Agenda item

Report of the Director of Law and the Director of Place Shaping and Town Planning

4.1      Tasnim Shawkat, Monitoring Officer, introduced a report that provided an update to the Standards Committee on the actions taken by the Council following the independent review of Westminster’s planning service by the Planning Advisory Service (PAS).

4.2      The Monitoring Officer explained that a report setting out the findings of the review was presented to Cabinet on 25 October 2018. Cabinet made several recommendations based on the findings of the review. One of the key themes was to improve the openness and transparency of the planning system. This included updating draft Guidance for Members on Making Planning Decisions. Tasnim Shawkat explained that whilst the Members’ Code Of Conduct applies to all councillors and to all committees particular care and guidance is required for those involved in planning. This reflected the findings of the CSPL Review. The draft revised guidance outlined best practice for members of planning committees across a range of issues including standards of conduct, probity in decision-making, conflicts of interest as well as support and guidance on the substance and parameters of taking planning decisions.

4.3      The Monitoring Officer informed Members that the draft revised guide was presented to and approved by the Planning and City Development (PCD) meeting on 20 June 2019 subject to the incorporation of views and advice of the Standards Committee. She advised the committee that reference to the Code of Conduct was now set out at the beginning of the document to reflect its fundamental importance for Members dealing with planning matters.

4.4      Members reviewed the contents of the guide as it related to ethical standards. Whilst the Committee considered the information to be clear and well structured a number of amendments were put forward.

4.5          One suggestion was to reinforce paragraph 3.4 of the covering report in the guide. The CSPL Review highlighted that a small number of Councillors can have a significant impact on the financial interests of specific individuals or firms. Councillors involved in planning decisions should generally not accept overly frequent or overly generous hospitality and should always ensure that acceptance of such hospitality does not constitute a conflict of interest.

4.6          Members expressed the view that concerns around the acceptance of gifts and hospitality should not prevent councillors engaging with residents and developers in their own wards at the pre-application stage provided councillors did not put themselves under an obligation. The Monitoring Officer stated that ward councillors should be encouraged to engage with all stakeholders at the pre-application stage but stressed that a proportional approach should be taken particularly in relation to accepting gifts and hospitality. She advised that the next item on the agenda included proposals to amend the Members’ Code of Conduct to incorporate the Cabinet Office principles for accepting gifts and hospitality as recommended by the CSPL. She suggested that the committee endorse this being included in the updated guidance.

4.7          The committee noted that the draft guidance states that where a member is in any doubt about whether they have an interest and whether it needs declaring they are advised to always seek the advice of the Director of Law or other relevant officers disclosing all material facts. Members suggested that the guidance should highlight that, wherever possible, queries should be submitted a day or so in advance of the meeting to provide time for the Director of Law to consider the issues which can sometimes be complex.

4.8          The Committee asked how members of the Council would know how to find the finalised guidance. Members commented that there should be detailed training on the guidance and suggested that this is incorporated in the Member Development Programme. The Monitoring Officer advised that the finalised guide would be published on the Council’s website. She undertook to ensure that training on it is incorporated in the Member Development Programme and stated that it would be included in the Code of Conduct refresher training in October.

4.9          RESOLVED:

1.     That the draft revised Guidance for Members - Making Planning Decisions be approved subject to incorporating the Cabinet Office principles for accepting gifts and hospitality as recommended by the CSPL, and as set out in the proposed draft amendments to the Members’ Code of Conduct.

2.     That the committee’s views be forwarded to the Director of Place Shaping and Town Planning who has been delegated authority by the PCD Committee to finalise and publish the guidance, following consultation with the Director of Law and Chairman of the PCD Committee.

4.10       ACTIONS:

1.     Incorporate and advertise training on the guidance as part of the member development training on the Members’ Code of Conduct scheduled for October and ensure that ongoing, periodic training on planning is incorporated into the Member Development Programme.(Janis Best, Member Services Manager)

2.     Once finalised, circulate the guidance as well as the pre-application guide for officers and members to all Councillors. (Janis Best, Member Services Manager).