All services
  1. Home
  2. Councillors and democracy
  3. Councillors, meetings and democracy

Code of Conduct and Complaints

Member Code of Conduct

Everyone in public office at all levels; all who serve the public or deliver public services, including ministers, civil servants, councillors and local authority officers should uphold the highest standards of conduct. 

Councillors on all occasions should:

  • act with integrity and honesty
  • act lawfully
  • treat all persons fairly and with respect
  • lead by example and act in a way that secures public confidence in the role of councillor
  • exercise responsibilities impartially in the interests of the local community
  • not improperly seek to confer an advantage, or disadvantage, on any person
  • avoid conflicts of interest
  • exercise reasonable care and diligence

The purpose of the Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct is to set out the standards of behavior expected of Councillors, to provide a personal check and balance and to set out the type of conduct against which appropriate action may be taken. It is also to protect the public, fellow Councillors, council officers and the reputation of local government.

The obligations which detail the minimum standards of conduct required of Councillors are set out in further detail in section 8.2 of the North Northamptonshire Council Constitution - Member Code of Conduct.

Arrangements for Member Complaints

These “Arrangements” set out how you may make a complaint that a Member of this Council has failed to comply with the Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct, or in the case of a Parish or Town Councillor, that Parish or Town Council’s Code of Conduct, and sets out how the Council will deal with it.

How we will deal with your complaint

Once we've received your complaint:

  • we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint as soon as possible
  • the Monitoring Officer will consult with an independent person and take a decision on whether the matter should be rejected, dealt with informally, or investigated further - The Initial Assessment will be completed as soon as possible, usually within 15 working days
  • the councillor concerned will be informed of the receipt and nature of the complaint and be given the opportunity to comment
  • if the monitoring officer decides to investigate the complaint, an Investigating Officer will be appointed who will produce a draft report for both you and the councillor to comment on - These comments will be taken on board before the final report is issued to the monitoring officer
  • the monitoring officer will consider the outcome of the report - They may decide to deal with the complaint informally or refer the complaint for a local hearing before members of the Democracy and Standards Sub-Committee

A full explanation of arrangements for dealing with allegations of breaches of the Council’s Member Code of Conduct can be found in section 8.3 of the Constitution - Member Complaints Procedure.

Online

Make a code of conduct complaint

Contact us

For further advice, you can contact the monitoring officer, as follows.

Email: [email protected]

Address:
The Monitoring Officer
North Northamptonshire Council
Sheerness House
41 Meadow Road
Kettering
NN16 8TL

Last updated 26 June 2023