Agenda item

The Chair asked whether the Head of Law and Standards had any comments at this point regarding item 7.

The Head of Law and Standards noted the response to the Richard Penn report was included as a follow on from the previous meeting’s discussion for information.

The Head of Law and Standards informed committee that he felt that Monmouthshire Standards Committee felt compelled to write to Welsh Government in an informal capacity.

The Head of Law and Standards highlighted that the letter agreed that the Code of Conduct was fit for purpose but disputed the Ombudsman’s implied understanding of the behaviour of Community Council(lors) was correct. The Head of Law and Standards also highlighted Monmouthshire Standards Committee’s concern regarding all complaints being referred to Monitoring Officers before going to the Ombudsman and the  workload implications this would have for Monitoring Officers and Local Authorities.

Mrs Nurton felt that it was unsurprising to see the comments as it was fed back at the All Wales Standards Conference 2022. Mrs Nurton felt that the letter was well written and hoped that Welsh Government would consider the letter before consultation as it raised an important point that should be considered further.

Councillor Hourahine felt that there had been few instances of cases being referred to the Standards Committee and therefore shouldn’t be too onerous a duty on Monitoring Officers to accept the new duties.

-       The Head of Law and Standards confirmed that Councillor Hourahine was correct in saying there had only been one misconduct hearing in Standards Committee over the past 20 years.

-       The Head of Law and Standards highlighted that a significant number of complaints do go to the Ombudsman and are not referred to Standards Committee, which the Monitoring Officers would then be responsible for investigating if the matters were referred.

-       The Head of Law and Standards acknowledges that it has been a criticism by the Standards Committees across Wales that they felt the Ombudsman wields too much power regarding cases in which a breach of the Code has occurred but are not serious enough to warrant a sanction by a Standards Committee. The Head of Law and Standards acknowledged that this change would redress this complaint.

-       The Head of Law and Standards informed committee that Nick Bennett, the current Ombudsman, stated at the All Wales Standards Committee that he envisaged the Ombudsman investigating serious complaints independently regardless of the change.

-       The Head of Law and Standards thought that this would give authorities a chance to look at complaints locally before passing them on to the Ombudsman to refer back to Standards and was a change of process rather than the nature of extent of investigations involved.

-       Councillor Hourahine asked whether the Chair and the Head of Law and Standards would draft a letter back.

-       The Chair explained that this isn’t a letter to be responded to so much as to discuss.

Dr Morgan felt that once Welsh Government published draft guidance and details of the process can be seen, that it would be good to comment at that stage.

-       The Head of Law and Standards agreed with Dr Morgan, and noted that when Welsh Government had anything substantive, they would embark on a formal consultation exercise.