The Standards Assessment Board was scheduled to consider updates on ongoing complaints received by Durham County Council under the Code of Conduct for Members. The meeting was also set to address two specific complaint references in a part of the meeting that would not be open to the public.

Code of Conduct Complaints Updates

The Board was scheduled to receive an update on complaints lodged under the Code of Conduct for Members, following the adoption of a new Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints on 1 November 2025. The report indicated that between 1 November and 19 December 2025, twenty Code of Conduct Complaints were received. Of these, fourteen were rejected as they did not engage the Code of Conduct, and one remained at the pre-assessment stage. The report detailed the status of various complaints, with some scheduled for consideration on 8 January 2026, others deferred to 17 February 2026 due to complexity and the Christmas break, and some already concluded. The Board was asked to note the contents of this report.

Complaint Reference FS-Case-761820285

This item, scheduled for discussion in a part of the meeting not open to the public, concerned a specific complaint reference. The report provided details of the complaint, the Subject Member's response, the advice of the Monitoring Officer, and the options available to the Board.

Complaint Reference FS-Case-769334220

Similarly, this item was also scheduled for discussion in a part of the meeting not open to the public. The report for this complaint reference would have provided details of the complaint, the Subject Member's response, the advice of the Monitoring Officer, and the options available to the Board.