The Standards Committee of Haringey Council is scheduled to meet on 3 February 2026 to discuss several items, including a review of code of conduct complaints, the members allowances scheme, and the committee's work programme. The meeting will be held at George Meehan House, and will be available to watch online.

Members Allowances Scheme

The committee is expected to discuss the Members Allowances Scheme for 2026-2027. The council is legally required to approve a Members Allowances Scheme before the end of each year. The scheme must include provisions for basic allowances, and may include special responsibility, dependents' carers, travelling and subsistence, and co-optees allowances.

The report pack includes the Members Allowances Scheme 2025/26, and the Remuneration of Councillors in London 2023 report from the Independent Panel. The Independent Panel's report, which was most recently considered by the Standards Committee in January 2025, highlights the increasing challenges and complex role of councillors, and how national and international changes are directly impacting communities. The report also notes that councillor salaries are considerably lower than those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and lower than workers in London. The Panel recommends that the basic allowance should be £15,960.

The report pack notes that in November 2025, there was a local government pay award of an increase of 3.2% for local government officers. If committee members were minded to increase their basic allowance by 2%, the cost would be an additional £13,680 to the council.

The current Members' Allowances Scheme includes a basic allowance of £11,994 per year. There are also additional allowances for the Mayor (£16,965) and Deputy Mayor (£4,238). Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs) are allocated in six bands to councillors who take on additional roles. For example, the Leader receives an additional allowance of £33,926, while chairs of certain committees receive an additional £8,482. Co-optees' allowances are £154 per meeting attended, to a maximum of £616. Councillors can also claim a babysitting and dependants allowance at the London Living Wage, and travelling and subsistence allowances for travel outside the M25.

No Further Action Code of Conduct Complaints

The committee is scheduled to review the Monitoring Officer Annual Report on code of conduct complaints that did not merit further action. The Protocol for Complaints Against Members requires the Monitoring Officer, currently Fiona Alderman, Director of Legal & Governance, to report annually to the Standards Committee on complaints that were determined not to merit any further action. The Monitoring Officer must consult with the Independent Person before making her decision.

The Monitoring Officer may determine that an allegation does not merit any further action for a number of reasons, including:

• The allegation does not demonstrate a breach of the Members' Code of Conduct.
• The allegation is about someone who is no longer a member of the council.
• There is insufficient evidence upon which to investigate.
• The complaint is considered to be frivolous or vexatious.
• The matters to which the allegation refers took place longer than three months before the date of receipt of the allegation.
• The complaint is or appears to be malicious, politically motivated, or otherwise submitted with an improper motive.
• The member against whom the allegation has been made has remedied or made reasonable endeavours to remedy the matter.

In the period 1 May 2024 –1 October 2025, the Monitoring Officer determined that 6 complaints of alleged breach of the code of conduct by councillors did not merit any further action.

Committee Work Programme

The committee is expected to discuss its work programme and identify topics for future meetings. Items that have been suggested for the next meeting on 9 March 2026 include changes to the Council Constitution and Special Responsibility Allowances 2026/27.