Issue - meetings

Arrangements for investigating allegations under the member code of conduct

Meeting: 09/12/2021 - Council (Item 59)

59 Arrangements for investigating allegations under the member code of conduct pdf icon PDF 212 KB

The Joint Audit and Governance Committee, at its meeting on 30 November 2021, considered a report on draft arrangements for dealing with complaints under the code of conduct.

 

The committee unanimously agreed to recommend the arrangements to Council.

 

The report of the monitoring officer, which the committee considered on 30 November, is attached.

 

RECOMMENDATION: to agree the draft arrangements for investigating complaints appended to the report.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered the Joint Audit and Governance Committee’s recommendation, made at its meeting on 30 November 2021, on revised arrangements for dealing with complaints under the code of conduct.

 

Councillor Mocky Khan, Co-Chair of the Joint Audit and Governance Committee introduced the recommendations of the committee, which if adopted would come into effect immediately.

 

He advised that the Monitoring Officer had reviewed the existing process since coming into post and formed the view that the process needed to be updated given the manner in which complaints were made and dealt with.  There is a need to manage expectations about what complaints would be progressed and to implement a public interest test to ensure that resources are focussed on those complaints which involve a serious breach of the Nolan Principles. The review was undertaken against the backdrop of the best practice recommendations set out in the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) report called “Local Government Ethical Standards” dated 30 January 2019.

 

RESOLVED: to agree the arrangements for investigating complaints appended to the report of the monitoring officer to the Joint Audit and Governance Committee on 30 November 2021.


 

Contact us - Democratic services

Phone icon

01235 422520
(Text phone users add 18001 before dialing)

Address icon

South Oxfordshire District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon
OX14 3JE