Question:
It has come to my attention that there have been several posts and comments on Facebook of late, (particularly on the Bexhill on Sea group, and the Bexhill on Sea Politics group) implying some sort of impropriety or rule breaking by one of the recently elected Rother District councillors, alluding to some sort of investigation being underway. Could you please confirm this to be the case?
Is this in the public domain, and if so, what are the details? If it is true, but NOT in the public domain, who is giving these people the information and what will be done about it?
If these are rumours and hearsay, it’s important, in my opinion, to nip it in the bud because I believe this is a concerted effort by those against a Town Council to muddy the waters and smear people with the consultation approaching. I know the councillors all work very hard and only want the best for Bexhill/Rother and I would like to be able to defend them in the knowledge that nothing untoward has happened. (01/02/2020)
Answer:
I can confirm that there are no formal investigations currently on going into the conduct of any Rother District Councillor.
Complaints made to Rother District Council about the conduct of Rother District Councillors and Town and Parish Councillors across the Rother District are reported to the Audit and Standards Committee in June and December each year. The complaints are reported anonymously, unless there has been a full investigation and a finding that a Member has breached the relevant Code of Conduct in which case the Member’s identity would be disclosed. The last report including complaints received up until 30 November 2019 can be found here: