The conduct of all Councillors in England – County, District and Parish/Town – is governed by Codes of Conduct established by the Localism Act 2011.
Any Councillor in breach of his or her Council’s Code of Conduct may be reported to the Council’s Monitoring Officer of the appropriate authority. The District Council is the appropriate authority for complaints made against Parish and Town Councillors within the Rother area as well as for complaints made against its own Councillors.
The District Council uses Assessment Criteria / Public Interest Test to decide what action to take following the receipt of an allegation – this can be found here.
The Codes cover such matters as the declarations of interest, gifts and hospitality received by Councillors, and Councillors using their position to give unfair advantage or disadvantage. It also includes a requirement to treat people with respect and not to discriminate unlawfully.
Rother District Council’s Code of Conduct sets out the conduct which is expected of the Members and co-opted Members of the Council. A copy of the District Council’s Code of Conduct is available to download.
Each of the Parish/Town Councils within Rother adopted their own Code of Conduct as regards the conduct expected of their Members and co-opted Members. A copy of the Parish/Town Councils’ Code of Conduct is available from the Clerk of the relevant Parish or Town Council.
The Register of Personal Interests for all Parish, Town and District Councillors can be inspected by the public during normal office hours at the office of Rother District Council, Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea.
Complaints against Councillors alleging contravention of the respective Codes of Conduct should be made either online by clicking here, or in writing to:
The Monitoring Officer, Rother District Council, Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea, TN39 3JX.
A copy of the document “Arrangements for the dealing with Member complaints” and the Member Code of Conduct Complaint Form are available to download.
Complaints about dissatisfaction with a decision or action of the authority or one of its committees, a service provided by the authority or the authority’s procedures do not fall within the jurisdiction of the standards regime.
If you would like to complain about a Council service please see the Complaints Procedure.