Agenda item

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic services.  Reporting officer: Margaret Reed

Purpose: To adopt procedures for dealing with code of conduct complaints and to note the frequently asked questions that we will publish on the council’s website to help people understand the process for dealing with code of conduct complaints.

Recommendations: To

1.      adopt the procedures for dealing with code of conduct complaints set out in appendix 1 to this report with effect from 12 July 2012 and in place of the council’s existing arrangements for dealing with code of conduct complaints;

2.      authorise the monitoring officer to make minor amendments to the procedures including minor or consequential amendments required for clarification, consistency and compliance with the council’s style guide;

3.      note the document entitled Code of conduct complaints: frequently asked questions that will provide information for members of the public when making code of conduct complaints. 

The committee considered the monitoring officer’s report that recommended procedures for dealing with code of conduct complaints. 

The Localism Act 2011 had abolished arrangements introduced by the Local Government Act 2000 to promote high standards of conduct amongst councillors.  The 2000 Act required councils to adopt a code of conduct, and appoint a standards committee to monitor councillors’ conduct.  The Localism Act introduced a new code of conduct, which Council adopted on 16 May 2012, and removed the need for a standards committee.  Council also appointed the monitoring officer as the proper officer to consider and determine code of conduct complaints about councillors, and appointed the Audit and Governance Committee as the committee responsible for dealing with allegations about potential breaches of the code of conduct that the monitoring officer considered inappropriate for officers to determine.  The committee was asked to adopt new procedures to deal with code of conduct complaints to comply with the new legislation, and to appoint panels to consider complaints referred by the monitoring officer. 

The committee suggested that paragraph 24 of the procedure could be improved by explaining what would happen after the monitoring officer had applied tests to the complaint.  Councillors suggested the officers considered producing a flow chart to show the various stages in the procedure and publish this on the council’s website.  The monitoring officer agreed to discuss this with her fellow monitoring officers across Oxfordshire to adopt a county-wide approach.  The committee also suggested that the procedure should specify what constituted a quorum at a complaints panel meeting. 

The committee noted that the issue of confidentiality would be kept under review.  The councillor who had been complained about, should be able to find out who had lodged the complaint but the monitoring officer would consider each case on its merits to determine whether confidentiality must be kept. 

RESOLVED: To

(a)               appoint sub-committees (to be known as complaints panels) comprising three members of the committee or their appointed substitutes and authorise the complaints panels to determine code of conduct complaints referred by the monitoring officer;

(b)               appoint each member or substitute of the Audit and Governance Committee to serve on any complaints panel which is convened so as to include her or him in its membership;

(c)               agree that wherever possible, a panel shall comprise the chairman or vice-chairman of the committee plus two other members of the committee, but that this should not affect the principle that any three members of the committee or their appointed substitutes will constitute a properly appointed panel;

(d)               authorise the head of legal and democratic services to convene panels having regard to councillors’ availability and eligibility to take part;

(e)               adopt the procedures for dealing with code of conduct complaints set out in appendix 1 to the monitoring officer’s report with effect from 12 July 2012 and in place of the council’s existing arrangements for dealing with code of conduct complaints, subject to agreeing the following amendments with Councillor Andrew Crawford:

·        to include an explanation in paragraph 24 of the procedure about what will happen after the monitoring officer has applied tests to the complaint 

·        to specify what constitutes a quorum at a complaints panel meeting 

(f)                 authorise the monitoring officer to make minor amendments to the procedures including minor or consequential amendments required for clarification, consistency and compliance with the council’s style guide; and

(g)               note the document entitled Code of conduct complaints: fact sheet that will provide information for members of the public when making code of conduct complaints.