The Standards Committee met on Friday 11 October 2024 to review and approve amendments to its hearings procedure, and to discuss its workplan for the upcoming year. The committee approved changes to its hearings procedure to ensure greater clarity and fairness for participants, and also noted its workplan for 2024-2025.

Review of Standards Committee Hearings Procedure

The committee discussed and approved amendments to its hearings procedure, aiming to make the process more robust and consistent. Key changes included:

• Timeliness of Submissions: A proposal was made to ensure that all witness statements and documents are provided to committee members at least seven clear working days before a hearing. This aims to give members sufficient time to review materials, while also allowing for a further seven clear working days for Democratic Services to process and distribute them. The committee acknowledged the need for flexibility in these timescales, particularly in cases where appellants might be late with submissions.
• Exclusion of Late Evidence: The procedure was amended to state that the committee will generally not consider oral evidence from a witness or documents not provided in accordance with the specified timelines, unless the committee agrees otherwise in the interest of justice.
• Decision Announcement: The procedure will be updated to reflect that while the committee will aim to announce its decision on the day of the hearing where practical, a short written decision will be provided within two working days. A full written decision with reasons will be issued within 10 working days. This change was made to avoid setting unrealistic expectations for immediate written decisions, especially for late-running hearings.
• Clarity on Representation and Adjustments: The committee agreed to enhance clarity regarding representation for councillors facing hearings. This includes specifying that councillors can be represented and by whom, and clarifying the form of that representation. Furthermore, the procedure will be updated to proactively ask all parties if any adjustments are required for the hearing, ensuring that practical arrangements can be made in advance. This includes inviting requests for adjustments related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010¹.
• Witness Attendance: A discussion took place regarding the existing rule that witnesses are not allowed to sit in the public gallery before giving evidence. The committee considered that if a hearing is public and live-streamed, there may be little practical benefit in excluding witnesses, as they could still observe proceedings online. The proposed amendment suggests that witnesses may be allowed in the room for public, live-streamed hearings, but will be kept separate for private hearings.
• Inclusivity and Language: The document will be reviewed for gender-neutral language, changing his/her to their .
• Burden and Standard of Proof: The committee agreed to incorporate a clear statement on the burden and standard of proof, clarifying that decisions will be based on the civil standard of proof, more likely than not . The order of submissions may also be revised to reflect this.
• Formality: The final sentence of section 10.2, which stated that the committee will, as far as possible, try to avoid formality in its proceedings, was removed, acknowledging that hearings are formal proceedings.

The committee agreed to re-agenda the formal approval of the revised wording for its next meeting, having reached a consensus on the principles discussed.

Workplan 2024-2025

The committee discussed its workplan for the upcoming year, with a focus on engagement with community and town councils. Key points raised included:

• Engagement with Community and Town Councils: A suggestion was made to interview chairs of community and town councils to assess their understanding of standards, their duties, and the code of conduct. It was also proposed that training on the code of conduct be mandated for all community councillors, as while signing up to the code is a requirement, formal training is not.
• Financial Training: A discussion arose about the frequency of financial issues in complaints against community and town councils. While the Standards Committee's remit is primarily the code of conduct, it was suggested that reminding community councils about the importance of financial training, particularly for those on finance committees, would be beneficial. The Local Government and Elections Act 2021 mandates that each community town council must have a training plan in place.
• Clerk Engagement: In addition to engaging with chairs, it was suggested that sessions for clerks to community councils would also be valuable, as clerks often have close working relationships with councillors.
• Review of Questions for Group Leaders: The committee plans to review and update its questions for political group leaders to ensure they remain relevant and to explore better ways of engaging with them.
• Ombudsman Engagement: An invitation will be extended to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales to speak to the committee, sharing insights on best practices and areas for improvement.
• Reporting on External Meetings: A member raised the point of previous attendance at other meetings on behalf of the committee and whether this could become a standard quarterly review item. However, it was explained that discussions at the chairs' committee are often about best practice and are not always ready for public dissemination, to avoid politicisation.

The committee noted its workplan for 2024-2025.