The Standards Assessment Board of County Durham Council was scheduled to meet on Tuesday 28 April 2026 to receive an update on ongoing complaints regarding alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members. The meeting was also set to consider two specific, confidential complaint cases.

Code of Conduct Complaints Update

The Board was scheduled to receive an update on complaints received by Durham County Council under the Code of Conduct for Members. This report, prepared by Helen Bradley, Director of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer, covers the period since the Board's meeting on 2 April 2026, as a previous meeting on 17 April 2026 was adjourned due to being inquorate. The report's purpose was to update the Board on the status of ongoing complaints and to satisfy the Board that these are being assessed in accordance with the Council's Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints.

The Council has a duty under section 27 of the Localism Act 2011¹ to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by its members and to adopt a Code of Conduct consistent with the Nolan Principles². The Council must also have arrangements in place to consider allegations of breaches of these codes, not only by its own members but also by members of town and parish councils for which it is the principal authority. The report noted that a new Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints was agreed by the Standards Committee on 15 October 2025 and became effective from 1 November 2025.

The report detailed the status of various complaints:

• Four complaints considered on 17 March 2026 had no further action taken, and decision notices had been issued.
• Of eight complaints ongoing at the time of the last meeting, three were considered on 2 April 2026, with one requiring no further action and two suitable for informal resolution.
• One complaint was due for consideration on 17 April 2026 but was adjourned and would be reconvened immediately following the current meeting.
• One complaint was scheduled for consideration on 28 April 2026.
• Two complaints were treated as withdrawn due to a lack of necessary information from the complainants.
• One complaint was rejected as it did not engage the Code of Conduct.

Between 24 March 2026 and 17 April 2026, twelve new complaints were received. Seven of these were rejected for not engaging the Code of Conduct. One complaint was scheduled for consideration on 28 April 2026, and officers were preparing reports for the remaining four, with two scheduled for consideration on 11 May 2026 and two for 1 June 2026.

The report recommended that the Standards Assessment Board note its contents.

Confidential Complaint Cases

The Board was also scheduled to consider two specific complaint references in private session:

• Complaint Reference FS-Case-821225691: This case was scheduled for consideration by the Board on 28 April 2026, with a target date for assessment of 11 May 2026.
• Complaint Reference FS-Case-810791640: This case was also scheduled for consideration by the Board on 28 April 2026, with a target date for assessment of 17 April 2026.