To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council on 1 September 2008.

G Walter declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the case.

To consider any item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in

accordance with Rule 4 of the Council’s Procedure Rules, and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

None

The Report relating to the following item is not for publication as it contains exempt information as defined in Paragraph 12 of Part 4, and Paragraph 21 of Part 5 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007.

If following the application of the public interest test the Committee resolves pursuant to the Act to consider this item in private, the public will be excluded from the meeting during such consideration.

Members of the Committee considered whether they would hear the matter as an exempt item under Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Submissions were received from Cllr Sean Aspey and the Public Sector Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) officers.

Cllr Aspey requested that the meeting take place in private, noting the actual nature of the complaint and the complainant. He argued that the subject caused quite a lot of concern within the local community and if public documents were to be released, he didn’t want anything in terms of a redacted complainant or somebody to guess who it might be. He didn’t want any repercussions either on himself or the person who made the complaint.

The representative from PSOW noted that it was in the interest of openness and transparency for the hearing to be held in public. This was to ensure public confidence in the ethical standards regime in Wales. She indicated that the information, which led to the investigation, was available on public forums such as Facebook and the substance of the complaint related to a letter which was shared publicly. She noted that Cllr Aspey had requested the hearing to be held in private and for relevant documents to be withheld from the public due to concern that residents will try to establish the source of the original complaint, although where this concern about the potential behaviour of some residents arises from is unclear.

She noted there was Adjudication Panel for Wales (APW) guidance which states that hearings should be held in public, except where the Tribunal considers that publicity would prejudice the interests or threaten the personal safety and security of any parties involved in the case. It states that the Tribunal will require convincing evidence of substantial harm to either the individuals involved or the hearing or to the public interest generally before holding a hearing in private.

The representative from PSOW recognised that the decision on whether to hold the hearing in public is entirely a matter for the Standards Committee to determine but she did not consider that Cllr Aspey had demonstrated evidence of a significant risk to the member of the public’s personal safety or security or demonstrated a risk of substantial harm to a member of the public. However, she did acknowledge that care should be taken to protect the identity of the original complainant if any documents relating to the investigation are disclosed.

It was made clear that a Standards Committee is able to hold a hearing in public without publishing the Ombudsman's report and appendices until after the proceedings have concluded. It is also open to the Standards Committee to move to private session if at any time there is a need to discuss any sensitive information which might relate to the complainant. The representative from PSOW noted that she was not of the view that this would be necessary because the facts of the case have been drawn from documentation.

All the panel members were of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

The purpose of the meeting was to undertake the hearing into the conduct of Cllr Sean Aspey, Elected Member of Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC).

Under the Local Government Act 2000 all allegations and breaches of the Code of Conduct are submitted to PSOW for investigation in the first instance.

The Ombudsman may determine a matter should be referred to the Authority’s Monitoring Officer for investigation or may, as in this case, undertake the investigation and refer the matter to the Monitoring Officer for consideration by the Standards Committee.

The Committee has previously considered the report of the Ombudsman, noting that the initial hearing scheduled for 19 September 2022 was postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the period of state mourning. A subsequent hearing scheduled for 24 November 2022

was also postponed with the agreement of the Chair of the Committee as Cllr Aspey was regrettably unable to attend for medical reasons. Members are requested to note that this is the first available date to reschedule the hearing due to not having adequate or required numbers (a quorum) for meetings.

The adopted procedure for the hearing was appended to the report as Appendix 4. The Committee, in accordance with their adopted procedure dealt with the case in three stages.

Stage 1: The Facts

The Ombudsman’s office received a complaint that Cllr Aspey a Member of Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) had breached the Code of Conduct. It was alleged that the Cllr Aspey used his position inappropriately in relation to fundraising efforts to oppose plans by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to consider using a Porthcawl hotel to house a Residential Women’s Centre, the first in Wales.

The investigation considered whether the Member failed to comply with the

following provisions of the Code of Conduct:

6(1)(a) - Members must not conduct themselves in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing their office or authority into disrepute.

7(a) - Members must not in their official capacity or otherwise, use or

attempt to use their position improperly to confer on or secure for

themselves, or any other person, an advantage or create or avoid for

themselves, or any other person, a disadvantage.

During the investigation, copies of relevant documents were obtained from BCBC, witness accounts were obtained, and an account was provided by Cllr Aspey.

Undisputed Facts

• Cllr Aspey has received training on the Code of Conduct.
• Cllr Aspey is a resident of Porthcawl.
• In March 2021 a letter was distributed by Cushman and Wakefield to residents in the vicinity of the Hotel advising that the MoJ intended to submit a planning application to the Council in Spring 2021 to change the use of the Hotel into the Centre.
• The Group was set up by residents to oppose the MoJ plans.
• The Group instructed a law firm to act on its behalf.
• The Group set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to cover the legal fees.
• Cllr Aspey assisted the Group and was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.