Councillor Complaint Process

1. Making a complaint

1.1. Complaints should be made in writing to the Monitoring Officer, using the online complaint form or a form provided by the Monitoring Officer if possible.

1.2. For a complaint to be considered it must also:

(a) identify the Councillor(s) complained about;

(b) identify the provisions of the code of conduct said to have been breached;

(c) provide sufficient information for an initial assessment of the complaint to be made; and

(d) be clear about what remedy is being sought.

1.3. Anonymous complaints will not be considered.

1.4. In the interests of fairness and natural justice, the Councillor who is the subject of the complaint will normally be told who has complained about them and the details of the complaint. There may be occasions where the complainant requests that their identity is withheld. Such a request will only be agreed in exceptional circumstances.

2. Who will deal with the complaint?

2.1. The Initial Assessment of any complaint under Stage 1 will be dealt with by the Monitoring Officer or by a person authorised by the Monitoring Officer in consultation with members of the Audit and Governance (Assessment) Panel.

2.2. Any investigation under Stage 2, will be conducted by the Monitoring Officer or a person appointed by the Monitoring Officer ("the Investigating Officer").

2.3. The Council's Audit and Governance (Hearing) Sub-Committee will consider the Investigating Officer's report.

2.4. The Independent Person will be able to attend any meetings held under Stage 2 of the process.

3. How will any complaint be dealt with?

3.1. Stage 1 - Initial Assessment The Monitoring Officer or the person authorised by the Monitoring Officer will consider the complaint and in particular will consider whether:

(a) the complaint is about the conduct of a councillor or lay or coopted member of the Council or a town or parish council within the Council's area;

(b) the Councillor was a councillor at the time of the incident giving rise to the complaint;

(c) the Councillor was a councillor at the time of the complaint; and

(d) the matters giving rise to the complaint would, if proven, be capable of breaching the Code of the relevant local authority.

3.2. If the complaint:

(a) fails one or more of those tests, no further action will be taken.

(b) shows a clear and obvious breach that can be resolved amicably, the Monitoring Officer after consultation with the Independent Person, may seek to resolve the complaint; or

(c) if the Monitoring Officer or the person authorised by the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Independent Person is satisfied that it would be disproportionate to investigate the complaint, no further action will be taken.

In all cases, the Monitoring Officer's decision will be final.

3.3. Unless the complaint is about a failure to disclose a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or other criminal behaviour (see paragraph 3.8 below), if the complaint satisfies the tests in paragraphs 3.1 and is not otherwise dealt with in accordance with paragraph 3.2, the Monitoring Officer or the person authorised by the Monitoring Officer will prepare a report and consult with members of the Audit and Governance (Assessment) Panel. The Councillor and (if they are a Town or Parish Councillor), the relevant Town or Parish Clerk, will be informed of the receipt of the complaint.

3.4. When considering the report and assessing the complaint the Monitoring Officer and the Audit and Governance (Assessment) Panel will have regard to the criteria set out in Appendix A and any relevant guidance issued by the Local Government Association on the assessment of councillor complaints.

3.5. The Monitoring Officer in consultation with the members of the Audit and Governance (Assessment) Panel may:

• (a) reject the complaint or to decide to take no action - in which case the Monitoring Officer will give their reasons for doing so;
• (b) seek an informal resolution (including, for example, an apology, or mediation); or
• (c) require the complaint to be investigated.

3.6. A copy of the complaint and a summary of the Monitoring Officer's Assessment will be sent to the Councillor and to the complainant by the Monitoring Officer or the person authorised by the Monitoring Officer.

NOTE: There will be a strong presumption towards an assessment being treated as being exempt from disclosure to the wider public. This is because the assessment is considering possibly unfounded and potentially damaging complaints about councillors, which it would not be appropriate to make public because of the risk of reputational damage or the risk of prejudicing any future investigation.

3.7. The decision of the Monitoring Officer will be final and there will not be any review or appeal.

3.8. A complaint that involves an allegation of a breach of a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest will be referred to the Police and will not at that stage be subject to any further investigation by the Council. Where a complaint involves allegations in addition to one relating to a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, those additional allegations will not usually be investigated following the completion of any police investigation.

3.9. Stage 2 - Investigation and hearing

The Investigating Officer will examine any available evidence of the alleged breach. They will usually interview the complainant, the Councillor and, if appropriate any witnesses.

The Investigating Officer will prepare a report setting out:

(a) the agreed facts;

(b) any facts which are not agreed and the conflicting evidence; and

(c) their conclusion on whether there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct or not.

3.10. The Investigating Officer's report will be circulated with the agenda as an exempt item. Having resolved to exclude the press and public from the meeting, the Audit and Governance (Hearing) Sub-Committee will consider whether the press and public should continue to be excluded further from all or any part of the hearing. Before making its decision the Sub-Committee may ask the Investigating Officer and the Councillor complained about (if present) for their views.

NOTE: To promote public confidence and ensure fairness and transparency, the hearing will normally be held in public. However, the Sub-Committee may resolve to exclude the public and press for any part of the hearing where confidential or exempt information is considered and will usually do so when coming to its decision (see Appendix B).

