What does the Standards Committee do?
The Standards Committee is responsible for promoting high
standards of conduct among those representing their local
electorates or working in public services.
The role of the Standards Committee is to act impartially on
behalf of the residents of the district to help ensure that
councillors and officers of Suffolk Coastal District Council, and
the district’s town and parish councils, continue to meet the high
standards expected of them.
The Council and many of the district's town and parish councils
have adopted the national Code of Conduct issued by the Government
in April 2007. The Code of Conduct sets out the rules governing the
behaviour of councillors in local authorities across the country
and is included in Part 5 of the
Council's Constitution.
Who sits on the Standards Committee and when does it meet?
The committee is made up of four district councillors, two
independent members, and two representatives of the town and parish
councils as the committee also helps and advises all the town and
parish councils in the district.
The two independent members are Kevin Williams of
Felixstowe, a retired secondary school headteacher and magistrate,
and Pamela Corder, a retired barrister and former civil
servant.
Independent members have to be aged 18 or over, live or work in
the district, be aware of some of the issues facing the area, and
support the aim that the Council should be accountable, open, and
principled. The rules exclude anyone who is a member or officer of
the Council, or any other relevant local authority, or is a close
friend or relative of any councillor or Council officer.
The two representatives of the town and parish councils are
Michael Argent, a parish councillor from Wickham Market,
representing larger parishes, and David Long, a parish
councillor from Levington, representing smaller parishes, who were
both nominated by the Suffolk Association of Local Councils (new
window).
Four district councillors sit on the committee:
The Standards Committee meets every two months, on the first
Thursday of the month, in the Council Chamber at Melton Hill,
Woodbridge. Follow this link to see the
calendar of Council meetings.
Making a complaint about the conduct of a councillor
You can complain about a councillor breaking any part of the
Code of Conduct by filling in a complaints form and sending it to
the standards committee of the council concerned. Details of what
you can complain about and what is not covered by the Code are
given in the leaflet below:
Complaints about the conduct of a Suffolk Coastal district
councillor or a councillor from one of the district's parish
or town councils should be submitted to:
Chairman of the Assessment Sub-Committee,
The Standards Committee,
Suffolk Coastal District Council,
Melton Hill,
Woodbridge IP12 1AU.
Fax: 01394 385100
Email:
democratic.services@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
Complaints against county councillors (new
window) should be made to Suffolk County Council's Standards
Committee.
Complaints forms
You can download or print off a complaints form by following the
links below. Complaint forms are also available at the Council’s
main reception desk.
Follow this link for help with opening and downloading Word and PDF
files.
What happens next?
The assessment sub-committee can only deal with complaints about
the behaviour of a councillor. It will not deal with complaints
about things that are not covered by the Code of Conduct. Any
complaints must be clear as to why the complainant thinks that a
councillor has not followed the Code of Conduct.
An initial assessment of the complaint will be made within 20
working days of receipt. If the decision is to take no further
action, complainants will have the right to ask for that initial
decision to be reviewed.
More information
If you would like to know more about the work of the Standards
Committee and the arrangements for making complaints, please
contact the Council’s Monitoring Officer on 01394
444336 or email
democratic.services@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
Alternatively you can write to:
The Monitoring Officer,
Suffolk Coastal District Council,
Melton Hill,
Woodbridge IP12 1AU.