Standards Committee reports onits first year of handling complaints about Councillors

BARNSLEY Council’s Standards Committee has published its first annual report, for 2008/9. The committee took up its current role just over a year ago as part of a national change on how complaints about councillors, including parish and town councillors, are handled.

Previously, complaints about councillors from anywhere in the country had gone to the Standards Board for England. This sometimes meant that it took a long time to look into complaints and to resolve them. For this reason it was decided to transfer the job to local standards committees.

The annual report makes it clear that the new arrangements are working well; moreover, the change over has not seen a rush of complaints about councillors. The number of complaints received was at about the same level as in 2007/8. This means that the vast majority of elected members in the borough – of whatever persuasion or council – are continuing to meet the high standards of conduct expected of them in how they discharge their roles as elected members.

Commenting on the committee’s first year in operation, its independent chair, Nicholas Andrew, said he was very pleased with how the first year had gone.

“The new committee has provided the people of Barnsley with a real opportunity to raise any concerns they have about the behaviour of their elected representatives,” he said.

“It is a big improvement on what we had before, when complaints had to go from all over the country to London in order to be sorted out. The Standards Committee gives Barnsley people the opportunity to raise any complaints locally and for us to make sure they are dealt with quickly. And that’s exactly what we have done.”

Further information about the Standards Committee and how to complain about the behaviour of a councillor can be found on the Barnsley Council website: www.barnsley.gov.uk

ENDS