The Standards Committee of Hertfordshire County Council met on 8 December 2025. The agenda included a discussion of the committee's responsibilities, proposed changes to the standards regime, and a review of the annual complaints report. Also to be discussed was a verbal update regarding dispensation in respect of the council's budget.

Annual Complaints Report

The committee was scheduled to review the Annual Complaints Report 2024-2025, which provides an overview of the complaints received by the Monitoring Officer (MO) under the Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) Councillor Code of Conduct from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025.

During this period, the MO received 16 complaints, with the following outcomes:

• 12 were not within jurisdiction.
• 4 did not warrant further action.

Appendix A of the report, Annual Complaints Report 2024-2025 - Appendix A, provided a summary of the complaints, including:

• A complaint about a councillor not responding to emails, which was not considered a breach of the code of conduct.
• A complaint regarding a councillor's conduct during a cabinet meeting, specifically their attitude towards families of SEND¹ service users.
• A complaint about a councillor's social media post that was deemed unsupportive of a local school. The initial assessment concluded that the complaint did not accurately reflect the content of the post and did not constitute a breach of the Code of Conduct.
• Two complaints about a councillor sharing a social media post which allegedly contained racist and derogatory comments. It was determined that there was not a clear link between the social media post and the councillor's role as a Hertfordshire County Councillor.

Proposed Changes to the Standards Regime

The committee was scheduled to discuss proposed changes to the standards regime, based on the government's response to a consultation on strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England.

The key proposals included:

1. Introduction of a mandatory code of conduct: This code would incorporate the Nolan Principles² and set clear expectations for councillor behaviour.
2. Requirement for formal standards committees: All principal authorities and strategic authorities would be required to convene standards committees to handle misconduct allegations consistently.
3. Individual support during investigations: Principal authorities would be required to offer support to individuals affected by misconduct allegations.
4. Right to review: Both complainants and subject members would have the right to request a reassessment of standards committee investigation decisions.
5. Powers to suspend elected members: Authorities could suspend elected members for up to six months for serious breaches of the code of conduct, with the option to withhold allowances and institute premises and facilities bans.
6. Interim suspensions: In response to serious allegations, authorities could suspend elected members on an interim basis for an initial period of three months, subject to external investigation.
7. Disqualification criterion: Any elected member suspended for the maximum period of six months twice within five years would face disqualification.
8. National appeals function: A new body would be created to consider appeals from elected members and complainants regarding suspension decisions or mishandled complaints.

Item 4 Proposed Changes to the Standards Regime - Briefing Note included an article from Local Government Lawyer, which noted that the current standards and conduct framework for local authorities, as set out in the Localism Act 2011, requires every local authority to adopt a code of conduct, which must as a minimum be consistent with the Nolan principles of standards in public life (selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership).

Responsibilities and Delegated Powers of the Standards Committee

The committee was scheduled to discuss its responsibilities and delegated powers, as outlined in Annex 3 of the council's constitution. These include:

• Promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by councillors.
• Advising the council on the adoption or revision of the Code of Conduct.
• Assisting councillors in observing the Code of Conduct.
• Monitoring the operation of the Code of Conduct.
• Advising on training for councillors on matters relating to the Code of Conduct.
• Hearing and determining complaints about councillors referred to the committee by the Monitoring Officer.
• Granting dispensations from the requirements relating to interests set out in the Code of Conduct.
• Appointing sub-committees to conduct substantive hearings of complaints.
• Recommending actions in the event of a finding that a councillor has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct, such as removal from committees, training, or withdrawal of facilities.
• Exercising the council's power to approve a reason for a councillor's failure to attend meetings.
• Considering proposed amendments to the County Council's Constitution and making recommendations to Full Council.