This meeting of Tower Hamlets' Standards Advisory Committee will receive several monitoring reports and updates on a variety of issues, including the progress of recent complaints. There will also be an update on new guidance being developed for Standards Committees by the Local Government Association (LGA) and discussion of a new proposal to create a Standards in Public Life webpage for the Council's website.

Register of Interests and Gifts and Hospitality

The Committee will receive a quarterly update on the Members' Register of Interests ¹ and declarations of gifts and hospitality. During the period covered by the report, one declaration was received. Councillor Mufeedah Bustin declared that they had accepted a gift of two tickets to All Points East, a music festival that took place on 25th August 2024 at Victoria Park, from All Points East – AEG. The tickets have an estimated value of £200.

Standards Advisory Committee - report on Code of Conduct matters for the year 2024-2025 (to date)

This report updates the Committee on the complaints and investigations relating to alleged breaches of the Council’s Code of Conduct for Members ² from 1 May 2024 to 16 August 2024. At the time of the last monitoring report, five complaints remained open - three from the previous municipal year and two from the current municipal year. Both of the complaints from the current municipal year have now been closed.

Of the complaints made during the previous municipal year, two have been closed and one remains open. One of the matters which has been closed went to full investigation. A report made findings against the councillor, but the Monitoring Officer decided that no further action should be taken.

The matter which remains open dates from the municipal year 2023-24. A meeting with the Independent Person is being arranged, in order to discuss it with a view to closure.

Annual Review of the Member Code of Conduct

The current Code of Conduct for Members was originally adopted by the council in November 2021 and came into force following the local elections in May 2022. The Committee are asked to review the code and identify any changes they consider should be made.

Officers are particularly highlighting that the current Appendices to the Code of Conduct, which set out the procedures for dealing with complaints, are similar to the Committee’s own procedures and may be causing confusion or conflicting guidance.

Officers are proposing that the Committee review whether Appendix C should be removed and the content merged with the Committee procedure rules in Part D of the Council's constitution. They have prepared a first draft of a combined guidance note, and are asking the Committee for their feedback on it.

The Committee are also being asked whether they feel new protocols should be created around the process for managing gifts & hospitality and on use of social media by Members.

LGA Standards Committee Guidance

This report provides an update on the responses provided to Hoey Ainscough Associates, who have been tasked by the Local Government Association (LGA) with creating new best practice guidance for Standards Committees.

The Committee previously discussed this new guidance at its June meeting and submitted feedback.

Some of the key points that were raised included:  It was important that Standards Committees were proactive in their support of high standards and did not just react to complaints received.  There was support for keeping Standards Committees separate from other Committee work but acknowledgement that linking with committees such as Audit Committee could be valuable.  The existing complaints process involving various steps and sub-committee meetings etc was long-winded/slow given the potential sanctions available. Are other methods/processes available and better suited e.g. restorative justice, shorter decision processes, other ideas for sanctions. Can a new process better support systems learning and ensuring that lessons are learnt.  The parity of co-opted Members compared to Councillors on the Committee was seen as important and the independence of the Chair was particularly seen as helpful. There was also support for having the same number of Co-opted Members as Councillors on the Committee.  Should the Committee focus more widely, e.g. more formally on Member development.  The points raised in the draft guidance about better links between the Committee and the rest of the Council and with the Executive were interesting.  In relation to the Terms of Reference, guidance would be welcome on how much that should be expanded beyond Code of Conduct matters and if there were references to areas such as working stakeholders or residents, more clarity on what that meant.  The draft guidance highlighted the importance of relationships with key officers but only really talked about the Monitoring Officer, it was suggested that other relevant officers be considered.

The report notes that the LGA are particularly interested in Tower Hamlets' unusual arrangement of having a Committee made up of 50% co-opted members, and highlights that this arrangement may be in contention with the regulations on the formation of committees.

Standards in Public Life webpage

This report asks the Committee to consider a proposal to create a new webpage for the Council's website that highlights the Seven Principles of Public Life, also known as the Nolan Principles.

The report notes that although the Council could just link to the website for the national Committee on Standards in Public Life, it is felt that creating a full webpage would better underline the importance that the Council places on the issue.

A draft suggestion for the webpage has been prepared, which includes the seven Nolan Principles and suggests including quotes from the Chief Executive, the Chair of Standards and the Mayor. The Committee are asked to review this draft and make suggestions for improvements.