The Standards Assessment Board of Durham County Council was scheduled to meet on Monday 11 May 2026 to discuss updates on code of conduct complaints. The meeting agenda included a review of ongoing complaints and those that had been completed, as well as confidential items relating to specific complaint references.

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 inquorate.

The report's purpose was to provide the Standards Assessment Board with an update on the status of complaints to ensure they are being assessed in accordance with the Council's Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints. The recommendation was for the Board to note the report.

The report detailed the status of various complaints, including those considered on 17 March 2026, where the outcome for four complaints was no further action. It also outlined complaints received before 23 March 2026, with some requiring no further action, others suitable for informal resolution, and some treated as withdrawn due to a lack of necessary information from complainants. One complaint was noted as rejected because it did not engage the code.

For complaints received between 24 March 2026 and 17 April 2026, the report indicated that 12 complaints had been received. Of these, seven 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 four others, with two scheduled for consideration on 11 May 2026 and two for 1 June 2026.

The report referenced the Council's duty under section 27 of the Localism Act 2011 to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by its members. This includes adopting a Code of Conduct consistent with the Nolan Principles, which address the expected conduct of members in their official capacity. The Council is also required to have arrangements for considering allegations of breaches of these codes by its own members and those of town and parish councils. The report highlighted that failure to comply with the Code can lead to perceptions of poor governance and reputational damage for the Council.

The report also listed specific complaint references scheduled for consideration:

• Complaint Reference FS-Case-821225691 was scheduled for consideration by the Board on 28 April 2026.
• Complaint Reference FS-Case-810791640 was scheduled for assessment by the Board on 28 April 2026.
• Two complaints, FS-Case-826120629 and FS-Case-826324814, were scheduled for consideration by the Board on 11 May 2026.

The meeting was also scheduled to consider exempt or confidential information relating to Complaint Reference FS-Case-821225691 and Complaint Reference FS-Case-810791640.