Agenda and minutes

To declare any personal/prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of personal/prejudicial interests for the purpose of section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

To consider whether the complaint meets the initial tests as set out in the report, and decide what action to take in relation to the complaint.

The Monitoring Officer submitted the above complaint to the Assessment Sub-Committee for consideration.  The Deputy Monitoring Officer was in attendance at the meeting to advise the Sub-Committee on any procedural issues.

The Assessment Sub-Committee agreed that the complaint was about a Member of Leeds City Council, that the subject Member was in office at the time of the alleged conduct, and that the Code of Conduct was in force at the time.

The Assessment Sub-Committee then considered whether the complaint, if proven, would be a breach of the Code of Conduct under which the Member was operating at the time of the alleged misconduct.

The Assessment Sub-Committee agreed that the subject Member was not acting, claiming to act, or giving the impression they were acting in their official capacity during the incident.  Therefore the Code of Conduct did not apply to the subject Member’s alleged actions, and there was no potential breach of the Code of Conduct disclosed by the complaint.

RESOLVED – The Assessment Sub-Committee decided to take no further action in relation to the allegations.

To consider any lessons to learn from the above cases, and to identify any Standards Committee procedures which may require revision.

The Assessment Sub-Committee requested that the Deputy Monitoring Officer produce and circulate a note to the Group Whips about the use of blogs and other social media by Councillors, particularly with regard to being aware of the capacity they are writing in and considering whether the Code of Conduct may apply to their actions or comments.