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 \u2018Nolan\u2019 principles of standards in public life.<\/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.\u202f We made commitments in response to the review, including on strengthening sanctions, and will engage with local authority representative organisations in due course.<\/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>
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>
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 \u2013 such complaints are a matter for the local authority as the employer.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4652", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lee Rowley"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North East Derbyshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lee Rowley"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-01-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "122445"} , {"_value" : "122446"} , {"_value" : "122447"} , {"_value" : "122511"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-01-23T17:55:41.107Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "211"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Levelling Up, Housing and Communities"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Levelling Up, Housing and Communities"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-01-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Councillors: Complaints"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "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.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4006", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hendon"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Matthew Offord"} ], "uin" : "122512"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1253320", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1253320/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
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 \u2018Nolan\u2019 principles of selflessness, honesty, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness and leadership.<\/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>
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>
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\u2019s 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>
My department has responsibility for the core Local Authority Governance & Accountability Framework, for ensuring that it is functioning effectively and contains the right checks and balances. The Committee on Standards in Public Life\u2019s 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\u202frecommendations to strengthen the standards and conduct system for local government. The Government is carefully considering the report and will respond in due course.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4450", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Luke Hall"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Thornbury and Yate"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Luke Hall"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "117190"} , {"_value" : "117191"} , {"_value" : "117192"} , {"_value" : "117194"} , {"_value" : "117195"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-23T15:38:30.923Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Councillors: Complaints"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "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.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1428", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Bill Wiggin"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North Herefordshire"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Bill Wiggin"} ], "uin" : "117193"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/418782", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/418782/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
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\u2019s 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>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4311", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Williams of Trafford"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-09-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-09-29T16:27:50.833Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-09-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Councillors: Complaints"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s 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.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "true", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2569", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Greaves"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Greaves"} ], "uin" : "HL2217"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }