance) and there may be other incidental expenses. However these are not anticipated to be significant and should be containable within existing budgets.

At present the role of Standards Committee Chair attracts a Special Responsibility Allowance when held by a Magistrate or Independent MPA Member. There should be discussion at the appropriate time as to whether, when the requirement is for the Committee to be chaired by an Independent Standards Committee Member, there should be a similar addition to their allowance in recognition of the demands of the role.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile, MPA.

For information contact:

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

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback