The Standards and Ethics Committee of Worcestershire Council scheduled a meeting to take place on 15 October 2025. The agenda included discussion of apologies, declarations of interest, public participation, and the confirmation of minutes from a previous meeting. A key item for consideration was the proposed review of arrangements for dealing with complaints made against councillors under the Members Code of Conduct.

Review of complaints procedure

The committee was asked to consider a review of the existing procedures for managing complaints against councillors, as detailed in Agenda Item 5 - Proposed review of arrangements for dealing with complaints made against councillors.

The Assistant Director for Legal and Governance (ADLG), Hazel Best, was scheduled to present a report on the proposed arrangements. The report noted that Hazel Best continues to receive complaints, and that a more transparent process was needed. It also noted that Hazel Best had met with group leaders and reaffirmed that cross party complaints would be referred to Group Leaders in the first instance.

The report recommended that the committee:

a) Authorise the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance (ADLG) to review the arrangements for dealing with complaints made against Councillors under the Members Code of Conduct; and

b) Authorise the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance to provide an updating report at the next meeting of the Committee.

The report also noted that the ADLG proposed an extra meeting of the committee before Christmas to agree arrangements, and that the ADLG wished to liaise with the Local Government Ombudsman¹ in relation to the new arrangements.

The current arrangements for dealing with complaints against councillors were attached to the report as Appendix 1, and the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL)'s paper entitled Local Government Ethical Standards January 2019 was attached as Appendix 2.

The report noted that the committee adopted the new model code of conduct² produced by the Local Government Association (LGA) at its committee meeting in March 2023.

The report stated that some recommendations of the CSPL review would require a change in legislation, for example:

• Recommendation 7: The Localism Act 2011³ should be amended to require that Independent Persons are appointed for a fixed term of two years, renewable once.
• Recommendation 10: A Local Authority should only be able to suspend a councillor where the authority's Independent Person agrees both with the finding of a breach and that suspending the councillor would be a proportionate sanction.
• Recommendation 16: Local Authorities should be given the power to suspend councillors, without allowances, for up to six months.

The report also referred to a consultation by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England, which ran from 18 December 2024 to 26 February 2025.

Specific proposals consulted upon for legislative change included:

• the introduction of a mandatory minimum code of conduct for local authorities in England
• a requirement that all principal authorities convene formal standards committees to make decisions on code of conduct breaches, and publish the outcomes of all formal investigations
• the introduction of the power for all local authorities to suspend councillors or mayors found in serious breach of their code of conduct and, as appropriate, interim suspension for the most serious and complex cases that may involve police investigations
• a new category of disqualification for gross misconduct and those subject to a sanction of suspension more than once in a 5-year period
• a role for a national body to deal with appeals

The MHCLG had not yet published its response to this consultation at the time of writing.

The report proposed the following amendments could be made to the current arrangements:

• Paragraph 2.2 to include the Monitoring Officer to consult an independent person to consult one of the Independent Persons at the filtering stage
• To include a timescale for the Monitoring Officer to acknowledge a complaint (5 days) and a timescale to conclude the filtering stage (within 28 days)

The report proposed that the following process will be followed at the filtering stage:

The Monitoring Officer will consider each complaint received and will decide, on the basis of the information set out in the complaint form or submitted with the complaint, whether it merits formal investigation.

The report also proposed criteria to be considered when determining the merit of a formal investigation. If it meets all of the criteria in paragraph 16, or one or more of the criteria set out in paragraph 17, then a formal investigation would ensue. The Monitoring Officer will consult the Independent Person before coming to a final decision as to whether or not a complaint which meets the relevant criteria should be investigated.

The report stated that it is proposed the Monitoring Officer consults with the Independent Persons and Group Leaders in relation to the proposed changes to the arrangements. If adopted, it is proposed the Council's website is then updated with the new arrangements. It is also proposed complaints are sent direct to the Monitoring Officer and not via the complaints team at present. The Monitoring Officer will liaise with IT to arrange for a new email address to be set up.