Councillors to be disqualified or suspended for poor conduct?

Question

Interesting petition.  Needs more signatures.  Clearly needs strong guidelines, rights of representation and appeal, but I think it’s time 

  https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/586143

The Government should amend legislation to enable Councillors to be disqualified or suspended for breaching relevant Codes of Conduct. Some Councillors behave unacceptably, yet currently sanctions do not enable Councillors to be disqualified or suspended for breaches of a Code of Conduct. More details Most Councillors maintain high standards of conduct, but a significant minority engage in unacceptable behaviour, such as harassment & bullying incl. racist, sexist, ableist abuse. This activity would be grounds for dismissal in an employment setting, and equivalent sanctions should exist for Councillors.

Answer 1

It is a nice thought but hasn't a snowball in hell's chance of success. Basically such a move to remove a democratically elected representative from office would then logically have to be applied to ALL levels of the democratic process thus passing judgement by a few appointed (and by whom?) people( those tasked with deciding and judging wrong doing) over the will of the people.

Such an action would undermine any semblance of democratic process that still exists

Comments

As usual I completely agree with Mentorman
I accept individual Councillors act badly but it the Parish Council as a body that needs sorting out

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The discussion here has been side tracked into discussing the conduct of the clerk but I'd add that being of a certain age I recall the time when councillors could be suspended for poor conduct.  There used to be a national standards board as well as a local one and the main sanction was to suspend a councillor, if allegations were proved, for a maximum period of 6 months (I believe).  The Localism Act pretty much did away with that, replaced it with a local monitoring officer with no teeth whose only sanction is to wag a finger and request retraining with no come back if said councillor failed to attend.  Whilst I accept there are those who would claim this is democratic (or the alternatives undemocratic), we've all seen those videos with such poor behaviour that proper and professional acts by councillors are thwarted by the odd one or two hellbent on being disruptive.

Answer 2

I would ask why the Clerk is not included in any Code of Conduct.  It should be as many of us know!

Comments

The Clerk is an employee and subject to the code of conduct of their employer.

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Dave, is that written in legislation / employment law?  Where can I find it please.  We are currently looking for a new Clerk and I would wish to have this written in the contract.

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When you appoint a new Clerk, you provide a job description, which should ideally include some of the broader concepts, such as following the instructions of the Council, appropriate conduct, etc. This would normally appear in your person specification in the recruitment pack, but can be in both documents. You should also provide a contract of employment, preferably the NALC model. This contract requires the Council to provide the Clerk with a copy of the Council's grievance and disciplinary policies, amongst others. The NALC model disciplinary policy provides a list of examples of misconduct and of gross misconduct, as well as unsatisfactory work performance. These lists cover most of the issues raised on this forum in relation to the conduct of a Clerk. All of the above accords with the National Agreement (the Green Book).

The other policies you require for a new Clerk are health & safety, equal opportunities, expenses and sickness absence, all of which are mentioned in the model contract.

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Dave this is all well and good but far too often the Clerks “ managers “ look the other way and take no action to enforce the rules
I know one Councillor on making a complaint to the Chair about the Clerks behaviour was told that the Chairs role was “ to defend the Clerk “

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If the Clerks 'managers' ie the Councillors look the otherway then shame on them really.  As DtC says, the clerk is an employee and therefore the employment laws and disciplinary procedure already apply.  They are not elected and therefore would not be subject to the Councillors code of conduct.  The disciplinary procedure already covers that.

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The Clerks are appointed by the Councillors, who should regulate their conduct. The Councillors are appointed by the electorate, who should regulate their conduct. If the Councillors fail to regulate the Clerks and the electorate fails to regulate the Councillors, the electorate gets the Council they deserve!

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Couldn’t agree more Dave, from what I’ve seen in a lot of cases there’s no pressure on the current Councillors to improve their performance and I’ve lost count of the number of effective Councillors who’ve resigned in sheer frustration
There must be many Parish Councillors  who’ve served 10 or even 20 years without ever having to canvass for election
I’m constantly getting complaints from Parishioners but once I point out that they could stand for election and make a difference they back off
As I’ve mentioned before some Councillors are even returned without a vote at Borough level

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Dave
I fully agree

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Mrs Abster - Could you expand upon your remark  "The disciplinary procedure already covers that". Which disciplinary procedure are you referring to as our council needs to address the Clerks conduct?

