Issue - decisions

Council RESOLVED that the Procedure for Local Investigations, attached to the Agenda, be approved for incorporation into the Constitution.

The Standards Committee RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the Procedure for Local Investigations of Referred Complaints be adopted and included in the Constitution, subject to the following amendments:

(a)               Introduction and Summary, second sentence: “This procedure applies will apply to the investigation of allegations of breaches of the authority’s Code of Conduct for Members for both district and parish councils by elected and co-opted members of the authority and to breaches of the Parish Council Code of Conduct by parish councillors, and the word ‘Councillor’ is to be taken to refer to all such persons.”

(b)               Paragraph 2(b)(ii): “The identity of the person making the allegation (unless on the rare occasion at the outset of the investigation where identification of the complainant might prejudice the investigation or put the complainant at risk, this grant of anonymity being subject to constant review)”;

(c)               Paragraph 2(f): “In notifying the Councillor of receipt of the allegation, the Monitoring Officer shall request the Councillor to respond to the Investigating Officer within 14 30 days of notification…”

(d)               Paragraph 3(d): “Following notification of the allegation to the Councillor…”;

(e)               Paragraph 3(f)(iii), additional sentence: “All interviews will be tape-recorded.”;

(f)                 Paragraph 3(g): “…such fees or allowances as he considers to be appropriate all costs incurred, fees and professional charges subject to the maxima set by the authority”.

(g)               The word “member” replaced with “councillor” throughout; and

(h)               The word “shall” replaced with “will” throughout.