The role and function of the Standards Committee:
All Councils must demonstrate high standards of conduct through the actions of all Members and Officers and, as part of ensuring these standards are met, are required by law to have a Standards Committee. In broad term the Standards Committee seeks to promote, monitor and enforce probity and high ethical standards within the District Council and Town and Parish Councils within the district of South Holland.
The Standards Committee is responsible for:
- Promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by councillors and co-opted members;
- Advising the Council on the adoption or revision of the Members' Code of Conduct;
- Monitoring the operation of and assisting councillors and co-opted members to observe the Members' Code of Conduct;
- Advising, training or arranging to train councillors and co-opted members on matters relating to the Members' Code of Conduct;
- Granting dispensations to councillors and co-opted members from requirements relating to interests set out in the Members' Code of Conduct;
- Initial assessment of complaints about members and reviewing decisions to take "no action";
- Conducting determination hearings in respect of alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct;
The Standards Committee will determine cases, and appropriate penalties. In accordance with the procedures at Part 2, Article 9, Appendix A of the Council's Constitution
- The exercise of all the above bullet points in relation to the Town and Parish councils wholly or mainly in its area and the members of those parish/town councils;
- Receiving reports on matters arising from the Council's Whistleblowing Policy (Click here for additional flowchart (PDF , 7KB));
- Considering breaches of protocol including officer/member relations, publicity and good practice in planning; and
- Advising the Council on the adoption and revision of protocols and monitoring the operation of such protocols;
Membership of the Standards Committee
The committee is made up of 4 district councillors, 3 parish councillors and 3 independent members.
The four district councillors are:
R Clark (Conservative Group)
R Creese (Independent Group)
A M Newton(Independent Group)
S F Williams(Conservative Group)
The three parish councillors are:
M Hurst (Surfleet Parish Council)
S H Morris (Sutton St Edmund Parish Council)
H Piggins (Gedney Parish Council)
The three independent (non council) members are:
The Reverend Canon Tim Barker (Vice-Chairman)
Mr Colin Scott
Mr Keith Slater (Chairman)
Meetings of the Standards Committee
Standards Committee meetings are open to the public except when confidential matters are being discussed and normally meets at 3.30 p.m. on a quarterly basis. A list of meeting dates can be viewed here.
Minutes and Agendas of the Standards Committee
Please find links to meetings of the Committee at the bottom of this page, where you will find agendas, reports and minutes from December 2005 onwards. Minutes for previous meetings can be found in the Council Minutes section.
Standards Committee Newsletters
Complaints against Councillors
Responsibility for considering complaints about an elected Member (ie Councillor) now rests with South Holland District Council's Standards Committee.
What this means to you
If you want to complain about the conduct of a Member of South Holland District Council or a Member of one of our parish councils, you can submit your complaint to:
The Monitoring Officer
South Holland District Council
Council Offices
Priory Road
Spalding
Lincs PE11 2XE
You will need to supply full details of your complaint and a Complaint Form (PDF , 116KB) is available for this purpose. A leaflet entitled "Complaining about a Councillor (PDF , 112KB)" is also available.
The Standards Committee 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 to the Standards Committee it must be about why you think a Member has not followed the Code of Conduct.
The behaviour covered by the Code of Conduct is:
- unlawfully discriminating against someone
- failing to treat people with respect
- bullying any person
- intimidating any person involved in any investigation or proceedings about someone's misconduct
- doing something to prevent those who work for the authority from being unbiased
- revealing information that was given to them in confidence, or stopping someone getting information they are entitled to by law
- damaging the reputation of their office or authority, where the conduct is linked to their public role and not in their private capacity
- using their position improperly, to their own or someone else's advantage or disadvantage
- misusing their authority's resources
- allowing their authority's resources to be misused for the activities of a registered political party
- failing to register financial or other interests
- failing to reveal a personal interest at a meeting
- taking part in the discussion or making a decision where they have an interest that is so significant that it is likely to affect their judgment (known as a 'prejudicial interest')
- improperly influencing a decision about a matter that they have a prejudicial interest in
- failing to register any gifts of or hospitality (including its source), that they have received in their role as a Councillor worth over £25.
You can find further details about the code of conduct and members behaviour by using the Members' Code of Conduct link at the top of the page.
Case Summaries prior to 8 May 2008
Register of Interests Forms
PLEASE NOTE: All councillors, both parish and district must complete and maintain a Register disclosing certain personal interests. This Register is a public document kept by the Monitoring Officer at South Holland District Council and can be viewed during office hours.
District Councillors
Parish Councillors
