ASSESSMENT DECISION NOTICE
NO FINDING OF WHETHER THERE IS A BREACH OF THE CODE
Reference:
CCN036/14(ii)
Complainant:
Councillor John Kendrick-Crawshaw
Subject Member:
Councillor Alan Neal, St Ive Parish Council
Person conducting
the Assessment:
Simon Mansell, Principal Legal Officer, Corporate
Governance
Date of Assessment:
15 December 2014
Complaint
On 16 December 2014 the Monitoring Officer considered a complaint from Councillor
John Kendrick-Crawshaw concerning the alleged conduct of Councillor Alan Neal of
St Ive Parish Council. A general summary of the complaint is set out below:
The Complainant has alleged that by producing, issuing and circulating
correspondence on behalf of St Ive Parish Council, without the Parish Council’s
authorisation, the Subject Member has breached Standing Order 64 of the Parish
Council’s Standing Orders.
Potential breaches of the Code of Conduct raised by the Complainant are;



A failure to treat others with respect;
Conducting himself in a manner which is contrary to the Councils duty to
promote and maintain ethical standards;
Bringing his office and/or his authority into disrepute;
Decision
No finding of whether there is a breach of the Code of Conduct and no further action
taken.
Reasons for the Decision
In assessing this complaint I have had regard to the following:




The complaint;
The response to the complaint submitted by the Subject Member;
The views of the Independent Person assigned to this matter; and
Standing Orders for St Ive Parish Council.
The Complainant has alleged that by producing, issuing and circulating
correspondence on behalf of St Ive Parish Council, without the Parish Council’s
authorisation, the Subject Member has breached Standing Order 64 of the Parish
Council’s Standing Orders.
Standing Order 64 states;
‘It is the function of the Parish Council and Responsible Financial Officer to issue
correspondence in the name of or on behalf of the Parish Council for their respective
areas of responsibility. No member of the Council or any committee, or sub
committee shall issue correspondence in the name or on behalf of the Council unless
authorised to do so by the Council’.
The Subject Member, in responding to the Complaint, has set out that it was the
decision of the Finance and Administration Committee of the Parish Council at its
meeting on 28 October 2014 to call an emergency meeting of the Council, minute 46
for the meeting refers. Further to this, the Subject Member has advised that due to
the absence of the Clerk, and the Council only having part time cover, he has been
assisting by issuing agendas and notices.
With regards to the calling of an extraordinary meeting; unusually Standing Orders for
the Parish Council do not reference the right for members to call an extraordinary
meeting of the Parish Council, however, the right to call such a meeting is set out in
statute. Such a meeting can be called by the Chairman of the Parish Council or, if he
refuses, 2 members of the Council, there is not the option to refuse to allow the
meeting to go ahead, even if the Chairman may deem it unnecessary.
It is normal, if an extraordinary meeting is to be called, for members to liaise with the
Chairman and the Proper Officer to the Council and they would also be required to
follow standing orders.
In this case the Chairman had resigned, the Proper Officer was part time, Standing
Orders offer no guidance, yet there was a wish amongst the 4 members of the
Finance and Administration Committee for an extraordinary meeting to be held.
As a result of this the Subject Member, who was already sending out notices and
agendas, then in good faith sent out the notice of an extraordinary meeting, wrongly
utilising the Vice Chairman’s name.
In applying the above to the Code; for a breach of the Code to be found, it has to be
shown that the Subject Member has failed to treat the Council with respect by failing
to follow Standing Orders, in this case Standing Order 64. In order for such a breach
to be found, the matter requires objective consideration; that is, how would a
reasonable person, in possession of all the facts, view the actions of the Subject
Member.
Standing Order 64 is clear on its intent however, it does not take into account
circumstances when a member may act as a clerk on a part time basis and also does
not take into consideration the fact that 2 members of the Council may call an
extraordinary meeting, regardless of the views of the Chairman.
The Subject Member was already sending out agendas and notices and was well
intentioned in seeking to call the meeting. He considered he had the support of the
Finance and Administration Committee, even though this in itself is insufficient for
such a meeting to be called. However, the statutory process was not followed and the
name of the Vice Chairman was used on the notice and the Vice Chairman should
have been given the option to refuse to call the meeting first.
In objectively considering the above, I do not consider that the Code of Conduct has
been breached by the Subject Member. While the actions of the Subject Member
were contrary to Standing Order 64 there was no disrespect meant by the Subject
Member who considered he was acting with the support of fellow Councillors in calling
the extraordinary meeting. As a result of this the finding at assessment is that no
finding is made as to whether the code has been breached and no further action
needs to be taken.
What happens now?
This decision notice is sent to the complainant, the member against whom the
allegation has been made and the Clerk to St Ive Parish Council
Right of review
At the written request of the complainant, the Monitoring Officer can review and is
able to change a decision not to refer an allegation for investigation or other action.
To ensure impartiality in the conduct of the review different officers to those involved
in the original decision will undertake the review.
We must receive a written request from the complainant to review this decision within
15 days from the date of this notice, explaining in detail on what grounds the decision
should be reviewed.
If we receive a request for a review, we will write to all the parties mentioned above,
notifying them of the request to review the decision.
Additional help
If you need additional support in relation to this or future contact with us, please let
us know as soon as possible. If you have difficulty reading this notice we can make
reasonable adjustments to assist you, in line with the requirements of the Disability
Discrimination Act 2000.
We can also help if English is not your first language.
SJR Mansell MBE
Principal Legal Officer
On behalf of the Monitoring Officer
Date: 17 December 2014