Ten Complaints Against County Council Dismissed, One Referred, One Upheld

Published on: 2 Apr, 2019
Updated on: 3 Apr, 2019

By Rebecca Curley

local democracy reporter

Failure to respond to emails or phone calls and making false statements on social media were among complaints about county councillors last year.

There were 12 complaints lodged against Surrey members in 2018, eight citing lack of response to communication, a report showed.

One complainant claimed a councillor had made false statements or comments on Facebook and in a local newspaper. Another said a councillor had misused public funds.

And a complaint in December last year alleged a councillor had acted improperly for personal gain.

Another complaint that a councillor had contravened equalities legislation was referred to a member conduct panel.

SCC has a code of conduct which governs elected and co-opted members’ conduct and includes provisions for the registration and disclosure of pecuniary and other interests.

Before any final decision in an investigated complaint the council must consult an appointed “independent person”.

Out of the 12 complaints, 10 were not upheld because they were found not in breach of the code of conduct, one was referred to the monitoring officer of the borough involved and the last was decided by a member conduct panel and upheld as a breach of Paragraph 9 of the code.

Peter Martin (Con Godalming South, Milford and Witley), had resigned as county chairman over comments he made to a candidate in a job interview.

A report outlining the use of the members’ code of conduct will be considered by the council’s audit and governance committee on Monday, April 8, as part of their ethical standards review.