This meeting was scheduled to include an update on standards issues that are affecting local government nationally, a review of complaints about breaches of the Councillors Code of Conduct, and a discussion about the Local Government Association's Debate Not Hate campaign.

Review of the Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints

The Standards Committee was scheduled to review their Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints. The procedure has to comply with the Localism Act 2011, which says that:

A relevant authority must promote and maintain high standards of conduct by members and co-opted members of the authority.

It was scheduled to consider a number of changes to the procedure that were designed to improve accessibility and clarity.

One such change was the addition of the following to the considerations a Monitoring Officer will make when deciding whether to pursue informal resolution of a complaint:

The allegations against the Subject Member(s) are serious, such as accusations of bullying or misusing their position to gain or confer advantage/disadvantage

The committee was also scheduled to consider whether to delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to make minor changes to the document between meetings of the committee.

Code of Conduct Update

The Standards Committee was scheduled to receive an update on complaints about breaches of the Councillors Code of Conduct, including whether complaints had been rejected, withdrawn, or resulted in a decision. It was also scheduled to be asked to consider how the costs associated with code of conduct complaints were presented to the committee.

Local Government Association Debate Not Hate Campaign

The Standards Committee was scheduled to be updated on the LGA's Debate Not Hate campaign. It was scheduled to consider the key findings from the LGA's Debate Not Hate Survey of councillors, which was sent to all councillors in England and Wales in August 2024.

The report included a number of recommendations from the LGA including:

The Government and Ofcom should take steps to ensure that harmful and abusive behaviour does not continue unrestricted online

and:

The Government should work with the police to set out clear and consistent guidance on the role of policing in addressing abuse, intimidation and harassment of elected members

It was scheduled to note that Durham County Council has already adopted a zero tolerance approach to abuse policy and provides training to its councillors on how to use social media safely.

National Picture

The Standards Committee was scheduled to be provided with a quarterly update on standards issues that are affecting local government nationally. This included receiving reports about an incident in Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council involving a social media exchange between a councillor and an ex-councillor, and an update on the Government's plans to allow councillors to attend meetings remotely.