15 | The Committee received a comprehensive report on the Government's response to the Standards Board for England's recommendations for a review of the Code of Conduct for Members and to the Graham Committee on Standards of Conduct on Public Life proposals for a review of the New Ethical Framework. The report indicated that the changes to the New Ethical Framework would require an Act of Parliament but the Government intended to include the changes in the next Local Government Bill. They would include: · All standards complaints against Councillors would be made to the Monitoring Officer, rather than to the Standards Board · Local authorities would refer up to the Standards Board complaints which they felt unable to investigate or which their Standards Committee would not be able to determine, for example because they related to allegations of very serious misconduct · The Standards Board would concentrate on monitoring and improving the effectiveness of the system and investigating only the most serious allegations · It would be mandatory that the Chairman of Standards Committees and Sub-Committees should be co-opted independent members · The parallel Code of Conduct for Officers should be introduced · Politically restricted posts will be retained The main proposed changes to the Code of Conduct for Members, which could be effected by secondary legislation and might therefore be introduced earlier, were as follows: · The General Principles should form a preamble to the Code of Conduct · The requirement for members to report other members to the Standards Board should be deleted · A new "offence" of bullying should be added to the Code of Conduct · The Code of Conduct should contain an exception for disclosure of confidential information where such disclosure was in the public interest · Outside official duties, only unlawful conduct should be regarded as likely to bring the Member's office of authority into disrepute · The "offence" of misuse of public resources should be limited to serious misuse, and the Code of Conduct should define "inappropriate political purposes." · The range of interests which require to be registered should be reduced · The Code should redefine "friend" as "close personal associate" · Interests arising from membership of another public body, a charity or local pressure group, should not prevent members from discharging their representative role · Standards Committees should have wider discretion to grant dispensations · The current £25 threshold for declaration of gifts and hospitality should be retained and the register of gifts and hospitality should be made public The proposals to deal with a majority of complaints against Councillors at a local level could have significant cost and resource implications for the Council. Whilst the level of complaints involving Members of the Borough and Parish Councils had been very low, to date, future activity in this area could not be predicted with any certainty. Investigations at a local level could be very costly especially if outside independent assistance was required. It would not, for example, be possible for the Monitoring Officer to play a dual role of offering guidance and advice and then investigating allegations of misconduct. Aside from concerns over resource implications, the proposals on the Code of Conduct and New Ethical Framework were, in the main, supported. The further localisation of the system would see the role of the Monitoring Officer and the Standards Committee greatly enhanced. The Standards Board for England would become more strategic in providing guidance and support. The proposals to simplify the Code of Conduct to make it easier to understand and operate at a local level was particularly welcome.
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