The Denbighshire Council Standards Committee met to discuss several key items, including updates from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, attendance at council meetings, the National Standards Committee Forum, and group leader compliance. The committee noted the contents of the reports presented and discussed the forward work programme. Councillor Gordon Hughes raised a dispensation request from Corwen Town Council, which the Monitoring Officer agreed to address.

Group Leader Compliance

The committee received a report on the process for reporting compliance with the duty placed on political group leaders to promote and maintain high standards of conduct among their members, as outlined in the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021¹. The report detailed the two statutory duties of group leaders: to promote good standards of behaviour and to co-operate with the Standards Committee. The Standards Committee is required to prepare an annual report commenting on the levels of compliance with these duties. As part of the process, group leaders are expected to complete an annual report demonstrating their compliance, using a template provided in Appendix A of the Group Leader Compliance Reports document. These reports are to be circulated to group leaders in September, with a deadline in early October for completion and return. The Standards Committee will then meet with each group leader in November to discuss their report, and a summary of the steps taken to fulfil the duty, along with the committee's opinion on the sufficiency of those steps, will be included in the Standards Committee's annual report, to be discussed at the December meeting.

The committee was asked to provide feedback on the proposed process and timescales for reporting on compliance with the Group Leaders' Duty.

Attendance at Meetings

The committee received an update on the attendance of members at County, Town, and Community Council meetings. The Deputy Monitoring Officer had previously circulated a list of City, Town, and Community Councils, including details of the last meeting observed by members of the Standards Committee. According to the Standards Committee Guidance, each independent member should attend one City, Town, or Community Council meeting between each formal Standards Committee meeting.

Responses from members indicating which meetings they would like to observe had been received, and the list of meetings to be observed would be circulated after review. Members raised questions about whether the meetings being observed would be conducted in English or Welsh and if translation facilities were available. The Monitoring Officer informed the committee that a Liaison Officer had recently been appointed, who may be able to contact all councils to ask if they needed help providing translation facilities.

The committee resolved to note the update on attendance at meetings.

National Standards Committee Forum Update

The committee received a report on the National Standards Committee Forum meeting held on 23 June 2025. Maggie Griffiths, Chair of the Standards Committee, attended the forum. The forum agreed that notes and relevant documentation discussed at the meeting could be circulated to Standards Committees, provided that no individual complainant or councillor complained of could be identified.

Copies of all notes and relevant documentation discussed at the meeting were included in Appendix A of the National Standards Committee Chairs Forum document. The next forum meeting was scheduled for 26 January 2026. The committee resolved to note the contents of the report.

Key discussion points from the National Standards Committee Chairs Forum included:

• Engagement with the Welsh Government: Contact with chairs prepared to participate in consultation/feedback sessions organised by the Welsh Government Policy Division would be best made via their respective Monitoring Officers.
• Remuneration: The Chief Executive of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru would be invited to a future meeting to discuss payments to co-opted members.
• Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) Update:
  • The PSOW had reverted to notifying members at the point when they had been complained about.
  • Caseloads for code of conduct complaints were fewer than last year, with 60% related to Town and Community Councils and 40% to Local Authorities. A lack of equality and respect was the main complaint theme.
  • It was very important for low-level issues to be resolved locally wherever possible.
• Dispensations: There are differences between the way dispensations are dealt with in Wales and England, and procedures are a matter for local constitutions.
• Recent Cases of Interest: The Chairs appreciated the opportunity to discuss several cases of interest and learn from cross-sector experiences.

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales - 'Our Findings'

The committee considered a report by the Monitoring Officer on the published 'Our Findings' page on the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) website². The 'Our Findings' section contains summaries of cases involving Code of Conduct complaints investigated by the Ombudsman. The report covered the period from 27 May to 1 September 2025, during which the Ombudsman's website contained summaries of cases broken down by subject matter:

• Promotion of equality and respect: 1
• Duty to uphold the law: 3

The outcomes of these cases were categorised as follows:

• No action necessary: 3
• Discontinued: 1

None of the cases related to a council in Denbighshire.

The report also covered decisions made by the Adjudication Panel for Wales (APW), which deals with references by the Ombudsman and appeals against Standards Committee decisions. Since 28 February 2025, there had been one decision made by the APW in relation to references from the Ombudsman, a summary of which was enclosed in Appendix 2 of the Standards Committee Report September 2025 Our Findings document.

The committee resolved to note the contents of the report.

Dispensation Requests

Councillor Gordon Hughes stated that there had been a Dispensation Request submitted by Corwen Town Council. The Monitoring Officer agreed to check and convene an extraordinary meeting to consider the request, rather than wait until the December Standards Committee meeting.

Annual Governance Statement

The committee received the Annual Governance Statement for information. The statement covered the principles of good governance, the governance framework, and key contributors to developing and maintaining the framework. It also included a review of effectiveness, internal sources of assurance, the Chief Finance Officer's statement on compliance with the CIPFA Financial Management Code³, key indicators, assurances from external regulators, and actions taken in response to the 2023/24 statement.

Gifts and Hospitality Register

The committee was scheduled to receive a verbal update on the Gifts and Hospitality Register from the Head of Corporate Support Services: People, but there is no record of this update being provided in the minutes.

Standards Committee Forward Work Programme

The committee considered the Standards Committee Forward Work Programme. Members discussed arrangements for the joint meeting with City, Town, and Community Councils. The Monitoring Officer agreed to identify training content suggestions and circulate these to members for consideration, to maximise the relevance of pre-meeting training for City, Town, and Community Council attendees. The Code of Conduct for Officers agenda item had been rescheduled to the Standards Committee meeting on 5 December 2025. The committee resolved to note the Standards Committee Forward Work Programme.