-
Agenda item
Standards Complaint - 2019/2
- Meeting of Assessment Sub-Committee, Standards Committee, Tuesday, 9th July, 2019 1.00 pm (Item 19.)
- View the reasons why item 19. is restricted
Minutes:
The Monitoring Officer presented a report to decide what action to take in respect of a complaint against Councillor X regarding the following parts of the Code of Conduct:
Paragraph 3(1) – You must treat others with respect.
Paragraph 5 – You must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or authority into disrepute.
The Monitoring Officer received the complaint on 15th April 2019 and a copy of the complaint was included in the report.
The complaint was not actioned fully at the time of receipt because of ‘Purdah’ restrictions.
The Monitoring Officer and Deputy Monitoring Officer met the complainant on 5th June 2019 to explain the procedure in person and give the complainant the details of both of the Independent Persons. The Complainant had asked for an early indication of the Monitoring Officer’s opinion on the complaint. This was given. The Monitoring Officer had formed the view that the complaint did not engage the Code of Conduct.
The Monitoring Officer sought the views of an Independent Standards Consultancy. Their advice was included in the Monitoring Officer’s report.
The Committee considered the external advice, asked questions of the Monitoring Officer and sought the views of both Independent Persons.The Sub-Committee initially considered if the complaint met the initial tests as set out in the report:
a) It is a complaint against one or more named councillors of the Council;
b) The named councillor was in office at the time of the alleged conduct and the Code of Conduct was in force at the time; and
c) The complaint, if proved would be a breach of the Code under which the member was operating at the time of the alleged misconduct.
The Committee felt that the complaint did not meet paragraph (c) of the initial test and therefore the Code of Conduct was not engaged.
RESOLVED(unanimously): -
1. Complaint 1 - Code of Conduct not engaged. No further action.
2. Complaint 2 - Code of Conduct not engaged. No further action.
3. Complaint 3 - Code of Conduct not engaged. No further action.
4. Complaints 4-7 - Code of Conduct not engaged. No further action.
Reasons for Decision- The Committee agreed
with the external advice in that Councillor X is a member of the
organisation complained of as a private individual and not through
X’s role as a councillor. As such
the Code does not apply to simple membership. Nor does association with any views expressed by
the organisation have any formal relation to X’s role as a
borough councillor. The organisation is
not a proscribed organisation. The
Committee conclude that Hastings Borough Council has no locus to
investigate the matter as a potential breach of the Code of
Conduct.
- The Committee agreed
with the external advice in that Councillor X was not conducting
Council business when giving the interview and that any reasonable,
objective observer would be able to read the interview and discern
that Councillor X was expressing X’s own opinions and not
those of the Council as a whole. As
such the application of the Code would be a disproportionate
restriction on X’s freedom of speech.
The Committee conclude that, although the article may have made clear that Councillor X was a Councillor X was clearly not engaged on Council business nor was Councillor X acting as a representative of the Council but simply expressing personal and party political views. As such it is their belief that the Code of Conduct is not engaged in this case.
- The Committee were
not aware of any specified dress code for Council meetings,
prohibition on wearing badges or reference in the Council’s
Constitution. The Committee consider
that this was a matter for the political groups to
consider. The Committee were advised
that the badge has not been worn since the meeting. They could find no evidence of malice in wearing
this specific badge. It is the view of
the Committee that simply wearing the badge is not sufficient to
engage the Code of Conduct.
- The Committee agreed with the external advice that as with complaints 1 and 2 above this was not engaging Council business and that matters of internal disciplinary processes are a party matter and fall outside the jurisdiction of the Localism Act. It is the Committee’s view that the Code of Conduct does not apply. In fact most of these issues are national party matters so it is even more removed from the scope of the Council’s Code.
-
My council
Contact
Got a question about democratic services?
Content
The content on this page is the responsibility of our Democratic Services team.