Standards for England
This page contains information about Standards for England, including:
What it does
Advantages and disadvantages
Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
Cost
Timescale
Procedure
Outcomes
What it does
Standards for England (formerly the Standards Board for England) was set up as a result of the Local Government Act 2000. It is an independent body that oversees the investigation of complaints about elected members of a range of authorities, including local councils and police authorities. It gives guidance and support to local standards committees and councillors and monitors local authorities’ assessment of complaints about members.
Since May 2008 local authorities’ standards committees are responsible for handling complaints about council members. (A standards committee is a group of people appointed by an authority to help maintain and promote high ethical standards.) Standards for England does not itself investigate complaints made since May 2008, aside from the most serious complaints.
Each local authority is required to develop its own Code of Conduct for councillors, based on Government guidelines. Guidance on the Code of Conduct, and a model Code that local authorities may use, are published at Standards for England.
Standards for England sees itself as a ‘light-touch regulator’. Its job is to make sure that local authorities and other local councils comply with their code of conduct. When complaints are made, it will support local investigations. It will only investigate complaints itself in the most serious cases or where a member is failing to cooperate with a local investigation.
Note that if you make a complaint about the behaviour of a councillor, you can’t ask for a personal remedy or compensation.
Standards for England covers complaints about members of a range of public authorities in England, including county, district, borough, city, parish and town councils, and police authorities in England and Wales. A full list is available on the Standards for England website.
Complaints about maladministration by local authorities in England are dealt with by the Local Government Ombudsman and in Wales by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. Complaints about central government departments and the NHS are dealt with by the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland complaints about decisions by both local and central government bodies are dealt with by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and the Northern Ireland Ombudsman. Complaints about members of local authorities and public bodies in Scotland go to the Standards Commission for Scotland.
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Advantages
- it provides independent oversight of the investigation of complaints
- it is free
- complainants do not have to use an internal complaints procedure first
- it is possible to get a thorough investigation
- it can influence good practice and procedures among councillors
Disadvantages
- it does not provide remedies for individual complainants
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Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
Standards for England deals with complaints about misconduct by members of a range of authorities - for example, local councillors. "Misconduct" refers to a breach of the Code of Conduct that every local authority is required to have in place. These codes are based on the Model Codes of Conduct drawn up by Parliament.
Standards for England has copies of every local authority's Code of Conduct on file. You can have a look at the model Code of Conduct on its website. The most recent code was revised in 2007. Examples of breaches of the Codes of Conduct include:
- unlawfully discriminating against someone
- failing to treat people with respect
- bullying any person
- using their position improperly, to their own or someone else's advantage or disadvantage
- misusing their authority's resources
- revealing confidential information
- failing to register financial or other interests
- failing to reveal a personal interest at a meeting
- failing to register any gifts or hospitality
You can’t make a complaint about the conduct of a councillor or other officer just because you disagree with the council’s decision about something.
Note: There could be an overlap between Standards for England and the Local Government Ombudsman. If your complaint could go to either body, contact one of them to discuss which course of action would be best. They work together closely to make sure that people complaining are told clearly about the different options.
Complaints must relate to incidents that have happened since May 2002, when the first Codes of Conduct came into force. There is no time limit for taking complaints.
Complaints mostly come from members of the public and other councillors. During 2008-09, Standards for England received 2,863 complaints, and 54% came from members of the public. Anyone can make a complaint – you don’t have to have been directly affected. But you should note that your identity is not usually kept confidential if you make a complaint.
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Cost
The scheme is free to complainants.
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Timescale
The time taken to complete an investigation varies, depending on how complex the issues are. In 2008-09, local standards committees took an average of 20 working days to make an initial assessment as to whether to investigate. Where complaints were investigated, they took an average of 100 working days to complete.
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Procedure
All complaints must be in writing. If you want to make a complaint about the conduct of a councillor, write to the local authority’s standards committee.
The committee must arrange a meeting, to be held within 20 days. At this meeting the committee can decide to
- take no action
- investigate the complaint
- recommend another action
- send it to Standards for England
- take no further action
If your complaint is not accepted for investigation, you can ask for the committee to review this decision by sending a request in writing within 30 days of receiving the decision. The standards committee must consider your request within three months.
‘Other action’ that the committee can recommend includes mediation or training, where the committee feels this would be more likely to resolve the situation.
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Outcomes
Many complaints are not accepted for investigation. In 2008-09, standards committees decided to take no action in 53% of complaints.
Where an investigation does take place, there are four possible outcomes:
- There is no evidence of a breach of the code of conduct
- There was a breach, but no further action needs to be taken – either because it was not particularly serious, or more usually because something has already been done
- That the matter should be referred to the local authority’s monitoring officer
- That it should be referred to the Adjudication Panel for England for a hearing
The Adjudication Panel is an independent tribunal that considers the investigation. It will hold a hearing, and if it finds that the code has been breached, it has powers to make the matter public, and to impose various sanctions including disqualification.
Just under one-third (29%) of complaints in 2008-09 were referred for investigation. Investigations took an average of 100 working days, and of those, 29% found a breach of the Code of Conduct. The most common breaches related to a failure to treat others with respect and behaving in a manner that could bring the authority into disrepute.
Only 6% of complaints were sent to Standards for England for consideration. Of these, seven cases were sent to be considered by the Adjudication Panel.
Don’t forget that even if your complaint is upheld, you can’t claim compensation for yourself. If you have suffered some kind of injustice as a result of wrongdoing or failure by a local authority, and you would like a personal remedy, you should consider taking your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman instead.
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October 2009
