Minutes:
The Deputy Monitoring Officer delivered a presentation in relation to the Code of Conduct complaints process.
The Deputy Monitoring Officer explained the role of the Independent Person, noting that the final decision would always lie with the Monitoring Officer but the Independent Person provided a view and the Monitoring Officer may consult the Independent Person at any stage in the process. In reference to a query from the last meeting, it was confirmed that Middlesbrough Council had appointed two Independent Persons.
Members queried the process around the recruitment of an Independent Monitoring Person, whether political affiliations were considered and the rates of pay. It was confirmed that the post was advertised like any Middlesbrough Council vacancy and open to anyone who has the transferrable skills needed to fulfil the role. Any obvious political affiliations would be considered but those who apply were not required to declare interests. The Deputy Monitoring Officer continued that the rate of pay had been a barrier to filling the post previously as there was a flat rate admin fee paid which was set at £1000 for the year. One of the current Independent Persons had been in post for around five years and one for two years, so it was not a position that was regularly recruited for.
In order for a complaint to be investigated, it was advised that there were two sets of criteria. If the complaint failed one or more of these jurisdictional tests it could not be investigated as a breach of the Code, and the complainant must be informed that no further action would be taken in respect of the complaint. If a complaint passed both stages of the preliminary test, the subject of the complaint would be notified and there may be requests for additional information from the complainant and/or the Subject Member before deciding how to deal with the complaint.
The Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Independent Person would then decide how to deal with the complaint. This will be by way of:
a) Informal Resolution (with/without an investigation)
b) Investigation
c) Criminal Conduct
d) No action
A Member queried whether the same process would be followed if someone made a statement during election time that was untrue and went on to become a councillor.
The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised that if someone made a statement that others simply did not agree with, this process would not be followed as the Subject was not in office at that time and this was one of the criteria. If the incident happened before a Member had signed the Code of Conduct it was difficult to hold them to account generally as the Code only applied to current councillors.
A Member noted that there was no remedy in place to deal with possible breaches of election regulations as the pre-election period was not covered in the Code of Conduct. The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised that complaints were not specifically categorised but some of the criteria did carry more weight. For example, if there was an incident whereby a large group of people had been affected, this may be treated slightly differently.
Members queried whether mediation would be an option in the event that the Code of Conduct was breached. It was confirmed that this could be an option but it depended on the willingness of the Subjects.
Members raised that it would be useful to see the costs to the council for each type of investigation. The Deputy Monitoring Officer noted that for some investigations the only cost would be officer time, and the Monitoring Office tried to keep investigations internal where possible, but this was dependent on staffing capacity. External investigations were more complex as they could sometimes be charged hourly or alternatively at a fixed rate.
AGREED as follows that:
1. The information provided was received and noted.
2. The Deputy Monitoring Officer would provide Members with an overview of costs to the council in relation to Code of Conduct complaints and investigations for the past three years.