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1566816

registered interest
date	13/01/2023
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Councillors: Complaints
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many complaints were submitted to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman about council officers in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	122512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2023 answer text <p>In a democracy, it is crucial that elected members in local government inspire confidence and have the trust of the electorate. All local authorities must have a member code of conduct. Councils can decide what their local codes cover, although they must as a minimum conform to the seven ‘Nolan’ principles of standards in public life.</p><p>The Committee on Standards in Public Life review of Local Government Ethical Standards recommended strengthening the local government standards system with a range of legislative amendments. The Government response noted that some do not need legislation and can be better taken forward as best practice.  We made commitments in response to the review, including on strengthening sanctions, and will engage with local authority representative organisations in due course.</p><p>Councils have a number of options if councillors breach the code of conduct, including formal rebuke, removal of portfolio responsibilities and representative roles, and requiring members to undertake training.</p><p>It is the role of the Monitoring Officer to ensure that the council complies with the law and their own stated policies and procedures at all times. The Localism Act 2011 requires local authorities to appoint at least one Independent Person to assist the Monitoring Officer in investigations into code of conduct breaches.</p><p>The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigates complaints from members of the public who have suffered personal injustice arising from maladministration by local authorities. Concerns about the conduct of local authority officers may be taken into account as part of an investigation into a complaint about the local authority. The Ombudsman does not, however, consider complaints solely about the behaviour of officers – such complaints are a matter for the local authority as the employer.</p> answering member constituency North East Derbyshire answering member printed Lee Rowley grouped question UIN 122445 122446 122447 122511 question first answered 23/01/2023 17:55:41 answering member 4652 label Biography information for Lee Rowley
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1253320

registered interest
date	18/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Councillors: Complaints
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to investigate complaints against members of local government since the abolition of the Standards Board for England.
tabling member constituency	North Herefordshire
tabling member printed	Bill Wiggin
uin	117193
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>The Localism Act 2011 abolished the Standards Board for England and decentralised responsibility for maintaining high ethical standards to local authorities. Local authorities must adopt a code of conduct for elected and co-opted members consistent with the ‘Nolan’ principles of selflessness, honesty, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness and leadership.</p><p>Abolishing the Standards Board and devolving responsibility for ethical standards has encouraged local authorities to take ownership for building and maintaining a culture of high ethical standards. It has also provided the flexibility and discretion to resolve standards issues informally where appropriate and to tailor procedures to their specific circumstances. The Government has no plans to re-establish the Standards Board for England or to reimpose a central code of conduct on local authorities.</p><p>The Localism Act 2011 also requires local authorities to put in place procedures for considering complaints where members are alleged to have breached the code of conduct, including appointing an independent person to advise the authority before it decides on an allegation. As it is for individual local authorities to determine their own complaints procedures, it would not be appropriate for the Government to investigate individual complaints against members of a local authority.</p><p>If a member of the public has a concern about the actions, decisions or conduct of their local authority, they should first look to use the authority’s formal complaints system. If they remain unsatisfied, an individual can ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to investigate cases where they are alleged to have suffered personal injustice arising from maladministration by a local authority.</p><p>My department has responsibility for the core Local Authority Governance &amp; Accountability Framework, for ensuring that it is functioning effectively and contains the right checks and balances. The Committee on Standards in Public Life’s Report on Ethical Standards in Local Government affirms that there is a willingness and capacity to uphold the highest standards of conduct amongst local government in England. The Report makes a number of recommendations to strengthen the standards and conduct system for local government. The Government is carefully considering the report and will respond in due course.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 117190 117191 117192 117194 117195 question first answered 23/11/2020 15:38:30 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	1428 label Biography information for Sir Bill Wiggin

418782

registered interest
date	15/09/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Councillors: Complaints
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a councillor who is the subject of, or mentioned in, a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman has the right to know (1) the nature of the complaint, and (2) the identity of the person or persons making the complaint.
tabling member printed	Lord Greaves
uin	HL2217
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2015 answer text <p>There is no requirement that a councillor who is subject of, or mentioned in, a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman be informed of the nature of the complaint or the identity of the complainant. However, the Local Government Ombudsman’s practice is to request that local authorities ensure all interested parties within the local authority are aware of the investigation and are able to comment before the Ombudsman comes to a final decision.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 29/09/2015 16:27:50 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2569 label Biography information for Lord Greaves