9.01 Standards Committee
A Standards Committee will be established by the Council.
9.02 Composition
(a) Membership. The Standards Committee will be composed of:
- four District Council members (known as "district members") appointed annually subject to no political group being allocated more than two seats on the committee.
- three persons who are not councillors or officers of the Council or any other body having a Standards Committee, (known as "independent members").
- two members of parish councils from within the district of South Holland (known as "parish members").
(b) District Members
- Appointments will not have to be made in accordance with the Local Government (Committees & Political Groups) Regulations 1990.
- The Leader or Deputy Leader of the Council shall not be a member of the Standards Committee.
- Not more than one member of the Cabinet shall be a member of the Standards Committee.
- If a member of the Cabinet is a member of the Standards Committee he/she shall not be appointed as Chairman of the Committee.
- Appointments will be made annually by the Council (see Council Procedure Rule 1.1 - part 4, section 1), the first review being in May 2003.
(c) Independent Members
- The appointment of independent members shall be approved by a majority of members of the Council following advertisement in local newspaper(s).
- Appointments will be for a period of 4 years, the first review being in May 2006.
(d) Parish Members
- The appointment of parish members to be from nominations received from the parish councils, and where more than two nominations are received, by the drawing of lots.
- Initial appointments will be until May 2003 and thereafter appointments will be for four year periods.
(e) Quorum
- The quorum for meetings of the Standards Committee shall be three.
- No business shall be transacted at a meeting of the Committee unless at least one independent member is present, provided that if an independent member is present and declares an interest in an item the meeting shall not be inquorate, subject to the minimum of three members being present.
- At least one parish member must be present at any meeting when matters relating to parish councils or the members of parish councils are being considered.
9.03 Role and Function
The Standards Committee will have the following roles and functions:
(a) promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by councillors and co-opted members;
(b) assisting the councillors and co-opted members to observe the Members' Code of Conduct;
(c) advising the Council on the adoption or revision of the Members' Code of Conduct;
(d) monitoring the operation of the Members' Code of Conduct;
(e) advising, training or arranging to train councillors on matters relating to the Members' Code of Conduct;
(f) granting dispensations to councillors and co-opted members from requirements relating to interests set out in the Members' Code of Conduct.
(g) dealing with any reports from a case tribunal or interim case tribunal, and any report from the monitoring officer on any matter which is referred by an ethical standards officer (appointed by the Standards Board for England) to the monitoring officer. The Standards Committee will determine cases, and appropriate penalties, in accordance with the procedures appended hereto.
(h) the exercise of (a) to (g) above in relation to the parish councils wholly or mainly in its area and the members of those parish councils;
(i) receiving reports on matters arising from the Council's Whistleblowing Policy;
(j) considering breaches of protocols; and
(k) advising the Council on the adoption and revision of protocols and monitoring the operation of such protocols.
