The Monitoring Officer presented this report
which concerned a breach of the Code of Conduct where the
Councillor concerned had refused to comply with the sanction
imposed upon them.
Following discussions with the Independent
Person and in line with due process, the Monitoring Officer
contacted the Chair and Vice Chair of the Standards Committee who
agreed for a meeting of the Committee to be arranged in order to
consider the matter.
As part of the discussion on the report, the
Monitoring Officer provided background on the nature of the
original complaint to Members of the Committee.
In related discussion, the Monitoring Officer
also sought the Committee’s support in reviewing West Suffolk
Council’s Standards Procedures later in the year. With
particular focus on changing the way in which complaints were
reported to the Committee and the sanctions available to
exercise.
It was proposed by Councillor Margaret Marks,
seconded by Councillor John Augustine and with 5 voting for the
motion and with 1 against, it was
RESOLVED:
That, the Monitoring Officer contact the Town
Council concerned in order to recommend that the Councillor in
question receive formal censure at a public meeting of the Town
Council. The expectation that all Councillors of the Town Council
would receive Code of Conduct training following the May elections
would also be highlighted.