The Standards Committee of Hackney Council met on 17 February 2025. It was scheduled to consider a consultation from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities on the conduct of local authority members, and a report on the declarations of interest and gifts and hospitality made by the Mayor and Councillors in the current municipal year.

Government Consultation on Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for Local Authorities

The committee was scheduled to consider its response to a consultation on strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England. The consultation was issued by The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, and sought views on proposals to introduce measures to strengthen the standards and conduct regime for local authorities in England. The document stated that The Government considers that the current local authority standards and conduct regime is in certain key aspects ineffectual, inconsistently applied, and lacking in adequate powers to effectively sanction members found in serious breach of their codes of conduct and hence has issued this consultation.

The consultation asked the council to answer 40 questions, including whether local authorities should be able to suspend councillors who breach their codes of conduct. It also sought views on whether there should be a right of appeal for members who have been suspended, and whether there is a need for an external national body to hear such appeals. The consultation also asked Hackney to consider whether its reforms would particularly benefit or disbenefit individuals with protected characteristics.

The Committee was being asked to provide feedback on the consultation so that the Monitoring Officer could compile a response on behalf of the Council.

Annual Review of Declarations of Interests and Gifts and Hospitality

The Committee was also scheduled to receive a report on the declarations of interest and gifts and hospitality made by the Mayor, Councillors and Co-optees during the current municipal year. This report covered:

• The completion of registers of interests and gifts and hospitality forms.
• The number of times interests have been declared at council meetings.
• Any complaints received about breaches of the Code of Conduct.
• Any other relevant matters.

The report noted that, As the Committee will recall from the last Annual Report which was considered in July 2024, none of the complaints received concerned allegations concerning the failure to register or disclose interests or failures with regards to the disclosure of gifts or hospitality.