Code of Conduct for Members
The standards expected of elected and co-opted Members
We are committed to promoting the highest standards of conduct by our elected and co-opted Members and have adopted a Code of Conduct which can be found in Part 5 of our Constitution. The Code of Conduct is in keeping with the 7 Nolan principles in public life – selflessness; integrity; objectivity; accountability; openness; honesty and leadership.
If you believe that a member of the Council may have breached the Code of Conduct, you can make a complaint to the Monitoring Officer using the form below. Each complaint will be assessed and if the Monitoring Officer decides that the complaint merits formal investigation, they will make the necessary arrangements for this to be carried out. Some breaches are a criminal offence and will be dealt with by the Police rather than the Council.
The Localism Act 2011 requires that the Council has in place arrangements under which an allegation that a member or co-opted member of the Council or a Town or Parish Council has failed to comply with the Code of Conduct.
The Monitoring Officer will review every complaint received and may consult with one of the Council's appointed Independent Persons before taking a decision as to whether it:
(a) Merits no further action
(b) Merits early informal resolution
(c) Merits formal investigation (this may include referral to a Sub-Committee of the Council’s Administration Committee.
Further details of what will happen if the Monitoring Officer decides that a complaint merits further investigation is contained in the Code of Conduct complaints procedure.
If following a formal investigation a Councillor is found to have breached the Code of Conduct, a decision notice will be published here. It will remain published for the duration of the term of office for Councillor.
If the decision is that there has been no breach then the identity of the Councillor will not be disclosed and the decision notice will be published for 90 days.
The Monitoring Officer will produce an annual report for consideration by the Administration Committee providing details of all complaints received (excluding any details deemed confidential in law) and action taken, this will include complaints not actioned, those informally resolved and those formally investigated.
Code of Conduct Privacy Notice
Decision Notices