A meeting of the standards committee to consider
the monitoring officer’s investigation report must be
convened under Regulation 17 of the regulations. The sub-committee
will consider whether or not to accept the investigating
officer’s findings, as laid out in the report.
The members may overturn or endorse the
officer’s findings and then recommend as appropriate
that:
• No
further action be taken
• A
Standards (determination) hearing sub-committee and meeting be
convened, which will consider the facts of the case and decide on
any possible breach and, where appropriate, on
sanctions.
• The case be referred to the first-tier tribunal for a
hearing.
Regulation 8(6) allows the consideration of any
information presented for that purpose to be considered as exempt
information. The members of the sub-committee will decide at the
meeting whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. This
will necessarily depend on the facts of the case.