CODE OF CONDUCT ...ENFORCEMENT

Question

If a Parish Council has a code of conduct who is responsible for enforcing it or determining if a principle has been broken. In other words can any Councillor sit in judgement on another Councillor or does it have to be determined by the District Council's Standards Board/Sub Committee?

Answer 1

I have just noticed this from a previous thread which is a little disheartening. Locally we do have a Standards Sub Committee, perhaps I should try them.

I don't know the answer to the precise question, and am not sure it is worth pursuing.  As I recall it, the legislation that created the Standards Board did specify that councils could not investigate breaches of standards or make judgements.  But I assume that legislation is moribund, along with the Standards Board.

The practical answer is that a parish council has no jurisdiction over its members, not having any statutory power to make judgements or impose sanctions.  So it is really a waste of time for a parish council to become involved in investigations. 

Comments

As an example from our own council, a parish councillor broke the Code of Conduct and the clerk immediately referred the problem to the monitoring officer at district. The inquiry found that the councillor had broken the Code of Conduct, but as there are no real sanctions, the dust settled and the person remains on the council to this day.

Answer 2

The Monitoring Officer of the Principal Authority is responsible for enforcing it.  Town & Parish Councils are not permitted to set up their own "Kangaroo Courts" or take any forms of unilateral disciplinary measures  even though I know some some who have tried with the Chair trying to act as an unlawful "Judge".

Comments

Crystal clear thanks Graeme. It does rather act against residents bringing matters up which could hopefully be sorted out at a local level. Reporting matters to an outside authority does tend to make matters much more personal. I believe prevention is better than cure and have referred matters to the Clerk so as to see what reaction I get.

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tHIS SPELLS IT OUT
https://www.anthonycollins.com/newsroom/ebriefings/local-authorities-how-to-lawfully-investigate-and-take-action-against-a-councillor-accused-of-misconduct/

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According to the Local Council Award scheme  criteria Councils should have "Disciplinary and grievance procedures".  Would these be just for staff ?

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I would expect grievance would only apply to staff but the cause of the grievance could be another staff member or a Councillor.  The procedure should (but might not) spell out how to deal with it whichever applies.  If it is a Cllr, then it's difficult to see how they could argue they were subject to something that would constitute a legitimate grievance against another cllr or member of staff,