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. 

We have carefully considered the evidence and the submissions made to us today.  We have considered the four points made to us by Mr Kenyon.  We find that Cllr Ellis was acting in her capacity as a Town Councillor on 28 November 2019; we find that the Haslemere South Residents Association was a group who aim to campaign and influence public opinion and policy; we find that Cllr Ellis was a member of the Haslemere South Residents Association, as she gave evidence of today, and we further find that the Neighbourhood Plan settlement boundary was highly relevant to Haslemere Town Council meeting on 28 November 2019.

Therefore, having studied the Register of Interests form, we find that Cllr Ellis failed to adequately register her membership of the Haslemere South Residents Association and breached paragraph 5(5) of the Haslemere Town Council Code of Conduct that requires registration of non-pecuniary interests.

We find that by failing to disclose her membership of the HSRA at the 28 November 2019 meeting, Cllr Ellis breached the said code.

We further find that by failing to declare that interest and failing to exclude herself from consideration of item 109/19 (the Neighbourhood Plan) by withdrawing from the Chamber, Cllr Ellis breached paragraphs 5(1), 6(4) and 6(5) of the Haslemere Town Council Code of Conduct. 

This is the unanimous decision of the Panel.

NOTE: 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.

If Cllr Ellis 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 Maxine Gale, Michael Goodridge and John Ward, being members of the Council’s Standards General Purposes Committee who had not been involved in the original panel nor the decision it reached about Haslemere Town Councillor Kirsten Ellis’s conduct, met on Tuesday 6 September 2022 to consider an appeal by Cllr Ellis against the decision made by the Standards Panel made on 22 July 2022.