Agenda item

To receive the recommendations of the following committees and, if approved, to adopt the recommendations contained therein:

Audit Committee held on 1 December:

(a)        Provision of the External Audit of the Annual Accounts – report of the Director of Corporate Resources is online at: Agenda item 11

Standards Committees held on 1 December:

(b)       Councillor Code of Conduct – Amendments – report of the Monitoring Officer is online at: Agenda item 5

(c)        Code of Conduct Complaints – New Procedures – report of the Monitoring Officer is online at: Agenda item 6

(a)     Provision of the External Audit of the Annual Accounts

Councillor Stuart Ritchie, Chairman of Audit Committee, presented the recommendation from Audit Committee, which had considered the appointment of auditors on 1 December.  Previously the Council had opted into national auditor appointment arrangements established by Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA).  These arrangements covered the period from 2018/19 up to and including the audit of the 2022/23 accounts. 

Audit Committee had considered the report of the Director of Corporate Resources, which gave details of the current arrangements. Councillor Ritchie set out the reasons why a PSAA appointed auditor was not satisfactory and advised that an independently appointed auditor would give the Council more control over timing and ensure good quality.   The proposal was seconded by Councillor Gordon Lindsay.

RESOLVED

i)        To decline Public Sector Audit Appointments’ invitation to opt into the sector-led option for the appointment of external auditors to principal local government and police bodies for five financial years from 1 April 2023.

ii)       To instruct the officers to seek to establish and independent audit panel and refers the appointment of this Panel back to its February meeting.

REASON

i)        There is a possibility the position with regards to the timeliness of the audit could improve with a local appointment and there appears to be little chance of this in joining the PSAA arrangements.

ii)       If the Council goes alone it must appoint an independent panel and then complete the procurement by 31 December 2022. 

(b)     Councillor Code of Conduct – Amendments

Councillor Brian Donnelly, Chairman of Standards Committee, outlined the recommended amendments to the Councillor Code of Conduct, which had been adopted by the Council in April 2021.  Council had adopted the Local Government Association’s Model Councillor Code of Conduct 2020, with minor amendments to the standard text.  The LGA has subsequently identified an error and had made revisions in relation to Interests.  The Committee recommended other minor amendments to correct and clarify the Code. 

By adopting this revised version, the Council will align itself with the latest version of the LGA Code, without interfering with previous specific amendments already made by this Council.   The proposal as seconded by Councillor Diana van der Klugt.

With regards to the inclusion of Neighbourhood Councils in the definitions section of the Code as being a Local Authority, along with Parish Councils and other bodies, there was some concern that Neighbourhood Councils should be defined differently to Parish Councils as they were not statutory bodies.  The Monitoring Officer clarified that the inclusion of Neighbourhood Councils was to allow them to come under the jurisdiction of the Code and take advice from the Monitoring Officer and her team if they so wished; it did not change their status in any way.

RESOLVED

To adopt the Councillor Code of Conduct for Horsham District Council as amended.

REASON

i)        The Local Government Association Code of Conduct is a national model and now contains additional guidance, working examples and explanatory text. The Horsham District Council Code of Conduct should align as closely as possible with the current version and the up-to-date published model code.

ii)       The Local Government Association have identified an error in relation to the part of the code dealing with interests and have provided some clarity in other areas following feedback. The amendments improve the code and do not interfere with other amendments previously made.

(c)     Code of Conduct Complaints – New Procedures

Councillor Diana van der Klugt, Vice-Chairman of Standards Committee, introduced the recommendation to adopt new procedures for dealing with Code of Conduct complaints.  She thanked the working group that had been set up to consider the current procedures and recommend improvements.  The proposed changes, set out in the Committee report, sought to achieve a more streamlined process for complainants and ensure a fair, efficient and transparent process.  

The Committee had weighed the benefits and disadvantages of holding sub-committees convened to determine formal investigation in public or in private.  They had concluded that due to the complex and sensitive issues under scrutiny these investigations should continue to be held in private. It was noted that the Independent Person would attend any such hearing. 

There had been an increase in formal complaints in the last few years, mainly involving Parish Councillors.  It was anticipated that the proposed procedure would allow complaint cases to be dealt with more effectively and with less resource implications for the Legal Department.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Brian Donnelly.

RESOLVED

To approve the adoption of the revised procedure in dealing with Code of Conduct complaints.

REASON

(i)      The current published procedure is detailed within a number of different documents and is repetitive and can be difficult to follow. The revised procedure brings everything together into one simplified clear document.

(ii)      The revised procedure will ensure that the Standards Committee and the Monitoring Officer are able to deal with Code of Conduct complaint cases in an efficient, timely, proportionate, just, and transparent way.

(iii)     Best practice recommendations are incorporated within the revised procedure.