The Head of Legal Services presented the report of the Monitoring Officer. The report provided a summary of Standards complaints received under the Members’ Code of Conduct and Protocol for dealing with complaints against Members between 1 November 2021 and 31 December 2022.

Members were informed that the Council is required to deal with complaints made against Members under its approved Ethical Framework. It was noted that between 1 November 2021 and 31 December 2022 a total of 13 complaints in respect of the conduct of 6 Members had been received. The complaints were received from 10 different complainants. There were 2 complaints raised by Members against other Members. None of the complaints received were referred for a formal investigation.

Members were informed that several of the complaints were from members of the public regarding conduct by Members on social media and behaviour at meetings. Some complaints require detailed enquiries and therefore could take several months to conclude, however the number of complains is at a stable level. No complaints had been raised with the Chair regarding the timescales of investigations and it was noted how invaluable the independent persons are when it came to standards complaints. There is no right of appeal in relation to the Monitoring Officer’s decision, however complainants can go to the Local Government Ombudsman. In the past year, two complainants had been referred to the Local Government Ombudsman and the Ombudsman had concluded that the complaints process had been followed correctly and there was no cause for further investigation.

Resolved – that the report be noted.