Agenda item

That the Committee recommends that Members conform to the Updated Guidance.

                        The Deputy Monitoring Officer introduced a report to update the Committee on the revised guidance from the WLGA.  He provided background information and advised that the Council had not adopted a separate social media protocol but had circulated to Members the guidance published by the WLGA which addressed the issues raised by social media clearly and comprehensively.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer said the purpose of the updated guidance was to enable Councillors to benefit from the use of social media whilst minimising the associated risks such as reputational damage and/or breaching the code of conduct, as well as providing practical advice on how to manage social media in the interests of Councillors’ personal well-being. The updated guidance also provided a link to new guidance specifically dealing with handling online abuse.   A copy of the guidance was attached to the report. 

                        During discussion the Monitoring Officer responded to the question raised by the Clerk of Saltney Town Council regarding what action could be taken if there was a breach of the social media policy.  He explained that when investigating a complaint the Ombudsman would look to see if there had been a breach of the provisions of the code of conduct and would use supplementary guidance, where there was a lack of clarity within the code, or look for further explanation around what that may require.  The Monitoring Officer emphasised that the Ombudsman could only take action if there had been a breach of the code of conduct.  In response to the further questions raised by the Clerk of Saltney Town Council concerning how to prevent any breach of the social media policy arising, the Monitoring Officer explained that strong Chairmanship was the first defence against unacceptable behaviour which could resolve matters at an early stage. 

Councillor Richard Lloyd expressed a number of concerns around the inappropriate use of social media during local elections.  The Monitoring Officer explained that the Authority would address complaints which were made to the Council and would look to see if there had been a breach of the rules by candidates but did not have the resources to fully monitor the extensive use of social media.  He advised that existing Members were bound by the code of conduct during local elections and advised that it was a breach of election law for candidates to state an untruth about the character of another candidate (for example their opponent). 

                        The Deputy Monitoring Officer drew attention to page 34 in the WLGA updated guidance which was attached to the report on the monitoring of social media.

                        In response to the concerns expressed by Councillor Paul Johnson on the issue of online abuse by trolls, the Monitoring Officer referred to the guidance on staying safe and dealing with trolls contained in the WLGA  guidance on social media and drew attention to  the information on Facebook and Twitter help pages regarding how to block users and report abuse.

                        Responding to a further query from Nannerch Community Council regarding how a breach of the social media policy would be addressed, the Monitoring Officer advised that if the matter was escalated to the Standards Committee it would then be referred to the Ombudsman which would consider if there had been a breach of  the Code of Conduct.  If Town and Community Councils had adopted their own social media policy it would be used to judge the circumstance around the issue.

                        The Deputy Monitoring Officer commented that the WLGA guidance contained information around controlling and managing use of social media and the creation of separate personal and work identities.

                        Councillor Arnold Woolley proposed that the wording of the recommendation in the report be amended to read ‘That the Committee recommends that Members conform to the Updated Guidance’.  This was seconded and when put to the vote was agreed.

                        The Monitoring Officer agreed to circulate the WLGA updated guidance to all Members and to Clerks of Town and Community Councils to inform that it had been endorsed by the Standards Committee and recommend that it be brought to the attention of Town and Community Councils which did not have an existing policy.

            RESOLVED:

            That the Committee recommends that Members conform to the Updated Guidance.