Leicester City Council Standards Committee
Making a complaint about a local Councillor
If you want to make a complaint about the behaviour of a Leicester City Councillor you must write to the Council’s Standards Committee.
This webpage explains what the Standards Committee does, and how you can make a complaint.
Please note that the complaints process below is soon to be abolished due to upcoming changes in law. Details of future arrangements will be posted here when they are available.
Leicester City Council Standards Committee
The Standards Committee is a group of people appointed by the Council to help promote and maintain high ethical standards of conduct by the people who represent you on the Council. Some of these people are Councillors, but some, including the Chair, are Independent members of the Committee, who are not Councillors or employed by the Council.
The Committee deals with complaints about the behaviour of Members of Leicester City Council. It will only deal with matters covered by the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.
The Code itself is very detailed but the general obligations on Councillors in the Code relate to:
· Treating others with respect
· Complying with Equality Laws
· Bullying and intimidation
· Compromising in the impartiality of Council officers
· Disclosing confidential information
· Preventing access to information
· Disrepute
· Improper use of position as a Councillor
· Use of the Council’s resources
· Considering advice provided and giving reasons for decisions
These obligations apply to:
· interests – where a Councillor’s personal or professional interests may come into conflict with their duties as a Councillor
· behaviour
· gifts and hospitality
The Code of Conduct applies when Councillors are on Council business or otherwise in their capacity as a Member of Council – for example at a School Governors meeting where the Councillor has been appointed as a Governor by the Council. It will not apply to Councillors’ conduct of their private lives. They must have been clearly carrying out their Council business for the Code of Conduct to apply.
The Committee will not deal with complaints about:
· Council employees
· Behaviour that took place before the person was a Councillor, or before the
new Code of Conduct was introduced (May 2008)
· The way the Council conducts or records its meetings
· Actions or decisions taken by the Council – this may be a matter for the
Local Government Ombudsman
If you have a complaint about Council services or officers, then you should use the Council’s Complaints procedure. To find out more about the Complaints Procedure call (0116) 252 7000 or visit www.leicester.gov.uk/complaints.
Your Complaint and what will happen to it?
You will need to put your complaint in writing. You can either use the form at the bottom of this webpage or write a letter. Once you have made a complaint you will be told in writing what will happen to it. Members of the Standards Committee will decide what to do with your complaint, which they should do within 20 days. They can decide to:
· Investigate it themselves
· Send it to the Standards Board for England for investigation
· Send it to another Council’s Standards Committee to investigate it
· Take no further action
· Take some alternative action, such as conflict resolution, mediation,
or require some training
If they decide not to take any further action, and you disagree with their reasons for this, you can ask for a different group of Committee members to look at the decision again. You must do this in writing within 30 days of the original decision, and the second group of Committee members must revisit the decision with three months.
What does the Standards Board for England do?
The Standards Board for England is a national body which has independent oversight of complaints against Councillors. Councils must report to the Standards Board on how their own Standards Committees are dealing with complaints, and the Board will publish information on this.
If the Standards Board is not happy with the way a local Standards Committee is working, it can work with them to improve, and give them guidance. If necessary, it can take away the local Committee's powers to deal with complaints if it is not satisfied that they are being dealt with properly.
Also, a local Committee can ask the Board to investigate individual complaints if it believes the complaint is serious enough to merit this course of action.
Further information
For further information about making a complaint about a Leicester City Councillor, please call 0116 229 8816 or email perry.holmes@leicester.gov.uk
To contact the Standards Board for England, please call 0845 078 8181 or email enquiries@standardsboard.gov.uk
To obtain records of previous decisions made by the Standards Committee please email committees@leicester.gov.uk or telephone (0116) 229 8816.
