The Standards Assessment Board of Durham County Council met on Thursday 8 October 2026 to review updates on ongoing complaints regarding alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members. The meeting was scheduled to discuss the status of these complaints and consider specific confidential 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 since the previous meeting on 11 September 2026. The report provided an overview of complaints being assessed and those that had been concluded, in accordance with the Council's Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints.

The report indicated that at the time of the last meeting, 15 complaints were ongoing. Of these, 10 were considered on 11 September 2026, with decision notices issued. Seven of these required no further action, and three were suitable for informal resolution. Two complaints were to be considered by the Board at its 8 October meeting, and two had been rejected as they did not engage the Code. The remaining complaint was treated as withdrawn due to a lack of necessary information from the complainant.

Additionally, two new complaints were received between 2 September and 28 September 2026. Both were at the pre-assessment stage and were scheduled to be presented to the Board.

The report highlighted the Council's duty under section 27 of the Localism Act 2011¹ to promote and maintain high standards of conduct among its members. This includes adopting a Code of Conduct consistent with the Nolan Principles² and having arrangements to consider allegations of breaches. The report noted that failure to comply with the Code can impact public perception of governance and the Council's reputation. The Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints, agreed in October 2025, states that the Standards Assessment Board, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, should consider complaints within 20 working days of receipt.

The Board was asked to note the report.

Confidential Complaint References

The meeting was also scheduled to consider two specific complaint references, FS-Case-866961704 and FS-Case-866963340, under Part B of the agenda, which involved the exclusion of the public due to the consideration of exempt or confidential information. These complaints were listed as being for the Board's consideration on 8 October 2026.