Decision details

The Panel considered the report of the Monitoring Officer setting out an allegation by way of a complaint received from a councillor in respect of  Councillor H.

The Monitoring Officer presented detailed information about the nature of the complaint and preliminary enquiries and discussion with the Independent Person consulted by way of background to the current complaint. 

The Panel then went on to consider the options open to it:

(a)      the Panel is able to ask the Monitoring Officer to direct that the complaints are investigated;

(b)      to direct the Monitoring Officer to take other appropriate action short of a formal investigation, for instance trying to secure an apology;

(c)       alternatively the Panel can decide to take no action in respect of the complaints; this may be where the complaint appears to be trivial, vexatious, malicious, politically motivated or tit-for-tat.

The Panel considered option (c), to take no action, and decided that this was appropriate bearing in mind that evidence provided was not sufficiently substantial and serious to warrant further investigation as there was no potential to be a breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct. The Panel felt that there was a fine line between robust debate and a potential breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct and that in this case it was robust political debate that had taken place. The Panel felt that this complaint could also be politically motivated.

In considering option (a), to direct that the complaint is investigated, the Panel considered that there was no potential for a breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct to have occurred.

Resolved:

1.    To take no further action.