The Standards and Ethics Committee of Worcestershire Council met on Monday 28 July 2025 to discuss member complaints and the arrangements for dealing with them. The committee was also scheduled to discuss its work programme.

Review of Arrangements for Dealing with Member Complaints

The committee was scheduled to discuss a review of the current arrangements for dealing with complaints made against councillors under the Members Code of Conduct¹. The current arrangements are included as an appendix to the Public Reports Pack.

The report pack notes that the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) published a paper entitled Local Government Ethical Standards in 2019, making 26 recommendations and producing a list of 15 best practice recommendations.

Recommendation 1 was that the Local Government Association (LGA) should create an updated model code of conduct, in consultation with representative bodies of councillors and officers of all tiers of local government. The committee adopted the new model code of conduct produced by the LGA at its committee meeting in March 2023.

Some of the recommendations of the CSPL review would require a change in legislation.

The report pack also mentions that at its meeting in January 2025, the committee considered the consultation by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England.

The specific proposals consulted upon for legislative change included:

• the introduction of a mandatory minimum code of conduct for local authorities in England
• a requirement that all principal authorities convene formal standards committees to make decisions on code of conduct breaches, and publish the outcomes of all formal investigations
• the introduction of the power for all local authorities (including combined authorities) to suspend councillors or mayors found in serious breach of their code of conduct and, as appropriate, interim suspension for the most serious and complex cases that may involve police investigations
• a new category of disqualification for gross misconduct and those subject to a sanction of suspension more than once in a 5-year period
• a role for a national body to deal with appeals

The MHCLG has not yet published its response to this consultation.

The purpose of the report was to consider what amendments should be considered to the arrangements pending the outcome of the MHCLG consultation.

It was proposed that the following amendments could be made:

• Paragraph 2.2 to include the Monitoring Officer to consult an independent person to consult one of the Independent Persons at the filtering stage
• To include a timescale for the Monitoring Officer to acknowledge a complaint (5 days) and a timescale to conclude the filtering stage (within 28 days)

The report pack also detailed the process that would be followed at the filtering stage, and the criteria that would be considered when determining the merit of a formal investigation.

The recommendation was that the committee authorise the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance, Hazel Best, to review the arrangements for dealing with complaints made against councillors under the Members Code of Conduct, and to provide an update report to the next committee meeting.

Member Complaints - Annual Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the first annual report on member complaints. The report covered the period from 1 January 2024 to date.

Since this date the Monitoring Officer has received 35 complaints. 25 have been dealt with and no action has been taken following the filtering stage. The main theme of the complaints relate to social media. Some have related to how residents perceive the performance of Members in terms of how they represent them in their divisions which is ultimately a matter for the electorate if a Member seeks re-election.

Of the remaining 10 complaints further information was being obtained at the filtering stage.

The report pack noted that in 2019 the Committee on Standards in Public Life published a paper entitled Local Government Ethical Standards. One of the recommendations was that the Local Government Transparency Code should be updated to require councils to publish annually the number of code of conduct complaints they receive, what the complaints broadly relate to and the outcome i.e rejected, vexatious or any sanctions applied.

Following the local elections in May 2025 all councillors were offered training on the Members Code of Conduct. Part of the focus of the training related to social media. 43 of the 57 councillors have attended a training session. A further training session will be arranged for the remaining 14 councillors unable to attend the previous sessions due to prior commitments. The training also referred to the Member/ Officer Protocol, which was updated in January 2025.

The Monitoring Officer recommended that councillors receive annual training on the Members Code of Conduct focussing on the themes of recent complaints.

The committee was asked to note the themes and outcomes of member complaints referred to in the Annual Report, and agree that members receive annual training on the Members Code of Conduct focussing on the themes of recent complaints.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to note its future work programme and consider whether there are any matters it would wish to be incorporated.

The work programme included an update on review of arrangements for dealing with member complaints on 15 October 2025.

A report on the outcome of the MHCLG consultation: Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England was to be scheduled for either 21 January 2026 or 22 April 2025.