Agenda item

(a)       That no further action be taken in relation to the Planning Protocol;

(b)       That the points raised in paragraph 3.02 of the report be considered as part of the proposed review of Flintshire’s Member/Officer Protocol;

(c)       That all Members be reminded of the provisions for declarations of Gifts and Hospitality within the Code of Conduct; and

(d)       That the protocol on the use of IT by Members be pursued as indicated in paragraph 3.04 of the report, taking into consideration the comments raised by the Committee.  The final version of the Protocol to be brought back to the Committee at a later date, for information only.

The Democracy & Governance Manager introduced the report on supplementary protocols which had been referred to by Mr. Peter Keith-Lucas at the Anglesey training day in July 2014.  The views of the Committee were sought on any parts of the protocols which could be adopted to improve the existing arrangements in Flintshire.

Planning

It was noted that some changes had already been made to the Council’s Planning Code of Practice following earlier consideration of the Planning protocol, as agreed at the meeting in September 2014.

Member/Officer Relations

The Committee compared the Council’s existing protocol with that from Mr. Keith-Lucas and agreed that the areas highlighted in paragraph 3.02 of the report should be taken into account as part of the forthcoming review.  During the debate, Mrs. Phillipa Ann Earlam raised comments on the protocol from Mr. Keith-Lucas in terms of consistent spelling of the word ‘whistleblowing’ and removal of the initial word ‘appropriate’ from section 3.2(e).

Gifts and Hospitality

In relation to the protocol from Mr. Keith-Lucas, Councillor Hilary McGuill referred to the need to declare, where necessary, gifts such as flowers.  Following discussion, the Committee agreed that the Council did not require a separate protocol for Gifts and Hospitality but felt that all Members should be reminded of the current provisions on this within the Code of Conduct.

IT for Members

The Chief Officer (Governance) responded to queries on internet access through Wi-Fi and insurance liability.  A number of points were raised on the protocol from Mr. Keith-Lucas:

• For consistency, to refer to either ‘Council’ or ‘Authority’ and not both.
• To change references of ‘councillor’ to ‘member’ for consistency which would also then include co-opted members.
• On Section 9 (Confidentiality), to clarify the process for returning equipment back to the Council and responsibility for clearing any data.
• To consider imposing a deadline for the return of IT devices when the Member leaves the Council, eg within 7 or 14 days.
• For paragraph 5(a) to specify the prohibiting of private use which would be unlawful.

During debate on the third point, reference was made to the shared responsibility between Members and the Council, namely that Members would be expected to remove any files that they did not wish others to see before returning the device and to seek assistance if required.  For their part, the IT Section would ensure the clearing of returned devices before re-issuing for use by another individual.

As there was no protocol currently in place, the Committee agreed with the suggested approach for a protocol to be developed by the Member iPad project group, incorporating some of the principles from the protocol by Mr. Keith-Lucas.  It was also agreed that the finalised protocol would be brought back to the Committee, for information only, at a future date.  The Chief Officer (Governance) added that the relevant Cabinet Member would need to be consulted on the proposed protocol.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That no further action be taken in relation to the Planning Protocol;

(b)       That the points raised in paragraph 3.02 of the report be considered as part of the proposed review of Flintshire’s Member/Officer Protocol;

(c)       That all Members be reminded of the provisions for declarations of Gifts and Hospitality within the Code of Conduct; and

(d)       That the protocol on the use of IT by Members be pursued as indicated in paragraph 3.04 of the report, taking into consideration the comments raised by the Committee.  The final version of the Protocol to be brought back to the Committee at a later date, for information only.