How and when group leaders at Pembrokeshire County Council will report to its standards committee is yet to be decided.

The high number of unaffiliated members on the council and how that might be managed when it comes to meeting standards will also be revisited by members of the standards committee at its next meeting.

New duties for group leaders and standards committees were laid out in the Local Government Act and Elections Act 2021 and this includes taking reasonable steps to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by members of their group.

They must also corporate with the standards committee in the exercise of its functions, that are extended to include monitoring how group leaders meet their duty and provide training and guidance on them.

During initial discussions on Monday, October 10, where Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat group leaders attended, along with an unaffiliated member, it was felt that six monthly reports may be suitable.

Questions were raised about the need for the new duties with standards covered by the Code of Conduct as well as the lack of consideration for how this would be met by unaffiliated members.

It was agreed that a draft form of how the functions would be met would be drawn up for further discussion.