Undue influence a breach of position

Question

Attended a Parish Council for the first time last night. During which a member of the public raised concerns that the Chair had been using undue influence and caused a "nuisance" for them by instigating various official bodies/parties to investigate their (member of public has a business based in village) activities.
Clerk advised that that the Chair had to remain, otherwise the meeting would not be quorate.  Seemingly reasonable at the time.
The other councillors then listened to, and interjected the complaint, one was very dismissive/rude, and ultimately they refused to list the matter at the next meeting citing it was a personal matter and not for them to consider.
I clarified the point was not a personal dispute, but it was rebutted out of hand and the matter was suggested to be sent to the standards committee at the LA - is that reasonable & correct process?
What's the complaint procedure for the "dismissive/rude" councillor please?
Overall, a poor first impression of the PC; where can I find details of the next election as there was some confusion around that topic when raised too?

Answer 1

Lots of issues. If the Chair was responding to local complaints/concerns regarding the activities of the business AND this had been discussed previously by the Council, they could legitimately start investigations, although this would normally be the role of the Clerk. If the member of the public was raising an official complaint, this should not have been addressed there and then and should have followed the Council's complaints procedure. If the Chair was taking action as a resident, rather than as Chair of the Council, it is not a matter for the Council, but this may depend upon the "undue influence" aspect of the complaint, i.e. the process by which the Chair instigated investigations by others.

Elected representatives must abide by a code of conduct that follows the Nolan Principles. Your district or borough council will publish its code of conduct on its website, and parish councils are expected to adopt this (the norm) or develop their own (rarely). It will include a paragraph about respect for others. The procedure for submitting a complaint will also be on the website.

The next election will be four years after the last one. It varies from area to area, so I can't tell you when.