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14.—(1) Two or more authorities may establish a joint standards committee to exercise such functions falling within paragraph (2) as may be determined by those authorities.
(2) A joint standards committee may exercise any function conferred by or under Part 3 of the Act or Part 1 of the 1989 Act and subject to paragraph (5), enactments conferring such functions shall be construed accordingly in relation to such a committee and as though any reference to a standards committee were to a joint standards committee.
(3) Any function exercisable by a joint standards committee shall be exercisable only by that committee and not by a standards committee of any of the individual authorities which established that joint committee.
(4) Where a joint standards committee has responsibility for the exercise of all the functions of a standards committee under the enactments mentioned in paragraph (2), that joint standards committee is to be treated as the committee required to be established by section 53(1) of the Act (standards committees)(12) in relation to each authority which established that joint standards committee.
(5) In their application in relation to a joint standards committee, the enactments mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (f) shall have effect in accordance with those sub-paragraphs—
(a) nothing in Part 3 of the Act or in any regulations made under that Part, shall require a joint standards committee to give any notification or document relating to an allegation of misconduct to any parish council except where that joint standards committee is considering a matter relating to a member of that parish council;
(b) nothing in any regulations made under Part 3 of the Act shall authorise the inclusion, in the membership of the joint standards committee, of a member of the executive of more than one of the authorities which has established the joint standards committee;
(c) section 53(4)(a) of the Act shall be treated as requiring at least one member from each authority establishing the joint standards committee to be a member of the joint standards committee;
(d) regulation 5(1) of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008(13) shall be treated as authorising the authorities establishing the joint standards committee to appoint independent members separately or jointly in accordance with the terms of reference agreed under regulation 15 of these Regulations, and—
(i) if such appointments are made separately, the requirements of regulation 5(1) apply in respect of each authority;
(ii) if such appointments are made jointly, the requirements of regulation 5(1) apply in respect of the authorities jointly;
(e) regulation 7(3) of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008 shall be treated as requiring at least one member of any of the authorities establishing the joint standards committee to be present where a joint standards committee discharges any function specified in an enactment mentioned in that provision; and
(f) regulation 7(4) of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008 shall be treated as requiring at least one member of a parish council for which any of the authorities establishing the joint standards committee is responsible, to be present where a joint standards committee discharges any function specified in an enactment mentioned in that provision.
15.—(1) All of the authorities which together establish a joint standards committee must agree the terms of reference of the joint standards committee and must send a statement which sets out those terms of reference and any revision of those terms of reference, to the Standards Board.
(2) The terms of reference specified in paragraph (1) must—
(a) identify the functions which are to be discharged by the joint standards committee;
(b) make provision for the administrative arrangements of the joint standards committee;
(c) specify, for each authority that is involved in the establishment of the joint standards committee, which committee is the standards committee to which written allegations under section 57A(1) of the Act may be sent;
(d) specify the number of members to be appointed to the joint standards committee by the authorities establishing that committee and make provision for the terms of office of those members;
(e) make provision for the appointment of members, by the joint standards committee, to sub-committees of that committee;
(f) specify what provision is made for the payment of allowances to members of the joint standards committee;
(g) make provision for the procedure for an authority to withdraw from the joint standards committee upon service of notice.
(3) The expenses incurred by a joint standards committee shall be defrayed by the authorities establishing that committee in such proportions as they may agree or in case of disagreement by a single arbitrator agreed on by the appointing authorities.
16. In this Part—
“dispensation” means such a dispensation as is mentioned in section 81(4) of the Act (disclosure and registration of members interests etc);
“mandatory provisions” means the mandatory provisions of a model code of conduct which for the time being applies to an authority;
“meeting” includes any meeting of an authority, of the executive of the authority, of any committee or sub-committee of the authority or its executive, of any joint committee or sub-committee of a joint committee, or of any area committee;
“member” means a member or co-opted member of an authority or a councillor appointed under section 16A of the Local Government Act 1972 (appointed councillors)(14).
17.—(1) The standards committee of an authority may, subject to paragraph (2) below, grant a dispensation to a member in the following circumstances—
(a) where the transaction of business of the authority would, but for the grant of any other dispensation in relation to that business, on each occasion on which the dispensation would apply, otherwise be impeded by, or as a result of, the mandatory provisions because—
(i) the number of members of the authority prohibited from voting on the business of the authority at a meeting exceeds 50% of those members that, but for the granting of any dispensations relating to that business, would otherwise be entitled to vote on that business; or
(ii) the number of members prohibited from voting on the business of the authority at a meeting would, but for the granting of any dispensations relating to that business, upset the political balance of that meeting to such an extent as to prejudice the outcome of voting in that meeting;
(b) the member has submitted to the standards committee a written request for a dispensation explaining why it is desirable; and
(c) the standards committee concludes that having regard to the matters mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) above, the written request made pursuant to sub-paragraph (b) above, and to any other relevant circumstances of the case, it is appropriate to grant the dispensation.
(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) above shall permit a dispensation to be granted—
(a) in respect of participation in business of the authority conducted more than four years after the date on which the dispensation is granted; or
(b) where the effect of the mandatory provisions from which a dispensation is sought is that—
(i) a member is prohibited from voting on a matter at a meeting of an overview and scrutiny committee of an authority relating to a decision made by any body of which that person was a member at the time the decision was taken; or
(ii) a member of the authority’s executive is prohibited from exercising functions which are the responsibility of the executive of the authority and which would otherwise be discharged by that member solely.
18. The standards committee of an authority must ensure that—
(a) the existence, duration and nature of any dispensation is recorded in writing; and
(b) such record is kept with the register of interests established and maintained under section 81(1) of the Act.
19. The Relevant Authorities (Standards Committees) (Dispensations) Regulations 2002(15) are revoked.
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
John Healey
Minister of State
Department for Communities and Local Government
18th May 2009
There has been an amendment to section 53 which is not relevant to these regulations. Back [12]
SI 2008 No. 1085. Back [13]
1972 c. 70. Section 16A was inserted by section 76(4) of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c. 28). Back [14]
SI 2002 No. 339. Back [15]
The Standards Committee (Further Provisions) (England) Regulations 2009