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.  Both the Monitoring Officer and the Deputy Monitoring Officer were in attendance at the meeting to advise the Sub-Committee on any procedural issues.

The Assessment Sub-Committee agreed that the complaint was about Members (or former Members) of Wetherby Town Council, that the subject Members were 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 Members were operating at the time of the alleged misconduct.

The Assessment Sub-Committee agreed that the subject Members were acting in their official capacity during the alleged incidents.  However, after considering all paragraphs of the Code of Conduct, the Assessment Sub-Committee agreed that there was no potential breach of the Code of Conduct disclosed in 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 noted the continued efforts of Wetherby Town Council to consider options to resolve the issue of access to its Council meetings, and concluded that there were no lessons to learn arising from this complaint.