Suffolk Joint Standards Board

The Suffolk Joint Standards Board decides on the outcome of serious Code of Conduct complaints against County Councillors.   More serious complaints are formally investigated; and if an independent person considers that there has been a breach of the Code then the complaint must be decided by a committee.   The Suffolk Joint Standards Board was set up with Babergh District Council and Mid Suffolk District Council to determine these serious Code of Conduct complaints.   Where it is decided that an alleged breach of the Code should be investigated, the investigating officer will produce a report.   If it's agreed by the Monitoring Officer and the independent person that a breach of the Code may have occurred, the procedure is that a Hearings Panel would be constituted to receive the evidence and, if it agreed a breach had occurred, decide on any sanction.   The Hearings Panel would be constituted from the Suffolk Joint Standards Board.