Venue: Committee Room 1, City Hall
Contact: Charlie Mason, Democratic Services Officer (01522 873533)
No. | Item |
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Confirmation of Minutes - 17 March 2014 Minutes: RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2014 be confirmed. |
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Declarations of Interest Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary. Minutes: No declarations of interest were received. |
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Code of Conduct: Cases Review Minutes: The Assistant Director of Legal and Corporate Support Services:
a) presented a report containing information on recent cases relating to other local authorities' codes of conduct.
b) highlighted that members should identify any issues raised within the report as being relevant for further consideration with regard to their impact upon members.
c) drew members’ attention to the withdrawal of an application for judicial review regarding the compatibility of the current standards provisions with the European Convention on Human Rights.
d) invited members' questions and comments.
Members discussed the case involving a parish councillor who had acted as a contract manager and awarded payment to himself, noting surprise that the matter had not been referred for prosecution because it was not considered to be in the public interest.
RESOLVED that the report be noted. |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: The Democratic Services Officer:
a) presented a report regarding the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s review of the Council’s electoral arrangements.
b) highlighted the proposals contained within the report, which would allow the Council to respond to the consultation and to meet the necessary criteria.
c) noted that the review had been undertaken as the council had a variance of ±10 per cent from 1/11 of the mean electorate in more than 30 per cent of its wards.
d) advised that the Committee was requested to make a recommendation to Council in advance of its final decision regarding a response to the Commission on 24 June 2014.
e) invited members’ questions and comments.
Members:
RESOLVED that Council be recommended to approve the draft submission and supporting documents. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The Assistant Director of Legal and Corporate Support Services:
a) presented a report summarising the impact of the Defamation Act 2013.
b) advised that the impact of the legislation was significant within the broader field of defamation, but did not have a direct bearing on advice previously issued to councillors regarding qualified privilege.
c) questioned whether a guidance note should be re-issued in order to ensure members, particularly those recently elected, were aware of the relevant law.
d) stressed the requirement for ‘serious’ harm to reputation to be shown in order for a successful action by an individual.
e) noted that she would be meeting with the Communications Manager to discuss the production of a protocol regarding the manner in which the Council’s reputation could be protected from defamatory comments.
f) invited members' questions and comments.
Members:
The Assistant Director of Legal and Corporate Support Services responded that any protocol would note the difficulties in bringing claims for defamation and would seek to manage relevant parties’ expectations.
RESOLVED that:
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Member Induction Review Minutes: The Democratic Services Officer:
a) presented a report regarding the induction process for new members following the May 2014 elections.
b) summarised the changes from the previous induction programme.
c) noted the feedback received from the members who had participated in the induction process.
d) invited members’ questions and comments.
Members:
RESOLVED that the report be noted. |
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Local Democracy Week Update Additional documents: Minutes: The Democratic Services Officer:
a) presented a report updating members on the Council’s plans for Local Democracy Week 2014.
b) requested comments from members on the proposals provided, including the scope for further lesson plans to be produced for schools to use with secondary schoolchildren.
c) noted that a proposal for a State of the City Debate would be considered later in the agenda and that this was proposed to have a direct link with Local Democracy Week.
d) invited members’ questions and comments.
Members:
The Reserve Independent Person welcomed the plan, suggesting that consideration should be given to the number of children attending school within Lincoln who lived outside the city’s boundaries and noting the potential for mixed messages if officers did not deliver the lessons.
The Democratic Services Officer responded that:
RESOLVED that the report be noted. |
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State of the City Debate Minutes: The Assistant Director of Legal and Corporate Support Services:
a) presented a report regarding proposals for a State of the City debate.
b) advised members of the format of the proposed event.
c) highlighted the potential crossover with Local Democracy Week 2014.
d) invited members’ questions and comments.
Members:
RESOLVED that members be requested to submit any further proposals to Democratic Services for the attention of the Leader. |
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Work Programme Update Additional documents: Minutes: The Democratic Services Officer:
RESOLVED that the work programme be approved. |