The Standards Committee met to recommend the appointment of an Independent Person and to review councillor code of conduct complaints. The committee recommended to full council the appointment of Rodney Duggua as Independent Person for East Hampshire District Council and noted a report on councillor code of conduct complaints.

Appointment of an Independent Person

The committee recommended to full council the appointment of Mr Rodney Duggua as Independent Person for East Hampshire District Council and a member of the Independent Remuneration Panel, commencing on 1 October 2025.

The Localism Act 2011 requires the council to appoint at least one Independent Person to assist the council in promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct amongst its elected members and town and parish councillors. The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2023 requires the council to establish an Independent Remuneration Panel¹.

The appointment fills a vacancy created following a resignation in 2024. A recruitment exercise was carried out in July 2025, and Mr Duggua was interviewed by a panel consisting of the Corporate Governance Solicitor and Deputy Monitoring Officer and the Democratic Services Manager. Councillor Phillip Davies, Chair of the Standards Committee, also held an introductory meeting with the candidate.

The annual stipend for the role is £1,500.

Councillor Code of Conduct Complaints

The committee noted a report on the details of councillor code of conduct complaints received by the Monitoring Officer since the last meeting of the committee on 11 March 2025.

The Monitoring Officer received 10 new complaints since the last update, compared to 3 in the previous period. According to the report, a majority of the complaints received in the period related to a single issue of local concern within one town council.