Lewisham Council - Standards Committee - 01/05/2024

Standards Committee - Wednesday, 1st May, 2024 7.00 pm

May 1, 2024 View on council website

Transcript

Good evening, and welcome to this meeting of the Standards Committee. Some committee members may be joining remotely. Just to remind that ROKA attendance does not count for the purpose of Section 85 local government tax, but in fact we have one more council's present. I have received apologies from Jeremy Chambers, the monitoring officer, and also Tim Reeves of political assistance and author of the report as items three in your agenda. Are there any other apologies? Nope. No other apologies received. Just a little bit of housekeeping, just to bring you attention. Sorry. Thank you. No, I didn't ask if there are any apologies, but we're going to parry up. We're going to just raise you back. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor. There are a few housekeeping matters, and I say the meeting is being recorded, and webcast live on the Council website, please ensure a microphone is set to mute unless you are speaking. If members or officers wish to speak at any point during the meeting, they will indicate by raising their hand. We are not expecting a planned evacuation this evening, but should the fire alarm go off, please leave the building via the nearest safe exit and assemble outside cost of coffee uncapped for the broad way. Okay. Thank you. I'd like to be now to turn to the agenda. The first item are the minutes of the meeting of the 27th of March, 2024, and also of the 25th of May, 2023. Okay. I'm going to move, can those minutes be agreed? Agreed. Do I have a seconder? Thank you, Councillor. One is in agreement, yes. Thank you. So I can confirm the minutes of both meetings have now been agreed. Second item, as always, is decorations of interest. Can I ask does any member of the committee need to declare an interest in the item before us this evening? No, no. They have no interest declared. Thank you. And we've now come to the main item of tonight's meeting, and that is the proposal towards honorary all-domantic titles. I think, frankly, the report is self-explanatory. The committee is recommended to propose to the Council that the following Councillors, former Councillors are awarded the title of honorary all-domman, all-to-woman, or older. And there's the choices that we have. And those are, as you will see delineated in the report, Jim Mannery, Olga Jimmy, Adid King, Meaning Nudge, and Stella Jeffrey. I brief some of their contributions to public life is also set out in the report that you all have. If this committee agrees, the proposed nominations will be recommended at Council at the EGM on the 15th of May this year. I'd just like to ask, are there any questions relating to the item three, the proposal? Yes, do you want to? I just have a question, this is my own curiosity. How often do we nominate older, older men, older women? I'm just curious. I believe this is one of the first times we've ever done it. So, there's such a precedent here, Councillor Bourn. So, yes, I mean, certainly at the length of time I'm in the division, we haven't had them. They aren't reasonably common use in other councils and other boroughs and other parish councils, so on, across the country that there have not been any in the division before. So this is a new proposal, and hence it's coming here, hence it needs to be an EGM for it. Thank you for the question. Any other questions or points of clarification? Thank you. Yes, sorry. I'm going to see you. David? David? David? It's a very minor point, Chair. I notice on the recommendation, Para 2.1, Councillor Mallory's surname I think has been misspelled. So, presumably if it goes to Council, it needs to be corrected. Well spotted, thank you. It's only a minor thing, but... No, it's important to get it correct, and thank you very much for spotting that, so we'll make sure the inundation is made. Thank you. Any other comments or spotting or picking online? No, thank you. So first of all, I just want to ask if the accretia agrees that these proposed nominations be recommended to Council at the EGM on 15th of May. We have a proposal, agreed, and I think that is universal. I'm just checking in online, yes, universal, thank you. I'd like to therefore confirm that the proposal to award honoree on demonic titles, the first of which will be to Jim Mallory, and the corrected spelling will be ensured, of a Jimi Adi Farani mailing nage, and Stella Jeffrey will be recommended to Council at the EGM on 15th of May. Thank you very much for your attendance, and that actually concludes this evening's meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Jim. [BLANK_AUDIO]

AI Generated

Summary

The Standards Committee convened to discuss routine matters and a significant proposal regarding honorary titles. The meeting was efficiently managed, with remote participation and live webcasting.

1. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes: The committee unanimously agreed on the minutes from the meetings held on March 27, 2024, and May 25, 2023. There were no arguments or notable discussions surrounding this decision, indicating a consensus on the accuracy and content of the previous minutes.

2. Declarations of Interest: Members were asked to declare any conflicts of interest concerning the agenda items. No interests were declared, which facilitated an unimpeded discussion on subsequent agenda items.

3. Proposal for Honorary Titles: The main agenda item was the proposal to award honorary titles to several former councillors. The committee recommended this proposal without any opposing arguments, highlighting the contributions of the individuals involved to public life. This decision sets a precedent as it's the first instance of such titles being proposed in the division, potentially influencing future recognitions and formal acknowledgments of service.

Interesting Occurrence: A minor error was noted in the spelling of a nominee's name, which was pointed out by a committee member and acknowledged for correction before the final recommendation. This attention to detail underscores the committee's commitment to accuracy in official records.

Overall, the meeting was straightforward, with decisions made promptly and a notable first-time proposal that could enhance the council's tradition of honoring distinguished service.

Attendees

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