Complaint against Northumberland county councillor to be investigated
A complaint has been made against a serving Northumberland county councillor alleging a breach of the code of conduct.
The councillor has not been identified at present, but members have been told it is likely to be a “significant complaint”.
Details of the complaint have not been made public, but it has progressed through the county council’s standards complaints process and now requires “determination” through a hearing.
A cross-party panel of councillors will be convened to hear the case, with the hearing chaired in a non-voting capacity by Standards Lead Simon Openshaw.
Speaking at a meeting of the council’s audit and standards committee, Mr Openshaw stressed: “This matter is not a criminal matter, it is around code of conduct. It’s not a minor petty issue, it is likely to be pretty serious.
“Very few complaints actually go to a hearing – they’re either resolved or fall by the wayside in terms of being minor or petty.
“To date, nothing has been determined regarding this matter, but it has progressed through. It has obviously passed tests of jurisdiction and threshold – it hasn’t arrived here cold, it has progressed and there is some detail behind it.
“The council doesn’t go into the cost and effort to investigate witch hunts or political infighting. It is likely to be a significant complaint – there are a number of parties involved.
“You are making a peer review on a complaint. This is not a rushed process.”
Volunteers from the committee will be sought to sit on the hearing. The panel will be cross party and use the council’s political proportionality as a guide.
This means there will be one Conservative councillor as they are the largest party, as well as one Reform councillor as the official opposition. The final member will be selected from the ‘pool’ – the remaining councillors from other smaller groups including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens as well as Independent members.
Four councillors will be recruited so that matters can proceed if one member is unable to make certain dates. Mr Openshaw also explained why the matter was being kept private.
He said: “All complaints are confidential. That is why we see very few details at this committee.
“I don’t know the nature of this complaint, but a complaint has progressed through the process that we have.”