Agenda and decisions

To elect a Chairman for the Panel.

To receive from Members declarations of interest in relation to any matters on the agenda for this meeting, in accordance with the Waverley Members’ Code of Conduct.

In line with paragraph 7.2 of Waverley’s Arrangements for dealing with

Standards Allegations against Councillors and co-opted Members under the

Localism Act 2011, to publish non-exempt meeting papers and make them

available to the press and public.

Panel members, and other individuals specifically invited to attend the Hearing have received the agenda papers in advance on a confidential basis.

There are no exempt papers for this hearing. 

Recommendation

That the meeting papers be published and made available to the press and public.

The Chairman to make an opening statement on the procedure for the hearing.

This report relates to 2 complaints received about a Town Councillor, the Subject Member.

It sets out the process followed, the relevant codes and protocols, the External Investigator’s report, statement received from the subject member and statement received from the Independent Person.

The matter was referred to investigation following consultation with the

Independent Person.

Today’s panel has been convened to consider the report from the Investigator, to establish the facts about this situation, and consider whether or not the subject member has failed to comply with the town council code of conduct.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Standards Panel consider and determines whether or not the subject member has failed to comply with the Town Council Code of Conduct for Members and refer their conclusions to the Town Council

The Panel must provide reasons for any conclusions it reaches.

The Panel will adjourn to consider whether the Subject Member has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct.

The Panel will reconvene and the Chairman will announce the Panel’s decision

on whether the Subject Member has failed to comply with the Town Council Code of Conduct.

The conclusions of the panel will be reported to the Town Council. 

The Panel heard a written statement from the subject member (Cllr Nikki Barton) who was not present for the Panel meeting, evidence from the External investigator (Mr Melvin Kenyon), the former Borough Solicitor and Deputy Monitoring Officer (Mr Daniel Bainbridge) and the Independent Person (Ms Vivienne Cameron).

The Panel carefully considered all the evidence before it contained in the papers together with the written statement of Cllr Barton, read out in the meeting.  The conclusions of the Panel were unanimous, and the Panel resolved that:

1. Councillor Barton at all relevant times was acting in an official capacity as a Councillor.
2. Haslemere South Residents Association was a body where one of the principal purposes included the influence of public opinion or policy, in that for example they publicly declared and campaigned against development at Red Court.
3. In view of the nature of the Haslemere South Residents Association, Cllr Barton should have entered this body in her formal Declaration of Interests with Haslemere Town Council.
4. With regard to the meeting on 28 November 2019, when the Neighbourhood Plan was being discussed, Cllr Barton should have declared a non-pecuniary interest as the boundaries adjacent to Red Court were being discussed and decided upon.  The Panel takes the view that taking into account the provisions of paragraphs 6(4) and 6(5) of the Haslemere Code of Conduct, Cllr Barton should have left the meeting when the Red Court boundary was being discussed (i.e. item 109/19)

The Panel unanimously agreed with the conclusions of the External Investigator, Mr Melvin Kenyon.  This decision will be published by Waverley Borough Council and the Haslemere Town Council informed of the Panel’s findings so that they, Haslemere Town Council, can decide such action they consider appropriate.

NOTE: If Cllr Barton chooses, within 14 days, to appeal against the decision of the Standards Panel, the decision will be reviewed by another three members of the Standards and General Purposes Committee who have not been involved.

If it is necessary during the hearing to consider any matter that will involve the

likely disclosure of exempt information, the Hearing Panel will be invited to

consider passing the following recommendation on the motion of the

Chairman:

Recommendation

That,

a) pursuant to Procedure Rule 20, and in accordance with Section 100A(4)

of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the

meeting during consideration of the following item(s) on the grounds that it is

likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the

proceedings, that if members of the public were present during these items,

there would be disclosure to them of exempt information (as defined by Section

100I of the Act) of the description specified at the meeting in the revised Part 1

of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972; and,

b) in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the

exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Councillors Christine Baker, Steve Cosser and Peter Nicholson, being three members of the Council’s Standards and General Purposes Committee who had not been involved in the original panel nor the decision it reached about Haslemere Town Councillor Nikki Barton’s conduct, met on Monday 5 September 2022 to consider an appeal by Cllr Barton against the decision of the Standards Panel held on 21 July 2022.