Agenda and minutes

To declare interests in any item on the agenda.

Miss C O'Boyle, the Council's Monitoring Officer, reported that she would be unable to assist the Committee in relation to agenda item 4 (Allegation SBE/13322.05) as she had advised the complainant at an earlier stage and therefore had a conflict of interest.

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act indicated:

To resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items which are confidential under Section 100(A)(2) of the Local Government Act 1972:

Paragraph 9 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require:

(1)       All business of the Council requiring to be transacted in the presence of the press and public to be completed by 10.00 p.m. at the latest.

(2)       At the time appointed under (1) above, the Chairman shall permit the completion of debate on any item still under consideration, and at his or her discretion, any other remaining business whereupon the Council shall proceed to exclude the public and press.

(3)       Any public business remaining to be dealt with shall be deferred until after the completion of the private part of the meeting, including items submitted for report rather than decision.

Background Papers:  Paragraph 8 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)            disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)       have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information (as defined in Rule 10) and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

Inspection of background papers may be arranged by contacting the officer responsible for the item.

            RESOLVED:

That the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the item of business set out below on the grounds that they would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and that maintaining the exemption is considered to outweigh the potential public interest in disclosing the information:

Agenda                                                                   Exempt Information

Item No.            Subject                                             Paragraph Number

4            Allegation SBE/13322.05            7C

To consider a restricted report

The Allegations Determination Manager advised that an allegation had been made against Councillor R Russell that he had failed to comply with the Stapleford Abbotts Parish Council Code of Conduct.  The details of the allegation were:

(a)        that Councillor R Russell had a prejudicial interest in a planning application submitted by the complainant's son in respect of a property in Stapleford Abbotts;

(b)        that Councillor Russell may have used his position as Chairman of the Parish Council to influence the Parish Council in opposing the planning application, and through the Parish Council, the District Council's Area Plans Sub-Committee 'C' which refused planning permission, notwithstanding that similar planning applications in the locality had been alleged to have been granted;

(c)        that Councillor Russell, having declared a prejudicial interest at the Stapleford Abbotts Parish Council meeting on 9 May 2005, did not leave that meeting and thereby breached the Code of Conduct;  and

(d)        that Councillor Russell may have influenced the supply of minutes of Parish Council meetings such that they were not supplied to the complainant's son within a reasonable time.

The Committee noted that in accordance with Section 60 (2) of the Local Government Act 2000, the matter had been referred by the Standards Board for England to the District Council's Monitoring Officer for investigation.  The investigation had been undertaken by the Council's Deputy Monitoring Officer who had found that there had been no breach of the Code of Conduct.

The Committee were advised that at this meeting they should simply consider the report of the Deputy Monitoring Officer and decide whether based on the facts set out in the report they agreed with the findings of the Deputy Monitoring Officer or believed that there was a case for Councillor Russell to answer.

The Allegations Determination Manager reported that if the Committee agreed that there had been no breach of the Code of Conduct, a notice would be published of their findings.  The member involved would be entitled at that stage to ask that the notice not be passed to local newspapers.  However, if the Committee found that there was a case to answer it would be necessary to appoint an Adjudication Sub?Committee to consider the matter in detail.  That Sub-Committee would need to include the Parish Council representative. 

Members were informed of the views expressed in writing by Councillor J Salter, the Parish Council representative, who was unable to be present at the meeting.  Members also noted a letter dated 23 May 2005 from the Deputy Monitoring Officer to the Monitoring Officer advising that Councillor Russell had attended a training course on the Code of Conduct held on 15 May 2006.

The Committee considered the report of the Deputy Monitoring Officer.  The Committee considered that Councillor Russell had a prejudicial interest in the planning application having regard to the location of his property in relation to the site of the application.  The Committee found on the evidence of other Parish Councillors and the Parish Council Clerk that Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.