Minutes:
Preamble
A complaint was received from Malcolm Reeves (The Complainant) regarding the conduct of Councillor Adrian Andrews (The Subject Member), a Member of Stanton St Quinton Parish Council.
The Complainant alleged that within a response submitted, by the subject member, to Wiltshire Council (rights of way and definitive map team) on 10 December 2020 in respect of a Village Green application the subject member, “put into the public domain and public record, and have distributed at the public expense, lies, untruths, and false information about him and his family. These lies amount to libel and harassment and incitement to hatred”.
It was alleged that as a result of his actions, the Subject Member had breached the Council’s Code of Conduct by:
a) not promoting or supporting high standards in his public office (localism Act 2011 and general principles), and/or
b) Failing to have regard to the Nolan Principles and in particular integrity, honesty objectivity and Leadership.
c) Behaved in such a way that a reasonable person would consider as disrespectful (Article 1).
d) Behaved in such a way that a reasonable person would consider as bullying (Article 2)
e) Sought to improperly confer a disadvantage on the complainant and his family (Article 3).
f) Failed to use the resources of the Council in accordance with its requirements (Article 4).
Assessment
The Sub-Committee were satisfied that the initial tests of the assessment criteria had been met, including that the Subject Member was and remains a member of Stanton St Quinton Parish Council, that a copy of the relevant Code of Conduct was provided for the assessment, and that they were acting in their capacity as a Member during the various alleged actions.
The Sub-Committee therefore had to decide whether the alleged behaviour would, if proven, amount to a breach of the Code of Conduct and if so, what action would be required.
If the Sub-Committee concluded that the alleged behaviour would amount to a breach, then it would have to go on to decide whether it was appropriate under the assessment criteria to refer the matter for investigation.
In reaching its decision, the Sub-Committee took into account the original complaint and supporting information, the response of the Subject Member, and the report of the Monitoring Officer.
The Sub-Committee also considered a written statement from the Complainant provided in advance of the Assessment Sub-Committee meeting. Neither party was in attendance.
The Complaint was considered alongside Complaints COC132602 and COC132720, which involved the same Subject Member and alleged facts.
The Sub-Committee noted that the complainant alleged that a libel had been committed against him by the Subject Member. Whilst it was not a matter for the Sub Committee to determine if a libel had occurred, it was for the Sub-Committee to consider whether, if the alleged circumstances giving rise to such a claim of libel were proven, these would amount to a breach of the Code of Conduct.
The Sub-Committee considered the subsequent actions of the Subject Member following the alleged incidents, in that upon reflection he had acknowledged that some of his comments were ill-judged and had amended his Village Green submission by removing text and photographs which had caused upset. In addition, he had made a public apology at the meeting of the Parish Council on 13 January 2021, which was published in the minutes.
The Subject Member had therefore acknowledged his words and actions may have been inappropriate and issued a public apology, albeit that apology had been directed to only one complainant, rather than all three complainants individually. The Sub-Committee also noted the Subject Member had stated in response to the complaint that his apology was to ‘the complainants (and anyone else affected)’ and that this acknowledgement and apology would be publicly available through this decision notice.
The Sub-Committee noted that the Subject Member had already carried out actions that may have been requested upon the outcome of an Investigation or hearing, and therefore did not consider it was in the public interest to refer the matter for investigation even if the alleged incident of libel was, if proven, considered to be a breach.
The Sub-Committee noted the complaint included a number of matters regarding the town or village green application process. However, this remained ongoing and they suggested that any concerns regarding it should be raised as part of that process and not within these proceedings. The committee also noted allegations of illegal conduct raised in the complainant’s statement which they indicated could be reported to the police in the first instance.
It was therefore,
Resolved:
In accordance with the approved arrangements for resolving standards complaints adopted by Council on 9 July 2019, which came into effect on 1 January 2020 and after hearing from the Independent Person, the Assessment Sub-Committee determined to take no further action in respect of the complaint.