The Standards Committee of Cornwall Council met to discuss complaints handling, ethical standards, and future work programmes. Members were scheduled to discuss the Organisational Complaints Report, the Ethical Standards Complaints Report, the Standards Committee Work Programme, the Annual Report, the Review of Code of Conduct Assessment Procedures, and the Review of Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy.

Annual Report

The committee was scheduled to consider the 16th Annual Report of the Standards Committee, covering 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. The report noted that the Standards Committee consisted of 18 members during the reporting period, including Cornwall Councillors, Independent Lay Members, Parish and Town Council Representatives and a Town and Parish Council Clerk.

The report summarised ethical standards complaints received by the council:

• 127 formal ethical standards complaints were received, compared to 181 the previous year.
• 31 complaints were withdrawn or not processed, mainly because confidentiality was not granted or further information wasn't provided.
• 32 complaints related to Cornwall Councillors, and 95 related to Town and Parish Councillors.
• 64 complaints were rejected, 32 were processed, and 31 were withdrawn or not processed.
• The most common Code of Conduct breaches alleged were a failure to treat others with respect and a failure to uphold high standards.

The report also summarised the role of the Independent Person, reviews of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards Complaint Procedures, a government consultation on changes to the ethical standards regime, training and guidance, and Local Government Ombudsman activity.

Ethical Standards Complaints Report

The committee was scheduled to receive a report on ethical standards complaints from Quarter 1 of 2025-2026. The report noted that the number of complaints received for the quarter was 67, compared to 39 in the same period the previous year. Of the complaints received, 25 related to Cornwall Councillors and 42 related to Town and Parish Councillors.

The report also included a breakdown of which parts of the Code of Conduct were raised in the complaints, with the most common being the requirement to treat others with respect and to maintain high standards of conduct.

The report stated that, after applying the procedures adopted by the Standards Committee:

• 3 complaints were processed
• 20 complaints were not processed/withdrawn
• 27 complaints were ongoing
• 17 complaints were rejected

Of those processed:

• no complaints were closed due to the complaint being resolved
• no complaints showed no breach of the Code
• 2 complaints showed a breach of the Code
• 1 complaint resulted in other action

The report noted that there was no discernible trend in the complaints overall, but that officers would keep this under review.

Review of Code of Conduct Assessment Procedures

The committee was scheduled to review the council's Code of Conduct Assessment Procedures. The procedures are used to determine allegations of breaches of the Members' Code of Conduct. The report noted that the Standards Committee approved changes to the procedures on 24 April 2025, relating to mandatory training. The report also noted that officers had undertaken a further review of the procedures and made a few further amendments.

Review of Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy

The committee was scheduled to review the Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy. The policy aims to help members, officers and customers understand how the council manages unacceptable customer behaviour that is considered to be unreasonable.

The report noted that the policy was first created in 2015 and has been subject to several reviews since then. The report also noted that changes had been made to the policy before the committee, including further clarification on unreasonably persistent complainants and a review of the wording and terminology used.

Organisational Complaints Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the Organisational Complaints Report Quarter 4 – 2024 – 2025. The report set out trends with regards to Step 1, Step 2 and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) complaints for the reporting period.

According to the report, 37 complaints were made to the LGSCO during the reporting period, compared to 42 in the previous quarter. The report also noted that the time taken by the LGSCO to process complaints can vary considerably.

The report stated that, of the 34 complaints considered by the LGSCO for which a final decision notice was issued, 18 had no fault found or would not be investigated, for 15 fault was found and 1 was for an invitation to remedy.

The report also included information on complaints made directly to the council, with the council responding to 95.3% of Step 1 non-statutory complaints within timeframe, and 55.8% of both Adult Social Care (ASC) and Together for Families (TFF) statutory complaints were closed within timescale.

Standards Committee Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to approve the Standards Committee Work Programme for the period July 2025 – July 2026. The work programme sets out the key areas of work for the committee in the coming year.

The report also asked the committee to re-establish the following working groups:

• Working Group established to undertake recruitment to the Standards Committee
• Working Group established to consider Ombudsman complaints relating to Adult Social Care
• Working Group established to consider the Code of Conduct, the Committees Procedures and the Guide to Bullying and Intimidation
• Working Group established to consider Ombudsman complaints relating to Together for Families.