The Chief Officer Legal and Regulatory, Human Resources and Corporate Policy presented the report, the purpose of which, was to update Members in respect of the National Forum for Standards Committee Chairs.

She stated that the PEN report mentioned previously, had discussed and commented on the variety of practice across Wales in how the Standards Committee discharge their duties and functions.

Richard Penn acknowledged the positive work for the forum of Chairs of Standards Committees in North and mid Wales and recommended that an All Wales Forum be established along the same line to encourage consistency in the ways the Committee operates and discharges its functions.

All local authorities in Wales had agreed to create a national forum with a view to sharing good practice. Draft terms of reference for the forum have been prepared and agreed by the Monitoring Officers Group for Wales and as referred to in paragraph 3.2 of the report.

The Chief Officer Legal and Regulatory, Human Resources and Corporate Policy stated that this provided Chairpersons the opportunity to share and agree to co-ordinate best practice while acting as a sounding board for ideas and creates a support network for Chairpersons and committees. Each Standards Committee will retain privacy, so the forum would not be able to make any binding decisions on behalf of local authorities, she added.

RESOLVED:                                   That the Committee noted the

                                                       report and confirmed that the Chair and

                                                       Monitoring Officer (or their deputies)

                                                       represents BCBC on the National Forum

                                                       for Standards Committee Chairs.