The Committee RESOLVED to approve and sign the minutes of the last meeting held on 23 November 2016.

None

None.

The Committee RESOLVED that the allocation of business in the agenda be confirmed, as printed.
 

Officers introduced the report and Councillor Mario Creatura, in his capacity as a Member of the Members L&D Committee reported that
the year had seen lots of learning across all parties and that this had taken place internally and externally. Statutory learning events had
also taken place.

Councillor Pat Clouder suggested that once an event had been scheduled that those Members that were unable to attend would
benefit from a "mop up" session which would act as a catch all.Councillor Creatura agreed to report this suggestion back to the
Members L&D Panel.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the contents of the report
 

Officers presented the updated policy which had been implemented as an additional piece of governance to give staff a safe and anonymous outlet to raise concerns. This service had been contracted out to Public Concern at Work who provide a telephone hotline and advice service. Staff are able to discuss options which can ne internally resolved or another referred to an external organisation like the Ombudsman.

Of the 3 whistleblowing referrals received, initial investigations had resulted in referrals having no further action. The remaining concern had been investigated and resulted in a pending prosecution for fraud. The detail and outcome would be presented at the next meeting once known.

The Committee suggested an addition to the policy to consider that along with the option to be accompanied by a trade union representative the wording could include "or work colleague or friend" as unions representatives are dwindling in numbers. Officers agreed to take away the suggestion and to review the policy.

The Committee suggested increasing publicity to encourage an increase in the number of whistleblowing referrals.

The Chair suggested including whistleblowing in the committee work programme for next year when the Committee could review the instances and outcomes.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the contents of the report and to include whistleblowing in the work programme for next year
 

The Committee received a presentation regarding the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). This mechanism is employed to undertake covert activity when investigating crimes. The RIPA had been used 4 times this year; of these one had been referred to trading standards and investigation continues, one had resulted in a small fine and one is awaiting sentencing.

Under new legalisation local authority officers are now personally accountable.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 by the Council over the past calendar year.
 

The Chair introduced this item and confirmed to the Committee that it was good practice to continue to receive updates and to reflect on outcomes regarding regulations of Councillor conduct.

The Committee agreed that examples given in the report, the punishments were lenient and there appeared to be no further sanctions or checks to ensure compliance.

The Acting Monitoring Officer was in a position to report that locally Members took complaints seriously once approached.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the outcome of recent case law in relation to the regulation of Councillor conduct.
 

The Committee RESOLVED to agree the dates of future meeting to be held in the municipal year 2017/18.

Wednesday 6 September 2017
Wednesday 15 November 2017
Wednesday 28 February 2018
Wednesday 9 May 2018 (if necessary)
 

The Committee RESOLVED to consider applications for dispensation from Councillor Paul Scott and Councillor Jamie Audsley and determined whether to grant the dispensation, and if so, the length of time for which such dispensation is to be granted.

Councillor Paul Scott and Councillor Jamie Audsley's dispensation applications were approved and would expire in June 2018.
 

The motion to move the camera resolution was proposed by Councillor Oliver Lewis, seconded by Councillor Pat Clouder.

The Committee RESOLVED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.

PART B MINUTES - for agenda item B1 - are provided separately and are exempt from public disclosure under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12a to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).
 

(In camera - exempt under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended)

The Committee considered and RESOLVED to approved the application for dispensation in respect of

(i) Councillor Paul Scott, in matters relating to the development and construction industry generally and specifically with regarding to planning applications; for all meetings up to June 2018 and

(ii) Councillor Jamie Audsley, in matters relating to his employment with Charity ShareAction, Pension Committee have the ability to consider responsible investment practices as part of their decision making processes and fiduciary duties; for all meeting up to June 2018