Meeting: Annual Council	Date: 17 May 2022

Wards affected: All

Report Title: Joint Statement of Conduct by Elected Members

Cabinet Member Contact Details: Councillor Steve Darling, Leader of the Council, steve.darling@torbay.gov.uk

Director/Divisional Director Contact Details: Amanda Barlow, Monitoring Officer, Amanda.barlow@torbay.gov.uk

1.	Purpose of Report

1.1	To adopt a Joint Statement of Conduct for all elected Members to sit alongside and support the Members’ Code of Conduct and Local Protocols.

2.	Reason for Proposal and its benefits

2.1	The reason for this decision is to ensure that as Community Leaders, Members are through their own actions demonstrating civil and respectful behaviour through robust but civil debate.

2.2	The proposals in this report help support the Council to be fit for the future by demonstrating behaviour that would entice and encourage new people to stand as Councillors

3.	Recommendation(s) / Proposed Decision

1.	That the Joint Statement of Conduct for Elected Members be adopted; and

2.	That the Monitoring Officer be requested to include the Joint Statement of Conduct for all Elected Members in the Council’s Constitution.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Joint Statement of Conduct for all Elected Members.

Background Documents

The 2017 Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Intimidation in Public Life

Supporting Information

1.	Introduction

1.1	The Jo Cox Foundation and the Committee for Standards in Public Life prepared a Joint Statement of Conduct, setting out a high-level statement of principle which all political parties in Westminster have signed up to. The Joint Statement seeks to agree on a responsible framework for legitimate public debate and to help protect candidates during an election campaign. It sits alongside party codes of conduct and asks for minimum standards of behaviours expected at all times.

1.2	There are growing concerns on the impact of public intimidation and toxic debate for local and national democracy. This has an impact on our decision-making processes and preventing people speaking out/stopping people standing as Councillors. It is imperative for Councils to be representative of communities with good engagement with local democracy. Politicians are told to have broad shoulders and thick skin – it’s a part of the cut and thrust of politics, but fewer are coming forward to stand for Councillors (particularly women and people with disabilities) as they are put off by the challenging environment. We need to protect Councillors and encourage robust, but civil debate.

1.3	At a local level, Torbay Council also supports and expects high levels of conduct and seeks to adopt a Joint Statement of Conduct for all Elected Members (as set out in Appendix 1), to sit alongside and support the Members’ Code of Conduct and Local Protocols.

2.	Options under consideration

2.1	An alternative option would have been to ‘do nothing’. However, this was discounted, as it is important that the Council be represented by those that reflect the views of Torbay’s population. If individuals are dissuaded from standing for election, the views of Torbay’s residents will not be accurately reflected by the Council.

3.	Financial Opportunities and Implications

3.1	None.

4.	Legal Implications

4.1	None

5.	Engagement and Consultation

5.1	Group Leaders have been involved in the development of the Joint Statement.

6.	Purchasing or Hiring of Goods and/or Services

6.1	Not applicable

7.	Tackling Climate Change

7.1	Not applicable

8.	Associated Risks

8.1	None

9.	Equality Impacts - Identify the potential positive and negative impacts on specific groups

Positive Impact	Negative Impact & Mitigating Actions	Neutral Impact
Older or younger people	X
People with caring Responsibilities	X
People with a disability	X
Women or men	X
People who are black or from a minority ethnic background (BME) (Please note Gypsies / Roma are within this community)	X
Religion or belief (including lack of belief)	X
People who are lesbian, gay or bisexual	X
People who are transgendered	X
People who are in a marriage or civil partnership	X
Women who are pregnant / on maternity leave	X
Socio-economic impacts (Including impact on child poverty issues and deprivation)	No differential impact
Public Health impacts (How will your proposal impact on the general health of the population of Torbay)	No differential impact

10.	Cumulative Council Impact

10.1	None

11.	Cumulative Community Impacts

11.1	None