The Standards and Governance Committee met to discuss complaints monitoring, dispensations, and the annual governance statement action plan. The committee reviewed the complaints summary, noted there were no live dispensations, and discussed the annual governance statement action plan, requesting further information and providing feedback to the Annual Governance Statement Action Plan Officer Working Group as appropriate.

Complaints Monitoring

The committee received an update on the complaints currently under consideration against members of Westmorland and Furness Council and town and parish councils since the last meeting.

The Chief Legal and Monitoring Officer, Linda Jones, reviews any complaints received against both Westmorland and Furness Councillors and Town and Parish Councillors, and after consultation with the Independent Person and Chair of the Standards and Governance Committee, takes a decision as to whether it merits formal investigation. The Standards and Governance Committee receives regular updates on the number of complaints.

A summary of the complaints was provided in Appendix 1 - September - FINAL Complaints. This showed the progress on complaints since the last committee meeting on 3 July 2025.

Dispensations Update

The committee reviewed the council's register of dispensations. A dispensation is when a relevant authority may, on a written request made to the proper officer of the authority by a member or co-opted member of the authority, grant a dispensation relieving the member or co-opted member from either or both of the restrictions in section 31(4) in cases described in the dispensation¹.

There are currently no live dispensations and no further action was required at this time.

Within the terms of reference for the Standards and Governance Committee, the Standards Committee is to determine any request for a dispensation under Section 33 Localism Act 2011, where not determined by the Monitoring Officer.

Annual Governance Statement Action Plan Update

The committee received an update to the Annual Governance Statement 2025/26 Action Plan.

At the 9 June 2025 Audit Committee meeting, members resolved that the Chief Legal and Monitoring Officer set up an officer working group to ensure that actions are updated and monitored on a regular basis. At the 3 July 2025 Standards & Governance Committee meeting, members noted the Action Plan and requested that updates were provided to the Committee.

The Annual Governance Statement Action Plan Officer Working Group consists of the Chief Legal & Monitoring Officer, Group Lawyer – Corporate & Governance, Assistant Director of Finance & Deputy S151 Officer, Group Audit Manager (Head of Internal Audit) and Senior Risk Officer.

The Annual Governance Statement Action Plan Officer Working Group brought to the attention of the Standards & Governance Committee that 4 items (A4, A5, E3 & F3) have been completed and are highlighted in green and that 1 item (D2) has slipped beyond their target date and is highlighted in red. The remaining 30 items are currently a work in progress. Updates have been requested to provide further narrative on progress.