Agenda item

The Monitoring Officer introduced the report, outlining that it covered the municipal years 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023 to date. The Code of Conduct complaints were broken down into those involving District Councillors, and those that involved Parish and Town Councillors.

Prior to the Standards Committee being re-established at South Kesteven District Council, these complaints would not necessarily have been reported anywhere, although they were all recorded by the Monitoring Officer and his team. Reporting Code of Conduct complaints directly to the Standards Committee facilitated a useful interaction between the Committee and the Independent Person(s).

There were many reasons why complaints were submitted to the Monitoring Officer. For example, where committee debates between Councillors became heated, there could be complaints submitted around disrespect. However, debate in the Council Chamber between Members was considered by the Local Government Association to warrant a higher level of tolerance in the promotion of robust political debate.

Many complaints received did not necessarily require formalising, but sometimes discussion and mediation on the part of the Monitoring Officer was necessary.

In the future, case studies could be brought before the Standards Committee subject to no individuals being identified, and where there were significant studies in the media they could also be used.

The following points were raised during debate:

·     A motion had been tabled at Full Council early in 2023 requesting that a Standards Committee be formed, to ensure the highest standards of integrity and probity were followed. The motion had asked that the Local Government Association (LGA) guidelines on Standards were followed in full.

·     Whilst it was key that the Council looked forwards in terms of Standards, there were lessons to be learned from past cases.

·     The Standards Committee had the power to determine the outcome of a complaint. The procedure being proposed later in the agenda was an assessment of complaints; as part of this if, following consultation with the Independent Person(s) the Monitoring Officer deemed an investigation necessary, then this would proceed. The Standards Committee would normally appoint a Hearing Review Panel to determine an alleged breach of the Councillor Code of Conduct, however, the Committee could agree to sit itself and consider any case if deemed appropriate.

·     The Monitoring Officer would only utilise the services of external providers if he or his deputy were conflicted in any way, or where specialist training was required as part of any sanctions imposed by a Review Panel or Committee.

·     There had previously been a culture of sending out Code of Conduct complaints to external legal providers, which of course had a cost attached. This had not been the case since June 2021, unless a conflict had arisen. Presently, every complaint was dealt with by the Monitoring Officer and his team.

·     Every complaint was subjected to an assessment process; there could sometimes be a pattern emerging where complaints occurred closely together.

·     The Monitoring Officer did not need to receive a complaint to investigate a perceived breach of the Code of Conduct and could undertake investigations himself if he deemed it necessary.

·     The cost of any sanctions, training and external advice was borne by the Council.

·     The Monitoring Officer and his team intended to visit Town and Parish Councils over the course of the current municipal year to facilitate further sessions on the Councillor Code of Conduct.

·     Although there were a number of Code of Conduct complaints contained within the report related to the subject of ‘equality and diversity’, it was confirmed that a number of these related to the same incident.

·     Whilst it was true that there were always subjective cases, there were two Independent Persons to consult with who would provide their views on the subject. If there was any element of doubt after consulting with the Independent Persons, then the case would proceed to the next stage, which would be to undertake a formal investigation. This did not mean that a hearing would be absolutely necessary, rather the opportunity to investigate further before reaching a conclusion.

·     If Members acted honourably then there should be nothing to fear from Code of Conduct complaints. Conversely, if defamatory language was used against other Members or individuals then there could be consequences as a result of the complaints process.

·     Both Independent Persons serving South Kesteven served on a number of other Local Authorities. It was reported that the number of complaints considered by South Kesteven District Council over the reporting period was large compared to these other authorities, particularly those submitted by District Councillors.

·     Parish Council complaints involved issues amongst Parish Councillors, and sometimes the clerks, which could mean that employment legislation was involved. It could sometimes be difficult to arrive at a final decision on a matter, and a great deal of officer time was involved with each issue. There was also the issue of the cost of investigations, although if a case merited a full investigation, then of course this should take place.

Members NOTED the Code of Conduct Complaints review.