The Standards Advisory Committee met to conduct its annual review of the Code of Conduct for members, and to review reports on complaints, investigations, and the register of interests. The committee agreed to two minor typographical amendments to the code.

Code of Conduct Annual Review

The Standards Advisory Committee is required to undertake an annual review of the Code of Conduct for members. The current code was adopted by the council in November 2021, and came into force in May 2022.

Officers proposed two minor typographical amendments to Appendix C of the code, relating to the reporting of investigations and local resolutions to the Standards Advisory Committee. The committee agreed to these amendments.

Officers noted that a more detailed review of the local code may be necessary once the government releases its final intentions regarding the local government standards regime, following a recent consultation.

Code of Conduct Complaints Monitoring

The committee received an update on the six-monthly monitoring information for complaints and investigations relating to alleged breaches of the council’s Code of Conduct for members.

As of the report:

• There were 10 complaints since May 2024
• There were 3 complaints from the previous year
• 6 complaints were subject to initial consideration by the Monitoring Officer¹ and Independent Person²
• 4 complaints were closed without investigation but following consultation with the Independent Person
• 1 complaint was referred for investigation as a potential breach of the code
• 2 complaints were referred for other investigation (police, audit etc)

The report also included a breakdown of the complainants:

• 4 complaints from Mayor/Councillors
• 5 complaints from members of the public
• 1 complaint from a local authority officer

The committee noted the report.

Register of Interests and Gifts and Hospitality

The committee received a quarterly update on the Members’ Register of Interests and declarations of gifts and hospitality.

As part of the Council’s Code of Conduct, members are required to register and disclose their interests, and to declare any offer of a gift or hospitality with an estimated value of at least £25.

The report noted that Democratic Services sends quarterly reminders to all members to ensure that their declarations are up to date. In January and July, members are asked to respond to officers to confirm that their current register of interests is correct.

The reminder in January was followed by an email asking members to confirm that their register of interests is up to date. Responses have been received from all Councillors and all but one Co-opted Member.

The report also highlighted the need to ensure consistency in the text/style of responses from members when completing their Registers of Interest to avoid confusion or misunderstanding, such as completing boxes by adding ‘None’ where there are no declarations rather than leaving them blank.

Between 1 January and 21 March, five declarations were received:

• Councillor Mufeedah Bustin accepted a basketball in memento packaging, with an estimated value of £25, provided by Mount Anvil, EC1A 4HY.
• Councillor Saif Uddin Khaled declined wine, with an estimated value of £30, provided by the Chinese Embassy.
• Councillor Iqbal Hossain accepted wine, with an estimated value of £30, provided by the Chinese Embassy, but gave it away.
• Councillor Shafi Ahmed declined an unopened gift, possibly a beverage, with an estimated value of £30, provided by the Chinese Embassy.
• Councillor Abdal Ullah accepted wine, with an estimated value of £30, provided by the Chinese Embassy, but donated it to the Speaker's Charity.

The committee noted the report.

Work Plan

The committee reviewed its work plan and action list for 2024/25³.