To receive any questions or petitions from members of the public
Minutes:
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5.1
5.2
5.3 |
A member of the public, Nigel Slack, asked:
I note at Item 10, the Committee is to discuss the Work Programme for 2018/19. This report indicates it is to enable Members to “consider and comment” on the draft Work Programme for 2018/19.
Since the only piece of work in the report is the Scrutiny Annual Report, I take it this is actually the last piece of work for the Committee before the annual 'musical chairs' event that follows the May elections?
I'd like to highlight early therefore a topic for the 2019/20 work programme for this Committee.
A review in detail of the Councillors Code of Conduct and how to reflect within that the need to address social media use & abuse by Councillors.
Recent decisions by the Monitoring Officer have highlighted the need to look at how social media is used by Councillors, including the potential for the use of 'fake' accounts. The current Code of Conduct is clearly not up to the job and Cabinet have, in answer to my questions, made it clear they believe it is for this Committee to consider the changes that need to be made to bring this code into the 21st century. There are also issues around other elements of the code that I believe need strengthening in order to protect both the public and the reputation of this Council.
Will this Committee therefore commit to the 2019/20 work programme to addressing this issue as a matter of urgency?
The Chair explained that the Councillor Code of Conduct was reviewed annually by the Audit and Standards Committee and agreed by Full Council. The question would be passed to the Audit and Standards Committee to look at as soon as possible and the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee would look at the Code of Conduct following the review.
RESOLVED: That the the question be passed to the Audit and Standards Committee for a review of the Councillor Code of Conduct to be carried out as soon as possible and for Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to add to their work Programme once the review had been concluded. |