Issue - meetings
Recruitment of Independent Person
Meeting: 17/07/2012 - Standards Advisory Committee (Item 6)
6 Recruitment of Independent Person PDF 98 KB
To follow.
Minutes:
Mr John Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services referred Members to the late report which was included in the supplementary pack and highlighted the following points:
- The new role of Independent Person [IP] was established under the Localism Act which was a key part of the new Standards arrangements. The IP must be consulted before it can be ascertained whether or not a Member had failed to comply with the Code of Conduct;
- As per Government guidance allowing for special transitional arrangements, Barry O’Connor, an Independent Member was offered and accepted the role of IP. This position will expire on 1st June 2013;
- Remuneration – there was no provision under the Members’ Allowance scheme, and it was therefore proposed that the IP be paid the same rate as co-opted members of the committee;
- Recruitment – an outline of the recruitment timetable was as follows:
Ø September 2012 - recruitment commences;
Ø October [mid] – closing date. A long list would then be determined by the Monitoring Officer and Chair of the SAC [and ...];
Ø 23rd January 2013 – appointment of an IP to be ratified by full Council.
- A reserve IP would also be appointed in case the IP’s role was conflicted or he/she was indisposed.
After discussing the merits of whether or not to have a cap on the IP’s remuneration, it was agreed that remuneration would be on a “per matter” basis. It was noted that the role would involve a fair amount of work, therefore Members thought it prudent to have a cap which could be reviewed making it possible to increase, decrease or remove it at a later stage.
Ms Isabella Freeman, Assistant Chief Executive, Legal Services also reminded Members that the probationary period and term of contract would need to be determined by Members and confirmed by full Council. A report dealing with these issues would be submitted to the SAC.
RESOLVED:
That subject to the aforementioned points, the report be noted.