Agenda and draft minutes
PDF 521 KBVenue: the Council Chamber - Council Offices, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX. View directions
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Apologies To receive any apologies for absence.
The quorum for a Standards Hearing Sub-Committee meeting is three elected Members plus an Independent Person Minutes: Upon being proposed and seconded, Cllr Nigel Robbins was elected chair of the Standards Hearings Sub-Committee for the remainder of the 2025/26 civic year.
The Chair welcomed attendees who were invited to introduce themselves.
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Substitutions To note any Substitute Members. Substitute Members are allowed only from the membership of the Audit and Governance Committee. Members will only be able to sit on the Standards Hearings Sub-Committee if they have undertaken standards training (to be held prior to the meeting). Minutes: There were no substitutions.
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members of the Sub-Committee relating to items to be considered at the meeting. Minutes: The members of the Sub-Committee declared for transparency that they knew Andrea Pellegram who was mentioned in the report.
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Standards Sub-Committee Procedure Rules To note the Standards Sub-Committee Procedure Rules to be followed at this meeting as adopted at Full Council on 23 July 2024. Minutes: The Chair drew the Sub-Committee’s attention to the procedure rules. The Head of Legal Services explained the procedure to be followed.
The Chair emphasised that the standards hearing was not a court of law and the Sub-Committee would need to make its determinations on the balance of probabilities.
It was clarified that the complainants would have the opportunity to ask questions as that had been agreed by the Monitoring Officer and aligned with common practice although it was not explicitly set out in the Procedure Rules.
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Exclusion of the Press and Public Purpose For the Sub-Committee to hear any representation and agree whether or not to enter into private session before determining the allegations of breaches of a Parish Council Code of Conduct.
If the Sub-Committee wishes to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for the Sub-Committee to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.
The Standards Hearing Sub-Committee may maintain the exemption if and so long as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. Minutes: The Sub-Committee voted to exclude the press and public from the meeting on the basis that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, with the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighing the public interest in disclosure.
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Determination of Alleged Breaches of Code of Conduct Case references 571 and 574 Purpose To consider allegations that two members of a Parish Council in the Cotswold District Council area have breached the Code of Conduct, and to determine any appropriate sanctions to be recommended to Parish Council should any breach be confirmed. |