Agenda item

Schedule prepared by the Monitoring Officer, attached

The Monitoring Officer will report verbally on the latest position with regard to the complaints listed and any issues arising from them.

The Monitoring Officer submitted a schedule summarising complaints of alleged breaches of the Council’s code of conduct, which were currently being processed or which had been completed since the last meeting of the Committee. She said that the majority of complaints on the schedule related to 2019 and, with the exception of one, all of the complaints submitted in 2019 had been concluded.

The Monitoring Officer provided further information on each of the complaints referred to in the schedule, as follows.

2019/10

The Monitoring Officer said that, at the last meeting, she had reported that a resolution of this complaint had been delayed, as it had not been possible to meet with the subject member. That meeting had now taken place between the subject member, herself and the Independent Person. The subject member had acknowledged that the comments they had made on social media had been inappropriate and a written apology had voluntarily been made to the complainant. The complaint had therefore been satisfactorily dealt with and no further action was proposed. 

2019/12

The Monitoring Officer reminded members that she had reported at the last meeting that insufficient information had been supplied by the complainant and, what information that had been provided, was difficult to decipher. In their initial complaint, the complainant had promised to provide more information, but this had still not been forthcoming. Therefore, as agreed at the last meeting, she now intended to write to the complainant advising that that as no further information has been received, the complaint would be closed and no further action would be taken.

2019/13

The Monitoring Officer said that this complaint had been received and logged following the last standards meeting. She had met with the Independent Person to discuss the details and they had determined that the complaint did not pass the preliminary test. This was because the subject member had not been acting in their capacity as a councillor at the time the alleged complaint had taken place. Therefore, no further action would be taken.

2019/14

The Monitoring Officer said that this complaint related to a subject member having involvement with an organisation which was not listed on their register of interest. She and the Independent Person had met with the subject member to obtain clarification about what this involvement entailed. To err on the side of caution, it had been agreed that the member would add further information to the register about their involvement with the organisation referred to by the complainant. That information had now been included. Therefore, no further action was required.

2019/15

The Monitoring Officer said that the subject member in this complaint had made comments on social media which could be misinterpreted. She and the Independent Person had met with the subject member who had acknowledged that the comments made were inappropriate. It had been agreed that the subject member would attend the social media training session for councillors which was being arranged at that time. The subject member gad subsequently attended the training.

2020/01

The Monitoring Officer said that this was the first complaint received in 2020. She and the Independent Person had met first with the complainant to gather further information and then with the complainant to obtain their response to the allegation made. The subject member had given a detailed explanation and had provided written records and other factual evidence which had satisfied both her and the Independent person that the matter complained about had been handled appropriately by the subject member. Therefore, no further action was to be taken.

Agreed that the summary of complaints submitted by the Monitoring Officer and, her verbal update on each of the complaints referred to, be noted.