3.11. The Audit and Governance (Hearing) Sub-Committee will reach a view on disputed facts and decide whether to accept the conclusion of the Investigating Officer on the alleged breach of the Code of Conduct or not. The Sub-Committee may:

(a) dismiss the complaint;

(b) refer the complaint to the Monitoring Officer to seek an informal resolution;

(c) hold a hearing of the Sub-Committee (which depending on the circumstances may or may not be held on the same day as the initial consideration of the Investigating Officer's report).

3.12. The hearing will be to make a final decision on whether a Councillor has breached the Code of Conduct or not and, if so, to decide whether any sanction should be imposed.

3.13. The Sub-Committee may decide:

(a) to take no further action;

(b) to seek an informal resolution between the complainant and the subject Councillor (if agreed by both parties);

(c) to censure the Councillor;

(d) to request the Councillor to give an unequivocal apology ;

(e) to instruct the Monitoring Officer to request the Councillor to attend training;

(f) to refer the matter to the full Council (in the case of a Town and Parish Councillor refer the matter to the relevant Town or Parish Council).

4. Is there a right of appeal?

4.1. There is no right of appeal against the decision of the Audit and Governance (Hearing) Sub-Committee.

5. How will the Decision be publicised?

5.1. A summary of complaint, the Audit and Governance (Hearing) Sub-Committee's conclusions and reasons shall be sent to the Councillor and in the case of a Town and Parish Councillor to the clerk of the relevant Town or Parish Council, and unless the Sub-Committee agrees otherwise due to exceptional circumstances, be published on the Council's website.

6. How long will it take to deal with a complaint?

6.1. The Monitoring Officer will aim to complete their initial assessment of any complaint within 20 working days, with the copy of the complaint and a summary of the Monitoring Officer's Assessment being sent to the Councillor and to the complainant within 5 working days.

6.2. Where a complaint is to be investigated, the Monitoring Officer will agree a reasonable and realistic target date by which the investigation should aim to be completed with the Audit and Governance (Assessment) Panel. Most investigations will be capable of being carried out, and a report on the investigation completed, within a maximum of six months of the original complaint being referred for an investigation.

APPENDIX A - Assessment Criteria

1. Initial Tests

1.1. The complaint is about the conduct of a Councillor or lay or co-opted member of a council within the Council's area;

1.2. The Councillor was a councillor at the time of the incident giving rise to the complaint;

1.3. The Councillor was a councillor at the time of the complaint; and

1.4. The matters giving rise to the complaint would, if proven, be capable of breaching the Code of the relevant local authority.

2. Sufficiency of information

Has the complainant provided sufficient information to allow the Sub-Committee assessing the complaint to understand the issues complained about? If insufficient information is provided, the Sub-Committee will not normally proceed with assessment of the complaint.

3. Seriousness of the Complaint and proportionality

3.1. Does the complaint appear, on the available information, to be trivial, vexatious, malicious, politically motivated or 'quid pro quo'?

3.2. Other than in particularly serious cases a complaint will not generally be referred for investigation if the Councillor has offered an apology, or if the view is taken that the complaint can reasonably be addressed by other means.

3.3. Given the public interest in financial and other resources being used efficiently referral for investigation is generally reserved for more serious complaints where alternative options for resolution are not considered by the Sub-Committee to be appropriate. A complaint may be regarded as serious in its own right or when considered in conjunction with a series of incidents/complaints.

4. Length of Time Elapsed

Except in exceptional circumstances a complaint will not be referred for investigation when it is made more than 20 working days from the date upon which the event giving rise to the complaint took place.

5. Multiple Complaints

A single event may give rise to similar complaints from a number of complainants. These will generally be treated as a single complaint with multiple complainants.

Appendix B - Guidance on the exclusion of the press and public at hearings

1. Initial Considerations

The purpose of publicity in the determination of complaints that a Councillor has breached the code of conduct is to:

(a) promote the public interest;

(b) maintain public confidence in local government;

(c) maintain proper standards of conduct; and

(d) is consistent with the proper discharge of the Council's functions in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1998 which provide for a public hearing.

2. Presumption in favour of openness

Given the purpose of publicity, there is a presumption that the Audit and Governance (Hearings) Sub-Committee will proceed with the hearing in public.

3. Exceptional circumstances

The Sub-Committee may however override the presumption in favour of openness if it is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances which outweigh the public interest in the hearing being open to the public before excluding the press and public and proceeding in private for all or part of the hearing.

Common examples of exceptional circumstances include the following (the list is not exhaustive):

(a) health;

(b) sexual allegations;

(c) vulnerable third parties;

(d) public order;

(e) the protection of the private life of the parties requires; or

(f) where the complainant is an employee of the authority to which the councillor complained about is a member.

4. Announcement of decision

Even if the whole or part of a hearing has been held in the absence of the press and public, the Sub-Committee will normally announce its decision in public. If necessary, there may be a public and a private record of the decision made