Making a complaint about a councillor

Reporting a breach of the code of conduct

Anyone may report a breach of the Code of Conduct by a Councillor. A complaint about a breach of the Code of Conduct now may be made to our Monitoring Officer.

The process is:

1. A complaint in writing must be made to the Monitoring Officer by email dcls@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk or by completing the downloadable complaint form at the bottom of this page.
   
   The complaint must relate to a Town or Parish Councillor on a Parish Councils in the Eden area.
   
   The complaint should set out what the Councillor has done wrong, and state who the Councillor is, the Council concerned and your name and contact details. You should set out sufficient detail in your complaint to identify clearly the facts, as you see them, and what the breach of the Code of Conduct is.

2. The complaint is considered by a panel of three drawn from the Accounts and Governance Committee. The panel decides whether the complaint should be investigated, or if no further action should be taken. You will be notified of this decision. The decision will be made within twenty working days.

3. If no further action is proposed, you will be notified and informed why.

4. If the complaint is to be investigated, you will be notified of this. You will be contacted by the person who will carry out the investigation on behalf of the Monitoring Officer. It will be intended that all relevant individuals will be contacted during the investigation.

5. The investigator will prepare a report. You will be given the opportunity to comment on the draft report.

6. The report will be presented to the Accounts and Governance Committee at a special meeting. You will be invited to attend the meeting and may make representations. The Councillor who is the subject of the complaint will be invited to the meeting too.

7. The Accounts and Governance Committee will make a decision on the information presented to it and decide what action to take, if any, or penalty to impose.

We have published our procedures and further details relating to the making of complaints below. Please read this further information before making a complaint.

• Procedure for Local Determination of Allegations about Personal Conduct of Council Member (PDF: 140 Kb / 6 pages) - available on request.

• Procedure for Investigation of referred complaints (PDF: 148 Kb / 7 pages)

• Complaints form to report alleged breach of Councillor's Code of Conduct (PDF: 116 Kb / 5 pages)

• Complaints form to report alleged breach of Councillor's Code of Conduct (Word: 39 Kb / 5 pages)

• Initial Assessment Procedure (PDF: 150 Kb / 5 pages)