Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

The following Councillors declared a personal interest in this matter by virtue of the reasons set out below. As their interest was personal they were permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

1.  Councillor Quentin Webb, in his role as a District Councillor, had come into contact on a number of occasions with Councillor Tony Renouf when he was acting as a parish councillor.

2.  Councillors Jeff Beck and Quentin Webb knew Councillor Jack Lovell, who was named in various parts of the paperwork, as they had participated in a number of Conservative Party Election Campaigns with him. He was however not a close friend.

3.  Councillors Keith Chopping, Jeff Beck and Quentin Webb had met Councillor James Spackman through his work with Beenham Wind Orchestra.

4.  Councillor Billy Drummond knew Councillor James Spackman as a fellow member of the Liberal Democrat Group. He had however not met with him for several years.

5.  Councillor James Cole had attended a single Conservative Party event at Councillor Jack Lovell’s home but he did not have a close or ongoing relationship with him.

Councillor Geoff Mayes declared a personal interest in this matter by virtue of the fact that he had met both Councillor Tony Renouf (on WBC hearings) and Councillor James Spackman (a fellow Liberal Democrat Member) a few times over the years but he did not know either well at a personal or political level. As he was a parish councillor he was permitted to take part in the debate but not vote on the matter.

Councillors Quentin Webb, Jeff Beck, Keith Chopping, Billy Drummond and James Cole declared an interest in Agenda Item 3, but reported that, as their interest was a personal and not an another registrable interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest, they determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

Councillor Geoff Mayes declared an interest in Agenda Item 3, but reported that, as his interest was a personal and not an other registrable interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate on the matter. While both Councillor Mayes and Councillor Jane Langford, as Parish Council representatives on the Committee, were able to participate fully in the meeting, they were not permitted to vote on the matter.

Purpose: To make a determination as to whether a breach of the Code of Conduct has occurred after considering the Investigator’s report about a complaint received from Councillor Tony Renouf (Complainant) in respect of  Councillor James Spackman (Subject Member) from Woolhampton Parish Council submitted on 09 February 2017.

Should the Committee determine that a breach of the Code of Conduct has occurred they will need to determine an appropriate sanction.

Written Decision of West Berkshire Council’s Governance and Ethics Committee

Summary of the Original Allegation

A complaint was received from Councillor Tony Renouf on 09 February 2017 concerning an alleged breach of Woolhampton Parish Council’s Code of Conduct by Councillor James Spackman. The complaint was considered by the Deputy Monitoring Officer (Andy Day) in consultation with the Independent Person (Mike Wall) on 07 March 2017 where it was decided to refer the allegation for further investigation.

Councillor Renouf alleged that Councillor Spackman had been involved in a number of incidents where he had ‘lied or misinformed people’ and in so doing had brought the authority into disrepute and therefore breached the Parish Council’s Code  ...  view the full decision text for item 24.

(Councillor Quentin Webb declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 3, by virtue of the fact that in his role as a District Councillor, he had come into contact on a number of occasions with Councillor Tony Renouf when he was acting as a parish councillor. As his interest was a personal and not an another registrable interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.)

(Councillors Quentin Webb and Jeff Beck declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 3, by virtue of the fact that they knew Councillor Jack Lovell, who was named in various parts of the paperwork, as they had participated in a number of Conservative Party Election Campaigns with him. He was however not a close friend. As their interest was a personal and not an another registrable interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest, they determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.)

(Councillors Quentin Webb, Jeff Beck and Keith Chopping, declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 3, by virtue of the fact that they had met Councillor James Spackman through his work with Beenham Wind Orchestra. As their interest was a personal and not an another registrable interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest, they determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.)

(Councillor Billy Drummond declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 3, by virtue of the fact that he knew Councillor James Spackman as he was a fellow member of the Liberal Democrat Group. He had however not met with him for several years. As his interest was a personal and not an another registrable interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.)

(Councillor James Cole declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 3, by virtue of the fact that he had attended a single event at Councillor Jack Lovell’s home but he did not have a close or ongoing relationship with him. As his interest was a personal and not an another registrable interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.)

(Councillor Geoff Mayes declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 3, by virtue of the fact that he had met both Councillor Tony Renouf (on WBC hearings) and Councillor James Spackman (who was a member of the Liberal Democrat Group) a few times over the years but he did not know either well at a personal or political level. As his interest was a personal and not an another registrable interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate on the matter.) While both Councillor Mayes and Councillor Jane Langford, as Parish Council representatives on the Committee, were able to participate fully in the meeting, they were not permitted to vote on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.