Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Kevin Thomas  01267 224027

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Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from Councillor G.B. Thomas.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL INTEREST.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of personal interest.

3.

TO SIGN AS A CORRECT RECORD THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE HELD ON THE 14TH JUNE 2021 pdf icon PDF 224 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee heldon the 14th June, 2021 be signed as a correct record.

4.

APPLICATION FOR DISPENSATION BY CLLR P COMLEY pdf icon PDF 301 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered an application submitted by Community Councillor Peter Comley for the grant of a dispensation under the provisions of the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensations) (Wales) Regulations to speak and make written representations, but not vote, on matters relating to the payment of rent by Betws RFC to Betws Community Council.

 

It was reported that a dispensation was sought as Councillor Comley had a personal and prejudicial interest in this matter as he was the Secretary, Treasurer and Licensee for Betws RFC and also a member of the club Committee, and that a member of the public, with full knowledge of the facts, would reasonably regard that interest as being so significant it would be likely to prejudice the Councillor’s judgement of the public interest. Councillor Comley had accordingly requested that a dispensation be granted under Regulations 2 (f) and (h) of the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensation) (Wales) Regulations 2001.

 

Following a discussion it was:-

 

RESOLVED

 

4.1

that dispensation be granted under Regulations 2 (f) and (h) of the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensation) (Wales) Regulations 2001 to Councillor Peter Comley for dispensation to speak and make written representation, but not vote, at meetings of Betws Community Council in respect of matters relating to the payment of rent by Betws RFC to the Betws Community Council

4.2

That the period of dispensation be granted to the end of Councillor Comley’s current term of office up to the local government elections in May 2022

 

5.

REVIEW OF WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY pdf icon PDF 337 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In accordance with minute 5 of its meeting held on the 14th June, 2021 the Committee considered a report detailing the following proposed changes to the Council’s approved Whistleblowing Policy aimed at improving processes and reflecting recent experiences:-

 

·       A new paragraph 20 dealing with whistleblowing complaints by employees of the Council’s Local Authority Trading Companies. (NB. If approved, this will cause subsequent paragraphs to be renumbered accordingly)

·       A change to the flowchart in Appendix A to provide that the feedback form is sent to whistle-blowers by the Contact Officer instead of the Monitoring Officer

·       A change to the Feedback form inserting email contact details for where it should be sent.

 

In response to a question on the appropriateness of the inclusion of the Chair of the Standards Committee in the list of contactable persons within the Policy, the Monitoring Officer suggested that she, together with the Legal Service Manager, could examine the points raised by members and report back to a future meeting of the Committee.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED

5.1

that the changes to the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy be approved.

5.2

That a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee on the appropriateness of the inclusion of the Chair of the Standards Committee in the list of contactable persons detailed within the Policy

 

6.

ANY OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS THAT BY REASON OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES THE CHAIR DECIDES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A MATTER OF URGENCY PURSUANT TO SECTION 100B(4)(B) OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 

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