The Standards Committee of Newham Council met on Wednesday 2 September 2026 to discuss the Member Induction and Development Programme, the committee's work programme, and an update on complaints. The meeting also included a review of the council's Code of Conduct and the procedure for handling complaints.

Member Induction and Development Programme 2026/27 - Attendance Update

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to reviewing the attendance records for the 2026/27 Member Induction and Development Programme. The report detailed attendance figures for various mandatory training sessions, including Member Enquiries, Modern.Gov Member Induction, Data Protection, Finance, Adults' and Children's Safeguarding, and Working with Residents. The overall attendance across all groups was 75%, with the Newham Independents Group showing the highest average attendance at 83.3%, followed by the Green Group at 74.0%, and the Labour Group at 67.3%. The report highlighted that attendance at mandatory sessions was below the target of 90% and recommended exploring methods to drive attendance across all political groups. The committee was asked to consider and agree ways to increase attendance to meet the target, and to agree an approach for members not attending or engaging with the sessions. Specific attention was drawn to the need for members to attend statutory training to be eligible to serve on certain committees.

Standards Committee – Proposed Work Programme

The committee considered a report outlining the proposed work plan for the 2026/2027 municipal year. Five meetings were scheduled, with the first having already taken place in June 2026. The proposed work plan included standing items such as Complaints update and Report of Dispensations retrospectively granted by the Monitoring Officer. It was recommended that the Code of Conduct item be replaced with a Review of the Complaints Policy, and that Equalities and Inclusion be included as a standalone item. The committee also discussed exploring interrelationships with the Audit and Governance Committee. The report noted that updates on learning impacting the ethical framework would be included, and the Head of Workforce Equity, Diversity & Inclusion could be invited to a future meeting. The consideration of Nolan Principles and the Council Culture was deferred, as the council was reviewing its Corporate Plan.

Update on Complaints

An update on complaints was scheduled to be discussed at the meeting. While the report pack did not contain specific details of the complaints themselves, it indicated that a report on complaints received was usually a standing item and would be presented to future meetings. The Monitoring Officer had previously noted that Newham received a relatively low number of complaints, but that themes could be examined. The report pack also mentioned that the Complaints Handling Procedure was published to accompany the Code of Conduct and that Independent Persons played a key role in assisting with the merit of each complaint.

Code of Conduct

The meeting was scheduled to include discussions related to the council's Code of Conduct. A presentation on the Code of Conduct had been given at a previous meeting, outlining its purpose, the seven Nolan Principles¹ in public life, when the Code applies, and key standards of councillor conduct. The report pack also detailed the register of interests, including disclosable pecuniary interests, other registerable interests, and non-registerable interests, as well as the declaration of gifts and hospitality. The importance of avoiding bias and pre-determination in decision-making was also highlighted, with reference to the Bias Test and Predetermination Test. The report pack noted that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had consulted on reforms to the standards framework, which would likely require changes to primary legislation.

Equalities and Inclusion

A verbal update on Equalities and Inclusion was scheduled to be provided at the meeting. This topic was also flagged for inclusion as a standalone item in the committee's future work programme.