Local Code of Conduct

Changes to the complaints procedure

From 8 May 2008 the responsibility for considering complaints that a Councillor may have breached the Code of Conduct moved from Standards for England to the Standards Committees of local authorities.

About the Code of Conduct

North West Leicestershire District Council has its own Code of Conduct based on a Model Code of Conduct written by Parliament. This can be found in the Council's Constitution.

How to make a Complaint

If you want to complain about the conduct of a Parish or District Councillor in the District of North West Leicestershire, you must submit a complaint form to the the Audit and Standards Committee, c/o the Monitoring Officer (contact details below).

Please send any documents that support your complaint with your form. This will then be referred to an Assessment Sub-Committee.

Who you can complain about

You can complain about District Councillors, Parish Councillors, Independent members and co-opted members of North West Leicestershire District Council. We can only consider complaints about individual councillors or members. We cannot consider complaints about the Authority as a whole or about people employed by it.

What you can complain about

You can complain about a member breaking any part of the Authority's Code of Conduct. This includes:

• failing to treat others with respect
• acting in a way that may cause the Authority to breach the equalities legislation
• bullying others
• intimidating, or attempting to intimidate a person involved in a complaint against them
• compromising the impartiality of those who work for the Authority
• revealing information that was given to them in confidence, or stopping someone getting information they are entitled to by law
• damaging the reputation of their office or the Authority
• using their position improperly, to their own or someone else's advantage or disadvantage
• misusing the Authority's resources
• allowing the Authority's resources to be misused for political purposes
• failing to reveal a personal interest at a meeting
• taking part in a meeting or making a decision where the member has an interest that is so significant that it is likely to affect his or her judgement
• failing to register financial or other interests
• failing to register any gifts or hospitality they have received in their role as a member, worth over £25

See the related documents below for more information on the assessment criteria.

What cannot be investigated

An Act of Parliament has set out what can be investigated under this procedure. There are some complaints that cannot be investigated, including:

• complaints that are not in writing
• incidents or actions that are not covered by the Code of Conduct
• incidents that are about a fault in the way the Authority has or has not done something. This is known as maladministration and may be a matter for the Local Government Ombudsman
• complaints about people employed by the Authority
• incidents that happened before a member was elected, co-opted or appointed, or after they have stopped being a member
• complaints about the way in which the Authority conducts and records its meetings

 

Whether your name and a summary of your complaint will be released

In the interests of fairness and natural justice, we believe members who are complained about have a right to know who has made the complaint. We also believe they have a right to be provided with a summary of the complaint. We are unlikely to withhold your identity or the details of your complaint unless:

• you have reasonable grounds to believe you will be at risk of physical harm if your identity is disclosed;
• you suffer from a serious health condition and there are medical risks associated with your identity being disclosed;
• you are an officer working closely with the member concerned and are afraid of the consequences for your employment prospects if your identity is disclosed, notwithstanding the District Council's Whistleblowing Policy.

Please note that requests for confidentiality or requests for suppression of complaint details will not automatically be granted. The Sub-Committee considering your complaint will consider the request alongside the substance of your complaint. We will then contact you with the decision. If your request for confidentiality is not granted, we will usually allow you the option of withdrawing your complaint.

However, it is important to understand that in certain very exceptional circumstances where the matter complained about is very serious, we can proceed with an investigation or other action and may disclose your name even if you have expressly asked us not to, if that is necessary to deal with the complaint effectively. 

 What information you should provide

It is important that you provide all the information you wish to have taken into account by the Sub-Committee when it decides whether to take any action on your complaint. For example:

• You should be specific, wherever possible, about exactly what you are alleging the member said or did. For instance, instead of writing that the member insulted you, you should state what it was they said.
• You should provide the dates of the alleged incidents wherever possible. If you cannot provide exact dates it is important to give a general timeframe.
• You should confirm whether there are any witnesses to the alleged conduct and provide their names and contact details if possible.
• You should provide any relevant background information. How your complaint will be handled
• Any complaint received by the Monitoring Officer alleging that a Councillor or member has breached the Code of Conduct will be acknowledged and referred to a Sub-Committee of the Audit and Standards Committee to assess whether it should be investigated or not. The Sub-Committee meets in private and aims to take that decision within 20 working days of the complaint being received.
• If the Sub-Committee decides the complaint should not be investigated, they may decide that no action be taken, or alternatively they may issue a direction to the Monitoring Officer that it be dealt with in another way such as by the provision of training of the member or members concerned or the involvement of a mediator with a view to resolving any disputes or differences.
• If the decision is to take no action, the complainant has the right, within 30 working days of the date of the decision notice, to ask for that decision to be reviewed by a differently constituted Sub-committee of the Audit and Standards Committee. The Sub-Committee also meets in private and will aim to take a decision within 20 working days of receiving the request. It has power to overturn the original decision.
• If the complaint relates to a matter which is particularly complex or sensitive, the Sub-Committee may decide to refer it to Standards for England for it to be investigated at a national level. Otherwise, the Sub-Committee may order it to be investigated locally. Once the Investigating Officer's report has been completed, the Audit and Standards Committee is required to hold a hearing within three months.

If the Audit and Standards Committee concludes the member has failed to follow the Code of Conduct, it will consider whether or not it should set a penalty and what form that penalty should take. A penalty may include any one or a combination of the following:

(a) censure of the member (the only sanction available in respect of a person who is no longer a member of the Authority);
(b) restriction of the member's access to the resources of the Authority for up to six months, which may include limiting access to the premises of the Authority, provided that such restriction does not unnecessarily restrict the member's ability to carry out his or her responsibilities as an elected representative or co-opted member.;
(c) suspension or partial suspension of the member for up to six months;
(d) suspension or partial suspension of the member for up to six months or until such time as the member apologises in writing, receives any training or takes part in any conciliation as ordered by the Committee.

• The Audit and Standards Committee will also consider whether or not it should make any recommendations to Council with a view to promoting high standards of conduct among members.
• A member has the right to apply to the President of the Adjudication Panel for England for permission to appeal against a finding.
• The Monitoring Officer is required to arrange for publication of a summary of the Committee's findings in a local newspaper. If the Committee finds a member has not broken the Code, the member may ask not to have the information published.