The Standards Committee met on Tuesday to appoint a chair and vice-chair, to discuss ethical standards with the Chief Executive, and to review the Monitoring Officer's general report. Councillor Nicholas Bennett J.P. was appointed Chairman and Councillor Melanie Stevens was appointed Vice-Chairman for the 2025/26 municipal year. The committee also requested a report on publicity in the pre-election period, also known as Purdah, to be provided at the next meeting.

Discussion with the Chief Executive

Ade Adetosoye, the Chief Executive, addressed the committee to discuss ethical standards at Bromley Council. He stated that standards at the council were effective, with high ethical standards and positive relationships between councillors and council officers.

The Chief Executive's update covered:

• The importance of councillors being vigilant about social media use to avoid inadvertently breaching the Code of Conduct[^1]. [^1]: The Code of Conduct is a set of rules that councillors must follow to ensure they act ethically and in the public interest.
• Consideration of support for councillors in using social media and digital conduct as more meetings are live-streamed.
• A review of mandatory Code of Conduct training, which the Monitoring Officer is developing for the Member Induction Programme following the May 2026 election.
• Monitoring of resource capacity for dealing with Code of Conduct complaints.

During the discussion, the Chief Executive clarified that he cannot compel councillors to attend training, except for mandatory training on the Code of Conduct, planning, and licensing. He suggested that Standards Committee members work with group leaders to manage training attendance and engagement after the election.

The committee discussed dedicating the first half-hour of inaugural committee meetings to training on the responsibilities of each committee. They also considered recording induction sessions, while recognising that this might affect attendance at live sessions.

The Chief Executive also addressed restrictions around publicity in the pre-election period (Purdah) for elections and by-elections. He noted that guidance from the Local Government Association and SOLACE states that these restrictions apply to the whole council during a by-election. He highlighted the need for a balance in publicity decisions, based on the experience of officers in Public Affairs, advice from Legal Services, and the Monitoring Officer's view.

Following this discussion, the committee requested a report on publicity in the pre-election period (Purdah) be provided to the next meeting.

Monitoring Officer's General Report

The committee reviewed the Monitoring Officer's General Report, which provided updates on several standards issues.

Key points from the report included:

• Dispensations: No dispensations had been granted since the last committee meeting on 17 July 2024. Dispensations allow councillors to attend and speak at meetings where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest[^2], typically related to town planning or employment issues. [^2]: A disclosable pecuniary interest is a financial interest that a councillor has that could potentially influence their decisions.
• Gifts and Hospitality Register: The Gifts and Hospitality Register, which lists declarations made by councillors, is available on the council website. The register includes gifts and hospitality received by councillors such as Councillor Kathy Bance, Councillor Josh Coldspring-White, Councillor Christine Harris, Councillor Alica Igoe, Councillor Mike Jack, Councillor Ruth McGregor, Councillor Keith Onslow, Councillor Chloe Jane Ross, Councillor Colin Smith, Councillor Diane Smith, Councillor Mark Smith, Councillor Alison Stammers, Councillor Melanie Stevens, Councillor Michael Tickner, Councillor Gemma Turrell, Councillor Thomas Turrell, and Councillor Sam Webber.
• Work Programme: The committee's work programme for 2025/26 includes meetings on 1 July 2025, 4 November 2025, and 11 March 2026.
• Complaints Summary: An anonymised summary of complaints against councillors since the last meeting was included in the report. There were no formal standards investigations outstanding at the time of the meeting. The report included details of complaints made by Complainant A, Complainant B, Complainant C, Complainant D, Complainant E, Complainant F, Complainant G, Complainant H, and Complainant I.
• Government Consultations: The report noted the government's consultations on strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, and on remote attendance and proxy voting at local authority meetings. The council did not submit a formal response to the consultation on strengthening the standards and conduct framework. The government plans to legislate to support permanent provisions for both remote attendance and proxy voting.
• Training for Independent Persons: Arrangements will be made for refresher training for Independent Persons during the municipal year.
• Election 2026: Planning is underway for the Member Induction programme following the local elections in May 2026.