Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR – GOVERNANCE AND MONITORING OFFICER

The report updates Members of the Committee on standards issues locally and nationally. It contains a summary of the complaints received for the year 2025 thus far, as well as any other relevant issues that have arisen between Committee meetings.

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the content of the report and made suggestions on future actions.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure good governance within the Council and keep the Committee abreast of changes locally and nationally.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 51 seconds

The Monitoring Officer presented the report entitled ‘Standards Matters Report’ and advised that:

·       Since publication of the report, there had been 5 further complaints received regarding Councillors. This reflected a sector-wide trend, with more public awareness of the standards regimes in place and less tolerance for poor behaviour.

·       The Complaints Handling Procedure was clear in how complaints were processed. Once the complaint was received, this would be assessed against the Code of Conduct and procedures. This would also involve potentially meeting with the complainant and the subject and review of any relevant correspondence and paperwork. The outcome of this investigation stage would then be shared with the Independent Person to assess the validity of the complaint.

·       All complaints received were logged on a spreadsheet for auditing purposes, including the actions taken, or why a complaint was not taken forward. These were then reported to the Standards Committee.

·       It was important that the complaints procedure at the Council was robust, credible and defensible.

·       The English Devolution Bill would not automatically change the Code of Conduct for Councillors but would emphasise the need for accountability and ensuring framework was in place to deal with complaints effectively.

·       There was a Monitoring Officer protocol for consideration at this meeting, which would be referred onto Full Council for consideration before adoption into the Constitution.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

·       Councillor Paul Ward

In response to questions, the Monitoring Officer advised that:

·       If a complaint was regarding an Officer, it would not be reported to this Committee, but would be dealt with by the line manager and HR.

·       There were processes in place, as outlined under the 3Cs policy, for members of the public to make complaints about Officers, and ultimately the Local Government Ombudsman.

·       When a complaint was received, it would be triaged by the Monitoring Officer. If further information was required, then this would be sought from the complainant through email, calls and written letters. Should no response be received to these requests, then the complainant would receive a warning that the case would be closed without further detail.

Councillor Ian Albert, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Keith Hoskins seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the content of the report and made suggestions on future actions.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure good governance within the Council and keep the Committee abreast of changes locally and nationally.