Leading up to our investigation
The information on this page is divided into the following sections:
- When does an allegation become an investigation?
- How do you decide whether a case should be investigated by the Standards Board for England or if it should be kept locally?
- What is an ethical standards officer?
- Who conducts the investigation?
- How will an ethical standards officer conduct the investigation?
- What can the ethical standards officer investigate?
When does an allegation become an investigation?
The standards committee of a local authority may refer an allegation for investigation if it is satisfied that the allegation falls within its legal jurisdiction and believe the matter should be investigated.
When a matter is referred for investigation, it does not mean that the standards committee believes the allegation is true. It simply means that they believe the alleged conduct, if proven, may amount to a failure to comply with the Code of Conduct and therefore should be investigated.
The standards committee may ask us to investigate the matter if it believes that it cannot or should not investigate it locally.
How do you decide whether a case should be investigated by the Standards Board for England or if it should be kept locally?
When considering a standards committee’s request that we investigate a case the ethical standards officer will use their discretion and take into account all relevant circumstances. These may include:
- the apparent degree of seriousness of the allegation
- whether the allegation is of an entirely local nature and does not raise matters of principle
- whether an initial investigation by an ethical standards officer highlighted issues that are more to do with the effective governance of the authority than an individual's misconduct
- any evidence that a local investigation would be perceived as unfair or biased
- any relevant local political issues that may have a bearing on the investigation
Our policy is to refer allegations to be investigated locally wherever possible.
What is an ethical standards officer?
An ethical standards officer is someone empowered by the Local Government Act 2000 to investigate allegations referred to them by the Standards Board for England that a member or co-opted member of a relevant authority in England has failed to comply with their authority's Code of Conduct.
Ethical standards officers conduct each investigation impartially and make the decisions.
Who conducts the investigation?
Allegations referred to be investigated may be investigated by the monitoring officer of the relevant local authority or the standards committee may ask that the matter be investigated by an ethical standards officer.
Alternatively, in certain circumstances, an ethical standards officer may decide to issue a direction to the monitoring officer to take certain other action.
How will an ethical standards officer conduct the investigation?
The ethical standards officer determines the appropriate way to investigate an allegation. This depends upon the circumstances of each individual case. However, we conform with good practice in relation to the planning and conduct of investigations.
What can the ethical standards officer investigate?
The ethical standards officer will specifically investigate the allegations referred to them by the Standards Board for England. In addition, Section 59(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 2000 gives the ethical standards officer the power to investigate other matters, which may amount to a breach of the Code of Conduct, and that come to their attention during the course of an investigation.
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