Issue - meetings

This report provides a summary of the complaints received and determined which were made against councillors for alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct.

The Standards Committee has a duty to consider an annual report and to promote and maintain high standards of conduct.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report provided a summary of the complaints received and determined made against councillors for alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct. report provided a breakdown of the behaviour sources for complaints, the obligations under the Code allegedly breached and the final outcomes, including non-compliance with a Code determination. It was noted that the relatively low number of complaints for 2023/24 coincided with a large intake of new councillors following the Council elections in May 2023 and that numbers had now risen. The administration of the complaints process was highlighted as being particularly resource intensive. The report also provided an update on the independent persons whose role in the complaints process was acknowledged with gratitude.

Members commented on the process for reporting non-compliance to Full Council and it was noted that in future this would involve the names of councillors being publicly disclosed. The Monitoring Officer indicated that members may wish to consider adding to the Committee’s forward plan a more detailed annual report to refer to Council alongside the annual report of the Audit and Governance Committee. It was noted that other issues raised by members could be included in the Committee’s forthcoming review of the Code of Conduct complaints procedure. The Chair agreed that the complaints process was onerous for Committee Members, Independent Persons and Officers. She thanked the Monitoring Officer and Deputy Monitoring Officer for their work.

RESOLVED that having reviewed the annual report on Code of Conduct complaints and discussed areas for further work for inclusion in the work programme in accordance with the report’s recommendation, the report be accepted.

Voting: Unanimous