The Standards Committee met to appoint two new independent persons to play a consultative role in investigating complaints against councillors, as required by the Localism Act 2011¹. Following interviews, Katie Prestedge and Kalwant Grewal were recommended for appointment to the roles. The committee approved the minutes of the previous meeting and noted that there were no declarations of interest.

Appointment of Independent Persons

The committee voted to recommend the appointment of Katie Prestedge and Kalwant Grewal as independent persons. These appointments will now go to the council meeting for final approval.

Melanie Dawson introduced the report, explaining that the role of independent person had been vacant since the resignation of the last post-holder in 2024. The Localism Act 2011 requires councils to appoint at least one independent person to play a consultative role in investigating complaints against councillors.

The vacancies were advertised on the council's website and on the Guardian jobs portal. 23 applications were received, and four candidates were interviewed by a panel comprising Councillor Hilary Moore, Chair of the Standards Committee, an independent co-opted Member of the Standards Committee, and the Deputy Monitoring officer.

The panel selected Katie Prestedge and Kalwant Grewal as the two highest-scoring candidates.

The report noted that:

Without an Independent Person, any decision made on a standards complaint may be procedurally flawed.

Katie Prestedge is a lawyer with over 15 years' experience across central government, criminal justice, and regulatory environments. She has worked as a Senior Employment Lawyer in the Government Legal Department, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police Service.

Kalwant Grewal has over 30 years' senior leadership experience in finance, risk and assurance across the public, charitable and regulatory sectors. He currently serves as an Independent Member of the Audit and Risk Committees at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, and as Lay Treasurer and Chair of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee at the British Acupuncture Council. He also holds Non-Executive Director positions, chairing Audit and Risk Committees at Saxon Weald, PHA Homes, and Monmouthshire Housing Association.

The Independent Person role attracts an allowance of £639 per annum.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors were asked to declare any personal interests in the items on the agenda, but none were declared. The Declarations of Interest report outlined the different types of interests: disclosable pecuniary interests, other registerable interests, and non-registerable interests.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 April 2025 were approved. Councillor Hilary Moore moved to approve the minutes, and Councillor O'Roski seconded the motion.