Minutes:
Preamble
A complaint was received from Ian Whittaker-Axon (the Complainant) regarding the conduct of Councillor Anna Cuthbert (the Subject Member), a Member of Wiltshire Council.
The Complainant alleged that Rowde Parish Council has not seen or heard from the subject member since February 2020 and that she has only attended two Parish Council meetings since May 2019. It was alleged she had thereby failed to promote and support high standards of conduct when serving in her public post and in particular had failed to have regard to the Nolan principles and as a result has breached the Council’s code of conduct.
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 Wiltshire 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 written statements from the Complainant and the Subject Member. Neither party was in attendance.
The Complainant had been a member of the parish council at the time of submitting the complaint and had taken the action at the behest of the parish council. However, he had subsequently resigned from the parish council and had therefore sought the views of the parish council following publication of the agenda. As a result of those views he confirmed that he wished to withdraw the complaint.
Prior to that confirmation by the Complainant, the Subject Member had responded and disputed the suggestion that her actions in how she engaged or did not engage with a parish council within her Unitary Division area had been capable of breaching the Code of Conduct. However, she had also confirmed that she was not standing for re-election and so would cease to be a Member of Wiltshire Council in May 2021.
Given the limited period in which the Subject Member would remain a Unitary Councillor, and considering the statement of the Complainant seeking to withdraw the complaint, the Sub-Committee did not consider it was in the public interest to refer the complaint for investigation, even were it considered that a breach, if proven, may have occurred.
The Sub-Committee did note that where there were difficulties between a parish council and the local Unitary Member, other approaches such as communication to political groups would be open to the parish council. It noted that Unitary Members necessarily would have different approaches to how they engaged with parish councils and others in their communities. It did not, therefore, in any case consider that a breach would have occurred, had the allegations been proven.
The Sub-Committee noted the suggestion of the Subject Member in her statement that officers may have been influenced to reformulate or otherwise treat differently the complaint in part as a result of direction from the Executive of Wiltshire Council. However, the Sub-Committee was assured and accepted that the complaint had been processed in accordance with constitutional procedures at all times, and there was no suggestion either of Executive involvement within the Standards process for any complaint, or any impact upon neutrality of officers.
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.