Local Code of Conduct - Complaints Process
Introduction
If you want to complain about the conduct of a Member of Wyre
Forest District Council or a Member of one of the parish or town
councils in the district, you can
download a
complaint form 
(22K) which must be completed and submitted
to:
The Monitoring Officer
Wyre Forest District Council
Civic Centre
Stourport-on-Severn
Worcestershire
DY13 8UJ
The Council can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a
Member. It will not deal with complaints about things that are not
covered by the Members’ Code of Conduct. If you make a complaint it
must be about why you think a member has not followed the Code of
Conduct.
Will I be kept informed?
Once you have made a complaint, you will be
told in writing what will happen to it and kept informed throughout
the process.
What will happen to my complaint?
If the Council’s Monitoring Officer (the Head
of Legal and Democratic Services) decides that the Standards
Committee should deal with your complaint, it will be referred, by
the Standards Committee, to a meeting of the Referrals
Sub-Committee which will investigate and decide what should happen
next.
The meeting will be chaired by an independent member of the Ethics
& Standards Committee. This should happen within 20 working
days.
If it is decided that there has been a breach of the Code, the
complaint will be referred for further consideration to the
Hearings Sub-Committee, or if it is a very serious complaint it may
be referred to
The
Standards Board for England.
Below is a list of sanctions which the Hearings Sub-Committee can
apply:
- No action
- Mediation
- Training
- Suspension
- Some other action
- If very serious refer to the Standards Board for England
What if the Hearings Sub-Committee decides to take no further
action and I don't agree?
The law says that the Hearings Sub-Committee should take reasonable
steps to tell you the reason for its decision. You may not agree
with the reasons, conclude that it did not make the decision
properly, or you may have new information that you think might
affect its decision. If so, you can ask the Committee to review its
decision. You must ask it to do this in writing within 30 calendar
days of receiving its decision.
If you do not agree with the decision of the Hearings
Sub-Committee, the Review Sub-Committee must consider your request
within 3 months. None of the people who made the original decision
are allowed to take part in the review. This meeting will be
chaired by one of the independent members from the
Ethics and
Standards Committee. They can uphold the original decision or
overturn it. They will tell you in writing what they have
decided.
What is the role of the Standards Board for England?
The Standards Board for
England provides the national, independent oversight that is
needed for there to be confidence in this locally-based system. The
District Council, however, can refer a case to the Standards Board
where there are issues with a case or public interest
considerations that make it difficult for the Authority to deal
with the case fairly and speedily. In such cases the Referrals
Sub-Committee may wish to refer a complaint to the Standards Board
to be investigated by an Ethical Investigations Officer.
Further Information
