Lancaster City Council Standards Committee

Additional Notes on Completing the Councillor Complaint Form Are you using the correct form? The points listed below will help you decide whether this is the correct for to use when making your complaint. You should speak to the Governance Services Office (01642 444092) if you are not clear whether your complaint will be considered. - Your complaint must be about conduct that occurred while the member(s) complained about were in office. Conduct of an individual before they were elected, co-opted or appointed to the authority, or after they have resigned or otherwise ceased to be a member, cannot be considered. - Your complaint must be about one or more named members of the following authorities: o Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council o Guisborough Town Council o Lockwood Parish Council o Loftus Town Council o Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council o Skelton and Brotton Parish Council - Your complaint must be that the member(s) has, or may have, breached the Code of Conduct. You can contact the Governance Services Office if you requires any further information on 01642 444092. Complaints about dissatisfaction with a decision or action of the authority of one of its committees, a service provided by the authority or the authority’s procedures do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Standards Committee which has overall responsibility for matters relating to the Code of Conduct. Complaints about the actions of people employed by the authority also do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Standards Committee. There is a separate Corporate Complaints process and form for making such complaints at: www.redcar- cleveland.gov.uk/main.nsf/Web+Full+List/EA933A45C0016DCB80256BA00049 DF2A?OpenDocument - Your complaint must be in writing. If a disability prevents you from making your complaint in writing you may contact the Governance Services Office (01642 444092) for assistance. - The Monitoring Officer will assess if the complaint is capable of amounting to a matter that should be referred to the Assessment Sub Committee. - It is important to note that not every complaint that falls within the jurisdiction of the Standards Committee will be referred for investigation or other action. The Assessment Sub Committee of the Standards Committee will decide what is the appropriate action to take. It will make this decision based on whether the Councillor’s actions include any of the following: o Bullying o Disclosing confidential information Updated July 2013 1 o Accepting inappropriate gifts and hospitality – or failing to declare gifts and hospitality o Disreputable conduct o Misuse of Council facilities or resources o Failure to declare a pecuniary or other interest If either the Monitoring Officer or the Assessment Sub Committee decide that your complaint should not be progressed or if the Assessment Sub Committee decides not to refer your complaint for investigation or other action, you will be given the reasons for this decision. What happens once you submit your complaint? The Monitoring Officer will review the complaint and must be satisfied that:- 1. The complaint is against one or more named Members or co-opted Members of the Council or a Town or Parish Council within the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland. 2. The Subject Member was in office at the time of the alleged conduct and the Code of Conduct was in force at the time. 3. The complaint, if proven, would be a breach of the Code of Conduct under which the Subject Member was operating at the time of the alleged misconduct. If the complaint fails one or more of the above requirements it cannot be investigated as a breach of the code and the complainant will be informed that no further action will be taken in respect of the complaint. The Monitoring Officer will acknowledge receipt of the accepted complaint within 5 working days of receiving it and, at the same time, write to the Subject Member (and in the case of a complaint about a Parish Councillor to the Clerk of the Parish Council as well) with details of the allegations (subject to any representations from the Complainant on confidentiality, which are accepted as valid by the Monitoring Officer). The Subject Member may, within 5 working days of receipt, make written representations to the Assessment Sub Committee which must be taken into account when deciding how the complaint will be dealt with. Representations received after this time but before the Assessment Sub Committee has decided how the complaint will be dealt with may be taken into account at the discretion of the Chair. The Monitoring Officer will produce a short factual summary for the Assessment Sub Committee which sets out: o Whether the complaint is within the authority’s jurisdiction. o The paragraphs of the Code of Conduct the complaint might relate to. o A summary of the key aspects of the complaint if it is lengthy or complex. o Any further information obtained which may assist the assessment sub- committee with its decision (for example, a copy of a declaration of acceptance of office form, minutes of meetings, a copy of a member’s entry Updated July 2013 2 in the register of interests, information from Companies House or the Land Registry, the Subject Member’s response). Officers may contact Complainants to seek clarification of the complaint if necessary. The Assessment Sub Committee meeting is a private meeting and should be held where possible within 30 working days from receipt of the complaint. The Assessment Sub Committee can make 3 assessment decisions: 1) Not to refer for investigation - No Action 2) Refer for Investigation - Investigation 3) Refer to the Monitoring Officer - Other Action “Refer for Investigation” can include a Fast Track route to a Hearings Panel in circumstances for example where the Subject Member immediately accepts in their written representation to the Assessment Sub Committee that there has been a breach of the Code and a detailed investigation is not considered necessary. The Council will inform the Complainant, the Subject Member (and the Clerk of the Parish Council, where the complaint relates to a Parish Councillor), of the Assessment Sub Committee decision within 5 working days. What is meant by ‘other action’? The Assessment Sub Committee may decide to refer your complaint for ‘other action’ instead of referring it for investigation. Other action is a deliberately broad term that may include options such as requiring the person you have complained about to apologise or undergo training or mediation. The Assessment Sub Committee will carefully consider the circumstances surrounding your complaint when deciding whether other action is appropriate. If the Assessment Sub Committee decides to refer your complaint for other action we will explain what this involves. How should I set out my complaint? It is very important that you set your complaint out fully and clearly, and provide all the information at the outset. You should also provide any documents or other material that you wish the Monitoring Officer or the Assessment Sub Committee to consider, where possible. Unless the authority advises you otherwise, you will not be able to attend the meeting of the Assessment Sub Committee. We recommend that you use our complaint form or provide a covering note summarising what you are complaining about, especially if your complaint includes a lot of supporting documentation. In the summary you should tell us exactly what each person you are complaining about said or did that has caused Updated July 2013 3 you to complain. If you are sending supporting documentation please cross- reference it against the summary of your complaint. You should be as detailed as possible and substantiate your complaint where you can. Although you are not required to prove your complaint at this stage of the proceedings, you do have to demonstrate that you have reasonable grounds for believing that the member(s) complained about has breached the Code of Conduct. Updated July 2013 4.

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