Purpose of report:

To advise the Committee of:

1.      the number of complaints received under the Members’ Code of Conduct which have been, or are to be, considered by the Head of Law and Governance (in her statutory capacity as the authority’s Monitoring Officer) and the Independent Persons. The report also notes the outcome, where complaints have been concluded; and

2.       the number of dispensations to an individual member, granted under Section 33 of the 2011 Localism Act, by the Monitoring Officer, following consultation with an Independent Person.

Recommendation:

That the Standards Committee notes the content of the report.

The Monitoring Officer presented the information report on the number of complaints received under the Members’ Code of Conduct and the number of dispensations to an individual member, granted under Section 33 of the 2011 Localism Act.

The Monitoring Officer referred the Committee to the Table at paragraph 4 of the report which summarised the two complaints that had been dealt with since 31 January 2019.  The Monitoring Officer informed the Committee that the first complaint (reference 14755) had been reassessed, in consultation with an Independent Person, and the conclusion reached was that there was no longer a public interest in pursuing this complaint.  The second complaint (reference 15202) was under consideration; the outcome would be reported to the next meeting of the Committee.  There were no particular lessons to be drawn from either of these cases.

The Monitoring Officer said that she was aiming to build stronger relationships with the Parish Councils and that she had met with two of the Parish Clerks to discuss parish matters.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that no requests for individual dispensations had been received.

The Standards Committee resolved to note the report.