The Standards Assessment Sub-Committee of Wiltshire Council was scheduled to meet on Thursday 6 November 2025 to elect a chair and vice-chair, review past minutes, and assess two complaints against councillors. The meeting was scheduled to take place at the County Hall in Trowbridge. It was expected that the public would be excluded for the discussion of the complaints.

Assessment of Complaints

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to assess two complaints regarding the conduct of councillors:

• Complaint COC52964: Details of this complaint were included in the reports pack.
• Complaint COC53219: Details of this complaint were included in the reports pack.

Exclusion of Public

The Sub-Committee was to consider a resolution to exclude the public from the meeting during the discussion of the complaints. The reason cited for this exclusion was that the presence of the public would likely result in the disclosure of exempt information, specifically information relating to an individual as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972¹. The report pack stated that the public interest in withholding the information outweighed the public interest in disclosing it.

Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman

The agenda included the election of a Chairman and Vice-Chairman for the Standards Assessment Sub-Committee for the 2025-26 term.

Previous Minutes

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 6 March 2025, which were included in the reports pack. During that meeting, the Sub-Committee addressed several complaints:

• Complaint COC51014: A complaint submitted by Councillor Richard Clewer regarding the conduct of Councillor Paul Sample. The complaint related to Councillor Paul Sample allegedly posting confidential information on Facebook about the council's preferred operator for Salisbury City Hall. The Sub-Committee determined to refer the complaint to the Monitoring Officer for alternative resolution, after Councillor Paul Sample offered an apology.
• Complaint COC51033: A complaint submitted by Mr Peter Edge regarding the conduct of Councillor Gail Moore of Wilton Town Council. The complaint related to Councillor Gail Moore's alleged conduct at a council meeting on 5 November 2024, where she made statements in relation to a previous complaint against another councillor. The Sub-Committee determined to take no further action in respect of the complaint.
• Complaint COC51050: A complaint submitted by Ms Ali Robinson, the Clerk to Calne Town Council, regarding the conduct of Councillor Robert MacNaughton. The complaint related to Councillor Robert MacNaughton's conduct at a council-run event on 30 November 2024. The Sub-Committee determined to refer the complaint to the Monitoring Officer for alternative resolution, after Councillor Robert MacNaughton offered an apology.

Meeting Procedure

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to note the procedure for the meeting, as detailed in the Assessment Sub-Committee Procedure 2024. The procedure outlines the roles of participants, the handling of information, and the decision-making process. According to the procedure rules, the Assessment Sub-Committee is not a hearing of the complaint itself.