The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
2003 No. 1483
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003
Made 5th June 2003
Laid before Parliament 6th June 2003
Coming into force 30th June 2003
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 53(6) and (12), 54(4), 55(8), 66, 73(1) to (6), and 105 of the Local Government Act 20001hereby makes the following Regulations:
PART 1
GENERAL
Citation, commencement and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 30th June 2003.
(2) These Regulations apply to relevant authorities in England and to police authorities in Wales2.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Local Government Act 2000;
“Adjudication Panel” means, in respect of a relevant authority in England, the Adjudication Panel for England established under section 75(1) of the Act and, in respect of a police authority in Wales, the Adjudication Panel for Wales established under section 75(2) of the Act;
“any other authority concerned” means any authority of which a person was a member at the time the matters complained of occurred;
“appeals tribunal” means a tribunal constituted in accordance with Part 3 of these Regulations;
“authority” means a relevant authority in England and a police authority in Wales;
“an authority’s code of conduct” means a code of conduct adopted by an authority under section 51 of the Act and includes any mandatory provisions of the model code of conduct which apply to the members and co-opted members of an authority pursuant to subsection (5)(b) of that section;
“authorities concerned” means the authority of which a person is a member and, where at the time any matter complained of took place that person was a member of another authority, that authority;
“the authority concerned” means the authority of which a person is a member;
“ethical standards officer” means, subject to paragraph (2), an ethical standards officer appointed under section 57(5)(a) of the Act;
“ethical standards officer concerned” means the ethical standards officer who referred any matter under consideration to a monitoring officer or a standards committee;
“member”, except where the context otherwise requires, means a member or co-opted member of an authority3;
“monitoring officer” means the monitoring officer designated in respect of an authority in accordance with the provisions of section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 19894;
“the parish councils concerned” means the parish council of which a person is a member and, where at the time any matter complained of took place that person was a member of another parish council, that council;
“the Standards Board” means the Standards Board for England established under section 57 of the Act5;
“standards committee” means the standards committee, or sub-committee of a standards committee, which exercises functions in relation to an authority under sections 54 and 55 of the Act6;
(2) Any reference in these Regulations to an ethical standards officer shall, as regards Police Authorities in Wales, be construed as a reference to a Local Commissioner in Wales.
Amendment of the Relevant Authorities (Standards Committees) Regulations 2001
Amendment of the Relevant Authorities (Standards Committees) Regulations 20017
3.—(1) The Relevant Authorities (Standards Committees) Regulations 2001 shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions.
(2) For regulation 7(1) there shall be substituted the following provision—
“7.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4), Part VA of the 1972 Act shall apply in relation to meetings of a standards committee, or sub-committee of a standards committee, of an authority as it applies to meetings of a principal council.”
(3) After regulation 7(3) there shall be inserted the following provision—
“4 Where a meeting of a standards or a sub-committee of a standards committee is convened to consider a matter referred under the provisions of section 64(2) or 71(2) of the Act the provisions of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act shall apply with the addition of the following descriptions of exempt information after paragraph 15 of Part I of that Schedule—
“(16) Information relating to the personal circumstances of any person.
(17) Information which is subject to any obligation of confidentiality.
(18) Information which relates in any way to matters concerning national security.
(19) The deliberations of a standards committee or of a sub-committee of a standards committee established under the provisions of Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 in reaching any finding on a matter referred under the provisions of section 64(2) of 71(2) of the Local Government Act 2000.””
Modification of section 63 of the Local Government Act 2000
4.—(1) The provisions of section 63(1) of the Act shall apply in respect of standards committees and appeals tribunals in the performance of any of their functions under these Regulations subject to the modification set out below.
(2) Section 63(1) of the Act shall be modified so that after paragraph (a) there is inserted the following paragraph—
“(aa)
“(aa) the disclosure is made for the purpose of enabling a standards committee or sub-committee of a standards committee established under this Part to perform any of its functions under this Part or under Regulations made under this Part in connection with the investigation and consideration of an allegation of a breach of an authority’s code of conduct or is made for the purpose of enabling a tribunal drawn from members of the Adjudication Panel to consider any appeal from a finding of such a standards committee or sub-committee in connection with an allegation of a breach of an authority’s code of conduct.”
PART 2
CONSIDERATION BY STANDARDS COMMITTEES
Reports received by a monitoring officer
5. Where a matter is referred to a monitoring officer of an authority under section 64(2) or 71(2) of the Act he shall—
(a) send a copy of any report received from the ethical standards officer who has referred the matter to any member who is the subject of such a report; and
(b) arrange for the standards committee of that authority to meet to consider that report.
Hearings by standards committees
6.—(1) Where a monitoring officer refers to a standards committee a report received from the ethical standards officer under section 64(2) or 71(2) of the Local Government Act 2000 the standards committee shall convene to conduct a hearing in relation to the allegation that the member failed to comply with the authority’s code of conduct or with the code of conduct of any other authority concerned.
(2) The standards committee of an authority shall ensure that—
(a)
(a) the hearing is conducted having regard to any guidance issued by the Standards Board8pursuant to section 57(5) of the Act;
(b)
(b) subject to sub-paragraph (c), the hearing is held within the period of three months beginning on the date on which the monitoring officer first received a report pursuant to sections 64(2) or 71(2) of the Act;
(c)
(c) the hearing shall not be held until at least 14 days after the date on which the monitoring officer sent the report under the provisions of regulation 5(a) to the member who is to be the subject of the hearing unless the member concerned agrees to the hearing being held earlier;
(d)
(d) any member who is the subject of a report being considered by the standards committee is given an opportunity to present evidence in support of his case; and
(e)
(e) any member who is the subject of a report being considered by the standards committee is given the opportunity to make representations at the hearing—
(i) either orally or, if he so chooses, in writing; and
(ii) either himself or, if he so chooses, through any representative appointed by him pursuant to paragraph (7).
(3) A standards committee may, subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), conduct a hearing using such procedures as it considers appropriate in the circumstances.
(4) A standards committee may arrange for the attendance at a hearing of such witnesses as it deems appropriate.
(5) Subject to paragraph (6), a member who is the subject of a hearing may arrange for the attendance at that hearing of such witnesses as he wishes.
(6) A standards committee may place a limit on the number of witnesses a member may call if it is of the view that the number the member proposes to call is unreasonable.
(7) Any member who is the subject of a hearing may be represented by counsel, by a solicitor or, with the prior consent of the standards committee, by any person whom he wishes to represent him.
(8) If a member who is the subject of a report to the standards committee fails to attend a hearing of which he has had notice, the standards committee may—
(a)
(a) unless it is satisfied that there is sufficient reason for such failure, consider the allegation and make a determination in the absence of the member; or
(b)
(b) adjourn the hearing to another date.
Findings of standards committees
7.—(1) Following a hearing held pursuant to regulation 6(1), a standards committee shall make one of the following findings—
(a)
(a) that the member who was the subject of the hearing had not failed to comply with the code of conduct of the authority concerned or the code of conduct of any other authority concerned;
(b)
(b) that the member who was the subject of the hearing had failed to comply with the code of conduct of the authority concerned or the code of conduct of...
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