MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

COUNCIL

14 DECEMBER 2011

REPORT OF THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE HELD ON

30 NOVEMBER 2011

1.           STANDARDS COMMITTEE - EXTENSION OF TERMS OF OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT MEMBERS AND PARISH COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES

1.1.      The Localism Bill received Royal Assent on 15 November 2011 and the Standards Committee, at its meeting held on 30 November 2011, considered a joint report by the Head of Legal Services and the Chairman of the Committee suggesting proposed arrangements for implementing the provisions of the Localism Act insofar as they relate to the ethical standards regime.  The report recommended that the new Code of Conduct which would have to be adopted following the coming into force of the Act should be based on the existing Code, and the Committee agreed that if any Members/Co-opted Members of the Council had suggestions for inclusions/exclusions in the new Code, they should let the Monitoring Officer know.

1.2.      A report will be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee developing these proposals in detail, but since it is not yet known when the provisions of the Act covering standards will come into force, and since the Council has already decided that there should continue to be a Standards Committee comprising Borough, Parish and Independent Members, the Committee felt that it would be sensible to extend the terms of office of the existing Independent Members and Parish Council representatives until the Annual Meeting of the Council in May 2013 or until such time that the new arrangements have been finalised.    

1.3.   RECOMMENDED:

1.3.1.That the terms of office of the existing Independent Members and Parish Council representatives on the Standards Committee be extended until the Annual Meeting of the Council in May 2013 or until such time that the arrangements in relation to the new ethical standards regime have been finalised.