The Standards Assessment Board of County Durham Council was scheduled to meet on Tuesday 28 April 2026 to review updates on code of conduct complaints against councillors. The meeting was planned to consider both public and private reports detailing the status of ongoing and concluded complaints.

Code of Conduct Complaints Update

The Board was scheduled to receive an update on complaints alleging breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members. This report, prepared by Helen Bradley, Director of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer, covers the period since the Board's meeting on 2 April 2026, as a previous meeting on 17 April 2026 was adjourned due to being inquorate. The report's purpose was to inform the Board of the progress in assessing complaints, ensuring adherence to the Council's Procedure for Member Code of Conduct Complaints.

The report indicated that since the last update, several complaints had been considered. Four complaints from March 2026 had resulted in no further action with decision notices issued. Of the eight complaints ongoing at the time of the previous meeting, three were considered in April 2026, with one requiring no further action and two being suitable for informal resolution. One complaint was awaiting reconvened consideration following the adjournment of the 17 April meeting, and another was scheduled for the 28 April meeting. Two complaints were treated as withdrawn due to a lack of necessary information from the complainants, and one was rejected for not engaging the Code of Conduct.

Additionally, twelve new complaints were received between 24 March and 17 April 2026. Seven of these were rejected for not engaging the Code of Conduct. One complaint was scheduled for the 28 April meeting, and officers were preparing reports for the remaining four, with two scheduled for consideration on 11 May 2026 and two for 1 June 2026.

The report recommended that the Standards Assessment Board note its contents. The Council has a duty under section 27 of the Localism Act 2011¹ to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by its members and to adopt a Code of Conduct consistent with the Nolan Principles². The Council must also have arrangements in place to consider allegations of breaches of the Code of Conduct by its own members and those of town and parish councils for which it is the principal authority.

The meeting was also scheduled to consider two specific complaint references in Part B of the agenda, which were considered exempt or confidential information:

• Complaint Reference FS-Case-821225691: This complaint was scheduled for consideration by the Board on 28 April 2026, with a target date for assessment of 11 May 2026.
• Complaint Reference FS-Case-810791640: This complaint was scheduled for assessment by the Board on 28 April 2026, with a target date for assessment of 17 April 2026.