Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

On minute 39, Councillor Andrew Parkhurst advised that whilst he attended meetings of Cilcain Community Council in his capacity as the local elected Member, he was not a member of the Community Council and had no close connections with the membership.

On minute 40, Councillor Andrew Parkhurst advised that whilst he attended meetings of Cilcain Community Council in his capacity as the local elected Member, he was not a member of the Community Council and had no close connections with the membership.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2022.

That the minutes be approved as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2022 were approved, as moved and seconded by Jacqueline Guest and Councillor Ian Papworth.

Matters Arising

Minute 30 - it was confirmed that written feedback from the visits had been shared with the Town and Community Councils.

Minute 31 - the Chair advised that the first meeting of the National Forum had been moved to 27 January 2023 at 2pm.  She provided an overview of the agenda items for that meeting to which the Chairs of Standards Committees across Wales would be invited, along with the Chairs of National Park Authorities and Fire & Rescue Authorities.

Minute 33 - Councillor Andrew Parkhurst asked about the timing of the next review of the Flintshire Standard to which the Deputy Monitoring Officer would seek clarification.  It was noted that this formed part of the rolling review of the Members’ Code of Conduct which would be deferred from July 2023 to a future date, following the item scheduled for the next meeting.

Minute 34 - confirmation would be sought at the next meeting on whether the information on the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales ‘My Findings’ publication had been circulated to Members.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record.

To receive any requests for dispensations.

Members of the press/public will be able to remain at the meeting whilst an application for dispensation is presented to the Committee and will be able to return to hear the Committee’s decision.  However, under Paragraph 18C Schedule 12A Local Government Act 1972 the Committee will exclude the press and public from the meeting whilst it deliberates on any application for a dispensation.

None.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer confirmed that no dispensation requests had been received.

To receive verbal reports from independent members of the Committee on their visits to the following councils:

·         Argoed Community Council (Mark Morgan - 01.11.2022)

·         Brynford Community Council (Gill Murgatroyd - 08.11.2022)

·         Caerwys Town Council  (Gill Murgatroyd - 18.10.2022)

·         Cilcain Community Council  (Julia Hughes - 17.10.2022)

·         Saltney Town Council (Mark Morgan - 09.11.2022)

That the verbal reports be received and feedback given to the Town and Community Councils.

The Chair clarified the purpose of the item and invited verbal feedback on the following visits:

Argoed Community Council on 1 November 2022 and Saltney Town Council on 9 November 2022 (Mark Morgan).

Caerwys Town Council on 18 October 2022 and Brynford Community Council on 8 November 2022 (Gill Murgatroyd).

Cilcain Community Council on 17 October 2022 (Chair).

The following points were raised which were to be fed back to support Town and Community Councils in their procedures:

·         Areas of good practice - independent members were pleased to observe that ‘declarations of interest’ was a standing item on all agendas and that all meetings were well chaired with good support from Clerks and ample opportunities for everyone to participate.

·         That the following would be seen as good practice:

o   Chairs/Clerks to verbally invite declarations of interest under that specific item noting that participants could declare interests as required throughout the meeting.

o   To clarify amounts of money to be given to community groups (as mentioned at a particular meeting) to show transparency and to assist members, should an issue arise on potential interests.

o   To ensure that unspecified items raised by members are listed on agendas where possible and are discussed with the Chair and Clerk in advance to help prepare accordingly, to assist members with potential interests and to avoid any delay in the business being discussed.

The recommendation was moved and seconded by Gill Murgatroyd and Mark Morgan.

RESOLVED:

That the verbal reports be received and feedback given to the Town and Community Councils.

There were no members of the press or public in attendance.