Issue - items at meetings - Members Web Page Guidance

Report of the Director of Strategy & Governance (copy attached).

(i)           Draft extract from the proceedings of the Governance Committee meeting held on 22 September 2009 (copy attached).

(ii)         Report of the Director of Strategy & Governance of 22 September 2009 (copy attached).

RESOLVED –

(1)         That Members approve the revised Members Web Policy.

(2)         That the Committee requires all Members who have pages published on the Members’ web pages to sign the revised Web Page Policy as a condition of continuing to use the web page facility and that Members wishing to join the site in the future be granted access to it on condition that they first sign a copy of the revised Members’ Web Page Policy.

(3)         That the operation of the policy be monitored and a report comes back to the Committee in six month time.

51.1         The Committee considered a report of the Director of Strategy & Governance concerning the revised draft Members’ Web Page Policy (for copy see minute book).

51.2         Further to representations made to the Head of Law by Councillor Kitcat outside of the meeting, the Head of Law proposed a further amendment to the revised guidance in relation to the monitoring of external links on Members’ web pages; councillors would remain responsible for the content of external links, but only to the extent to which they know or would reasonably be expected to know whether content failed to comply with the restrictions detailed in the revised policy.

51.3         Members of the Committee agreed that this would reduce the burden on councillors while preserving the responsibility.

51.4         RESOLVED –

(1)         That Members approve the revised Members Web Policy, including one further amendment as described by the Head of Law.

(2)         That the Committee requires all Members who have pages published on the Members’ web pages to sign the revised Web Page Policy as a condition of continuing to use the web page facility and that Members wishing to join the site in the future be granted access to it on condition that they first sign a copy of the revised Members’ Web Page Policy.

(3)         That the operation of the policy be monitored and a report comes back to the Committee in six month time.