The Standards Committee of Carmarthenshire Council met on Monday 3 March 2025 to consider several dispensation requests from councillors and to review various committee procedures and work programmes. The committee unanimously granted dispensations to Councillor David Nicholas and Councillor Sharen Davies, allowing them to speak and make written representations, but not vote, on specific council business where they had declared a personal interest. Additionally, the committee approved arrangements for future code of conduct training for town and community councillors and adopted its forward work programme for 2025-2026.

Dispensation Requests Granted

The committee considered and unanimously resolved to grant dispensations to three councillors.

Councillor David Nicholas received a dispensation to speak and make written representations, but not to vote, on any Planning Committee agenda item where Llandybie Community Council had made a comment, representation, or objection. This was granted under Regulations 2(2)(d) and 2(2)(f) of the Standards Committees (Grant of Dispensation) (Wales) Regulations 2001, and will be valid until the end of the current electoral term. Councillor Nicholas, who is employed as the clerk to Llandybie Community Council, sought this dispensation to address potential conflicts arising from his dual role. The committee noted that his situation was comparable to twin-hatted councillors who can speak and vote on such matters.

Councillor Sharen Davies was granted a dispensation to speak and make written representations, but not to vote, in relation to council business concerning the Bryn and Trallwm Sports and Social club. This was approved under Regulation 2(2)(d) and 2(2)(h) of the same regulations, also valid until the end of the current electoral term. Councillor Davies is a member of the club, which has a personal interest for her. The committee noted that Regulation 2(2)(e) was not applicable as the interest did not affect a significant proportion of the public, and Regulation 2(2)(h) precluded voting.

A second dispensation request from Councillor Sharen Davies was also considered and unanimously granted. She received permission to speak and make written representations, but not to vote, on council business relating to the Llwynhendy Pemberton Forum. Councillor Davies is a member and secretary of the Forum, creating a personal interest. This dispensation was granted under Regulation 2(2)(d) and 2(2)(h) and will remain valid until the end of the current electoral term. Similar to the previous request, Regulation 2(2)(e) was deemed not applicable, and Regulation 2(2)(h) prevented voting.

Code of Conduct Training and Data Exercise

The committee reviewed and approved arrangements for the 2025 annual code of conduct training for Town and Community Councillors. The proposed approach, which had been successful in 2024, included holding the session via Zoom in June or July, recording it for wider dissemination, and updating training materials to reflect recent Adjudication Panel decisions. The committee also agreed that the session should be advertised to all County Councillors. Consideration was given to holding an early evening session to maximise attendance.

Furthermore, the committee reviewed and endorsed proposed questions for the annual Code Data Exercise. This exercise gathers data on code of conduct compliance from Town and Community Councils, focusing on declarations of interest, code of conduct training, and council training plans. The questionnaire will be issued electronically with a return deadline of 1 June 2025. The committee requested the inclusion of two additional questions: one to ascertain the percentage of councillors trained on the code of conduct in the past 12 months, and another to identify the number of councils that have signed the Civility and Respect Pledge.

Forward Work Programme and Other Business

The committee considered and adopted its draft Forward Work Programme for the 2025-2026 municipal year. Key additions to the programme include the annual statutory meeting between the full committee and political group leaders in May, and an annual report on code of conduct complaints notified to the Monitoring Officer that did not result in a referral to the Adjudication Panel for Wales or the Standards Committee. This report will be anonymised to identify trends and inform future training.

The committee also received and noted a report detailing recent decisions from the Adjudication Panel for Wales and the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales regarding code of conduct complaints, which serve as valuable learning points.

The committee reviewed its action log, noting that a previously scheduled code of conduct training session for County Councillors had been cancelled due to member availability, and a new date would be arranged.

Finally, the committee signed the minutes of its previous meeting held on 9 December 2024.