Agenda and minutes

Venue: Hendon Town Hall, The Burroughs, London NW4 4AX

Contact: Andrew Nathan 020 8359 7029; Email: andrew.nathan@barnet.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes of last meeting pdf icon PDF 30 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Group Leaders Panel held on 3 September 2014 were agreed as a correct record.

2.

Absence of Members (If any)

Minutes:

There were none.

3.

Declaration of Members' Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Non Pecuniary Interests (If any)

Minutes:

There were none.

4.

Report of the Monitoring Officer (If any)

Minutes:

There was none.

5.

Delegations Report pdf icon PDF 316 KB

Minutes:

The Group Leaders Panel considered the report.

 

RESOLVED - That the Group Leaders Panel notes the delegations used to reject any formal complaints made under the Member Code of Conduct during the period from 3 September 2014 to 20 October 2014.

6.

Decision on whether to exclude the public and the press

Papers for this item have not been made available in accordance with Section 100B (1) and (2) of the Local Government Act 1972 as the matters yet to be discussed involved the likely disclosure of exempt information.  It was for the Panel to decide whether the public and press should be excluded for consideration of the item on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined under Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Minutes:

Papers for this item have not been made available in accordance with Section 100B (1) and (2) of the Local Government Act 1972 as the matters yet to be discussed involved the likely disclosure of exempt information.  It was for the Panel to decide whether the public and press should be excluded for consideration of the item on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined under Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

Papers for this item had not been made available in accordance with Section 100B (1) and (2) of the Local Government Act 1972 as the matters yet to be discussed involved the likely disclosure of exempt information. It was for the panel to decide whether the public and press should be excluded for consideration of this item.

 

RESOLVED – That Case 003/14 be heard in public session as the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

 

7.

Case 003/14 pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

The Panel considered the report as presented by the Investigating Officer appointed by the Monitoring Officer which set out details of the complaint.

 

The Panel had the opportunity to ask questions of the Investigating Officer, hear from the Independent Person and the member who was the subject of the complaint. The complainant was not in attendance.

 

Councillor Alison Moore questioned why the complaint had not been ruled out as vexatious, noting that the matter had already been referred to the police. The Panel were advised that the Monitoring Officer would have consulted with the Independent person before allowing the complaint and that the police investigation would not have formed a part of this consideration. It was noted that the Panel’s remit is to investigate potential breach of the Member’s Code of Conduct, and not criminal activity.

 

The Panel went into closed session to consider the evidence. Following their deliberations they reconvened in public to give their verdict.

 

RESOLVED -

 

1.    That all members must sort out their council tax in good time for the budget meeting

 

2.    While it appears there may have been a technical breach, this matter is best referred to the Group Leader to deal with.

8.

Any other Item(s) that the Chairman decides are urgent

Minutes:

There were none.