Agenda item

To receive a verbal report.

That the feedback from the Standards Committee Forum on 29^th June 2018 be noted.

The Standards Committee representative, Phillipa Earlam, provided a verbal update on the topics that had been discussed at the Standards Committee Forum on 29^th June 2018, hosted by Gwynedd Council, which were as follows:

            Prior to the Forum, Flintshire’s Monitoring Officer had circulated the first draft guidance from the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) on the use of social media for Members, the content of which was mirrored in many respects by a presentation delivered by the Communications Director at Gwynedd Council.  Some of the points discussed were:

·         Social media could be a good means of communication between a Councillor and their  electorate but the risks and downsides were emphasised;

·         The use of public and private accounts;

·         How to respond to criticism;

·         Online discussions;

·         You can’t control a conversation;

·         If you set up a facebook account by way of a means to be contacted, you needed to ensure you kept a regular check on the account to ensure timely responses;

·         Data Protection breaches, particularly in relation to photographs and gaining consent for use; and

·         Thinking about your audience.

The Communications Team in Gwynedd provided regular workshops for Members where they could help them set up social media accounts and provide them with advice and guidance on how to take care online.

It was agreed that the issues discussed would be reported back to Standards Committees and a discussion to follow with the Monitoring Officer, IT and the Communications Team on the draft Social Media Policy and discussions would follow between the respective Monitoring Officers, IT and Communications teams on the draft Social Media Policy.  It was not yet a formal draft and the date for when it would be sent out for consultation was not yet known.  Comments could possibly be fed back to the Conference in September.

            Anglesey had tabled questions in relation to the proposed merger of local authorities, which had since been superseded, and raised that if Gwynedd Council and Anglesey County Council merged there would be in excess of 100 town and community councils and this was where the majority of their current issues came from.  They also asked if the number of town and community councils needed to be reduced.

            Denbighshire County Council commented that they had seen a decrease in complaints relating to town and community councils and they felt this was due to the effective training of Clerks by the Monitoring Officer which saw an improvement in procedures.

            A question was asked by Anglesey County Council as to how other Councils appointed a town or community council representative to their Standards Committee, commenting that it had been a long process for them.

            On the Local Resolution Protocol, a Chair of a Standards Committee had been encouraged by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) to undertake dispute mediation training with a view to providing mediation direct as opposed to going to the Ombudsman.  Feedback was it was a difficult role to undertake and could possibly undermine the Standards Committee in the future as if mediation did not work, the case could be reported to the Standards Committee and the mediator would have to stand down.

            David Richards, the Director of Governance at Welsh Government had delivered a presentation to Anglesey County Council which had been well received.  It was felt it would be useful to receive a presentation at the Standards Committee Forum. It was suggested that the Monitoring Officer from Anglesey circulate the slides to other Monitoring Officers so that they could recommend where it could be tailored specifically.

            The Standards Committee Conference was scheduled for 14^th September 2018 and there would be a maximum of four delegates per authority at a cost of £70 per delegate.

            On dealing with claims of misconduct a flyer had been handed out from the PSOW and covered a lot of points that had concerned the group; Anglesey’s representative felt it covered a lot of the points but not all.  It was felt that Monitoring Officers would be looking at the paper and would provide feedback.  There was a general feeling that when a Councillor was accused of something, the standard procedure should be for them to stand down whilst the ombudsman’s investigation took place.

RESOLVED:

That the feedback from the Standards Committee Forum on 29^th June 2018 be noted.