The Standards Assessment Board of Durham County Council met on Tuesday 17 March 2026 to consider updates on ongoing complaints received under the Code of Conduct for Members. The meeting agenda indicated that a significant portion of the session would be dedicated to reviewing individual complaint cases, with the public and press excluded for these discussions.

Code of Conduct Complaints Update

The Board was scheduled to receive an update on complaints lodged under the Code of Conduct for Members of Durham County Council. This report, prepared by Helen Bradley, Director of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer, provided an overview of complaints that were either currently being assessed or had been completed since the previous meeting on 17 February 2026. The report indicated that the Council has a duty, under section 27 of the Localism Act 2011¹, to promote and maintain high standards of conduct among its members. The Council is required to have a Code of Conduct consistent with the Nolan Principles², which outline expected standards of behaviour for councillors. The report detailed the progress of complaints received before 6 February 2026, noting that some had been considered at previous meetings with the outcome of no further action. It also outlined complaints received between 7 February and 6 March 2026, with several scheduled for consideration at this meeting. The report recommended that the Board note its contents.

Individual Complaint Cases

A substantial part of the meeting was allocated to the consideration of specific complaint references, which were to be discussed with the public and press excluded. These included:

• Complaint Reference FS-Case-789915840
• Complaint Reference FS-Case-793880253
• Complaint Reference FS-Case-795694815
• Complaint Reference FS-Case-796619358
• Complaint Reference FS-Case-801756809
• Complaint Reference COM 435
• Complaint Reference FS-Case-799515820

For each of these cases, a report from the Director of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer was provided, detailing the complaint, the Subject Member's response, the advice of the Monitoring Officer, and the options available to the Board. The report pack indicated that for several of these cases, the recommendation was that no further action be taken.