NEWS RELEASES
Coucnil's New Approach Raising Standards
24th July 2001
HORSHAM District Council's new Standards Committee has just met for the first time and has mapped out its work for the next few months. As part of its work, the Committee will be reviewing the existing codes of conduct for councillors and officers, considering and helping to implement necessary changes and working with parish councils and other interested people.
The Committee has been set up under the Local Government Act 2000, which also created the Council's new style of Cabinet government.
The membership of the Committee formally includes for the first time people from outside the Council. Two parish councillors, Ed Blackman from Steyning and Paul Byford from Coldwaltham, and two people wholly independent of local government, Trevor James, a Charter Mark assessor, and Brenda Large, a JP, both from Horsham, have joined four District councillors. The parish councillors were nominated by the Horsham Association of Local Councils and the independent members were appointed after external advertisements.
The setting up of the Committee along with a new Standards Board for England and enhanced responsibilities for the Council's new Monitoring Officer is to ensure that the Council and parish councillors in the District will work within new ethical guidelines. All local authorities in the UK now have a similar approach to raising standards.
Trevor James, the Chairman of the Committee said:
"The new ethical framework is all about creating confidence and the right environment to strengthen the bond of trust between the community and the Council. While Horsham has a good record of doing things correctly, we will be pro-active in helping to improve and keep high standards of conduct amongst councillors and officers."
Chairman of the District Council, Councillor Claire Vickers said:
"We welcome the new inclusive approach to making the way we work open, transparent and correct. By electing the Committee's chairman from outside, the Council is showing that it is not afraid of external scrutiny."
CONTACT: Ian Davison, Monitoring Officer, Horsham District Council (01403) 215470 Line 55