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Your council as an employer should have a disciplinary and grievance procedure as a standard.  It is one of the suite of employment policies that you should already have in place under employment law.  Model policies can be obtained from ACAS.  They don't need to be industry specific but they are required.

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Dave - What is and where can the " Green Book" be found ?

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But as many on this site can confirm the problem arises when the Councillors relationship with the Clerk is based on friendship not an employer / employee basis

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https://local.gov.uk/local-government-terms-and-conditions-green-book#:~:text=Known%20as%20the%20Single%20Status%20Agreement%2C%20the%20Green,the%20pay%20and%20conditions%20of%20non-local%20authority%20staff.

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We already have a  grievance and disciplinary procedure.  I'm looking for a code of conduct which basically tells the clerk how to behave.

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Jules- That is exactly the problem and when the Chairman ,Vice & unelected HR appraisal team are all spellbound it's a hell of a struggle to make any changes. I'm currently contemplating litigation against the clerk ( or the whole council of necessary )  if my last attempt to bring about even a small change in behaviour fails. The MO is a complete waste of time as others and residents have discovered .

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Hopefully, your job description will include the broader concepts such as being professional, upholding the values of the Council, acting on the instructions of the Council, etc. If you have the NALC model disciplinary procedure, it highlights inappropriate behaviour and refusal to follow reasonable instructions as examples of misconduct, whilst bullying, discrimination and harassment are examples of gross misconduct. Inadequate application of management instructions is also listed as an example of unsatisfactory work performance. All of these issues may be addressed through the formal procedure. Would these items cover the issues you seek to address?

It goes without saying that a Clerk shouldn't need to be told how to behave. The Clerk should be reminding Councillors how to behave, but that's a whole new topic of conversation!

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Jules - just picking up on your earlier comment about the role of the Chair being to defend the Clerk, there is, of course, an element of truth in this. Every employer has a duty of care over their employees, although this doesn't extend to giving them carte blanche to do as they please.

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Hi Dave
The current job description etc were all provided by the clerk on joining ( well before my time ) &  very basic but based on SLCC/NALC models . Yes, professional behaviour is what I'm looking for . I doubt it will mention pulling faces at councillors during meetings though, that's just one of many things ! . It is often said " you couldn't make it up " and it's so true . Thanks for your help,  I'll take a look at the NALC with regards to inappropriate behaviour towards councillors and residents with the view to suggesting updating the clerks employment contract.

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Elizabeth without the unequivocal support of a majority of your fellow Councillors irrespective of the strength of your case you will get nowhere

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True - if the clerk has a few councillors in their pocket then you will struggle to address poor performance

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On those specific issues, perhaps making a video recording of the meeting and uploading it to YouTube with an enticing title including the name of the parish council will help you to draw attention, not only within your own community, but in the wider world. It's surprising how differently people behave when they realise there will be a permanent record available for all to see. More than 5 million people have watched the Handforth meltdown!

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Dave I completely agree with your conclusion that recording meetings improves behaviour it’s also give a clear audit trail when decisions are made based on oral reassurances which are not subsequently minuted

Answer 3

It is looking likely that this petition will reach 10,000 signatures by the deadline of 25/11/21.  It is currently standing at 9,667.

Government will respond at 10,000 signatures.

Comments

10,000 reached.

Answer 4

Government responded on 25/11/21.

"The Committee on Standards in Public Life, in their report Local Government Ethical Standards, made recommendations on suspension of councillors and conduct. The Government will respond in due course."

The response in full is on their website:   https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/586143

Comments

Will “ conduct “ include Councillors ignoring their own rules and regulations , voting on vague motions and allowing some Clerks to harass Councillors and the public ?

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Scratch the surface of any constitution and the real picture is revealed how this goes unchecked is baffling.