We are all seeking to continuously improve the way we work. It may be helpful to reflect on some learning from recent Code of Conduct cases that hopefully act as a reminder for our parish, town and city council colleagues about governance. This is a joint initiative from Perry Holmes the Wiltshire Council Monitoring Officer, in collaboration with Ian Nockolds at The Wiltshire Association of Local Councils.
The coming months, as thoughts turn to the elections in 2025, can give rise to heightened emotions and even conflict. We want to remind you of the tools at your disposal to navigate through that period. This month we wanted to focus on roles and responsibilities.
We wanted firstly to remind you of the separation of roles between your parish (including the town and city) councils and Wiltshire when it comes to complaints about the conduct of councillors. You may from time to time need to deal with internal staffing matters. Those are squarely your domain and you will want to follow appropriate grievance procedures and where necessary obtain professional advice.
Complaints about the conduct of councillors by law are something that only Wiltshire Council must deal with on your behalf. There is no legal provision for you to consider, investigate or make findings about councillor conduct complaints, whether they originate from staff, residents, other councillors, contractors or anyone else.
Under Section 27 of the Localism Act 2011, you will know that all local councils must adopt a code of conduct for their elected and co-opted members that is consistent with the principles of Standards in Public Life. Councils may wish to adopt the Local Government Association’s Model Code of Conduct for this purpose.
Under Section 28 of the Localism Act 2011, the principal authority for each area is responsible for the assessment and investigation of all Code of Conduct complaints. That means in the county of Wiltshire, Wiltshire Council. The process followed in Wiltshire is set out in Wiltshire Council’s Constitution at Protocol 11 – Arrangements for Dealing with Code of Conduct Complaints.
Case law has further clarified that parish councils (including the town and city councils) should not assess or investigate Code of Conduct complaints against their members. Therefore, if someone wishes to complain about the conduct of a parish councillor in Wiltshire, they should always be referred to Wiltshire Council.
If you have any thoughts or ideas about councillor conduct, or other topic areas you would like us to cover please do get in touch at monitoringofficer@wiltshire.gov.uk we would love to hear from you.
Next month we will look at the knotty issue of when you are acting in your capacity as a councillor.
