Agenda item

The Investigating Officer, Mike Dudfield, presented his report and findings, copies of which had previously been circulated to the Committee.

The Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager also referred to the contents of an email sent to him by the Subject Member on 3 February 2017 setting out her comments on the investigation report.  The email was “not for publication” because it contained personal information about individuals, but copies were circulated to and were read by members of the Committee.

Mr Dudfield gave a detailed chronological account of events, referring to the contents of his report, and drew the following conclusions:

      i.        At the meeting of 9 May 2016 Councillor Patricia Greenhough was acting in her official capacity as a councillor so it was covered by the Code of Conduct.

    ii.        It was likely that the allegations made by Councillor Patricia Greenhough regarding a closed Santander bank account and the transfer of funds were based on an over-heard conversation that had been mis-heard.

   iii.        There were many inconsistencies in the evidence provided by Councillor Patricia Greenhough.

   iv.        There had been no Santander bank account in the name of Preesall Town Council; there was no primary evidence.

    v.        Local Authority councillors were responsible to their communities.  Any councillor believing that £2,000 had gone missing had a responsibility to take some action by referring the matter to the Council, or to the External Auditor or to the police. 

   vi.        The allegation by Councillor Vivien Taylor that Councillor Patricia Greenhough’s address to Preesall Town Council on 9 May 2016 included incorrect statements and had brought the Town Council into disrepute was not proven as ‘disrepute’ related to the position of the councillor or the Town Council in the community and these comments were made in private session.

  vii.        Councillor Patricia Greenhough had breached paragraph 1 bullet point 8 of the Town Council’s Code of Conduct by not promoting and supporting high standards of conduct in the manner in which she pursued her arguments concerning the existence of the Santander account and surrounding issues, therefore improperly impugning the integrity and professionalism of the former Clerk.

Members of the committee asked Mr Dudfield several questions by way of clarification. 

The committee retired with the Deputy Monitoring Officer, the Independent Person and the Scrutiny Officer to consider, in private session, all the information that had been presented to them.  They then returned to publicly announce the Committee’s decision, as follows:

RESOLVED that

(i)            The Standards Committee, having considered all the evidence presented, accept the Investigating Officer’s findings and conclude that Councillor Patricia Greenhough, by improperly impugning the integrity and professionalism of the former Clerk to Preesall Town Council, Miss Jan Finch, at the meeting of Preesall Town Council on 9 May 2016, did breach paragraph 1 bullet point 8 of Preesall Town Council’s Code of Conduct by not promoting and supporting high standards of conduct, by the manner in which she pursued the argument concerning the existence of the Santander account and surrounding issues.

(ii)          The Standards Committee is only able to make recommendations to Preesall Town Council.  The Standards Committee asks that Preesall Town Council note the findings of the Committee and that the breach be publicly recorded in the minutes of a meeting of the Town Council.  The Standards Committee finds no evidence of any wrongdoing by Miss Jan Finch.