NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNCIL
STANDARDS AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
20 June 2025
Local Ethical Framework Developments
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1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To update Members on developments in the national ethical framework under the Localism Act 2011.
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2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 Members receive a report at each ordinary Standards and Governance Committee meeting setting out any recent developments in the national ethical framework.
3.0 GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION ON STRENGTHENING THE STANDARDS REGIME
3.1 The Committee has previously considered and responded to the Government consultation on strengthening the standards regime (Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England - GOV.UK) and the associated LGA Questionnaire regarding the consultation.
3.2 The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) has responded to the consultation and has published its response - Chair CSPL to Jim McMahon, Minister for Local Government re sub to consultation on standards - Final– agreeing with the proposals for a mandatory minimum code of conduct for members and a requirement for principal authorities to establish a standards committee. The CSPL believes that:
· the Independent Person and any lay members should have voting rights;
· the results of complaints should be published as soon as possible;
· that investigations into member conduct should continue to their conclusion even if the subject member resigns and the results published;
· there should be a laddered scale of sanctions, from censure to suspension and disqualification, with a power to suspend for egregious breaches and during the period of an investigation;
· councillors should have a right of appeal and the CSPL is not averse to the establishment of a national body;
and also urges Government to consider the CSPL’s remaining recommendations made in its 2019 report “Local Government Ethical Standards A Review by the Committee on Standards in Public Life” (Local Government Ethical Standards January 2019).
3.3 The Local Government Association (LGA) has responded to the consultation and published its response - LGA response to the strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England | Local Government Association. Highlights of the LGA’s stated views are:
· The standards regime should be “proportionate in expectation of members, approach to complaint handling and application of sanctions.”
· “Early and informal resolution should be a strong principle of a new standards system, particularly when the infraction is minor or may be due to a misunderstanding or training need. Complaint investigation and sanctions should be a last resort.”
· The standards regime “should embody principles of natural justice, fairness and independence of decision-making and presume innocence of any councillor until a breach has been found.”
· There should be a mandatory minimum code of conduct for members, which should be adopted by all principal authorities and not be subject to local additions. It should also be kept under regular review;
· The Code should only apply to activities in a member’s official capacity;
· Councils should be required to have a standards committee, not bound by political proportionality, but balanced where possible, including lay members with voting rights;
· The role of Independent Person should be maintained and strengthened eg chairing standards committees and hearings panels;
· “Referring all complaints, including objectively low-level, vexatious or politically motivated complaints, to a standards committee risks overwhelming the system.”
· Initial assessment of complaints by monitoring officers should be retained;
· “Councils should have the discretion to complete an investigation after a member has vacated their elected role, if it’s in the public interest to do so.”
· If interim suspension was to be introduced, it should not be allowed to go on perpetually and should be only permitted in exceptional circumstances;
· Breaches of the code of conduct should be published as well as a regular anonymised summary of the disposal of all complaints made to the council. Councillors should have the option to request a decision-notice be made public where they have been found not to have breached the code following an investigation;
· There should be a wider range of meaningful sanctions, including a power of suspension for up to six months where appropriate;
· If stronger sanctions are introduced, a national body should be established to handle appeals processes;
· Councillors should have a right of appeal;
· It may be the right time to “review whether it is still appropriate for principal councils to be financially and administratively responsible for parish and town complaints processes and what other approaches may be more appropriate.”
3.4 The Government consultation closed on 26 February 2025.
3.5 The Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution has stated, during a debate on 11 March 2025 (Local Government: Nolan Principles - Hansard - UK Parliament), that more than 2,000 submissions have been made to the consultation and Government was working “at pace” to review the results. The Minister commented that at the foundation of the proposals for reform was the proposal for a mandatory code of conduct for achieving consistency across all tiers of local government.
3.6 Members will be kept informed of developments.
4.0 CSPL REPORT – RECOGNISING AND RESPONDING TO EARLY WARNING SIGNS IN PUBLIC SECTOR BODIES
4.1 On 25 March 2025, the CSPL published a lengthy report “Recognising and Responding to Early Warning Signs in Public Sector Bodies” (Recognising and Responding to Early Warning Signs in Public Sector Bodies: report - GOV.UK) to support public sector bodies in recognising and responding to early warning signs of emerging problems, improving accountability and transparent leadership. The CSPL has urged public sector organisations to facilitate a culture where voicing concerns and learning from mistakes are "seen as a personal duty and are valued by everyone in the organisation".
4.2 The Report sets out practical examples of how bodies have dealt with these issues and has identified 20 Points for Reflection relating to:
· Building accountable organisations
· Identifying and assessing risks
· Speaking up
· Development and performance management
· Public scrutiny
· Learning lessons
· Board scrutiny
to assist organisations in their consideration of their processes and culture.
4.3 The Report references the statutory Principles of Public Life and highlights that the public interest should “should guide the actions and behaviours of public office holders at all times.” It urges public bodies to improve their listening and learning and act early to prevent harm and uphold public trust.
5.0 CSPL REFLECTIONS ON 30th ANNIVERSARY OF NOLAN PRINCIPLES
5.1 The CSPL continues to mark the 30th anniversary of the Nolan Principles (general principles of conduct) and has published a series of blogs about the work of various standards related organisations in England:
How is the Electoral Commission held accountable? – Committee on Standards in Public Life
IPSA and the Nolan Principles – Committee on Standards in Public Life
6.0 CSPL SUBMISSION TO SPEAKER’S CONFERENCE ON SECURITY OF PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDERS
6.1 On 2 May 2025, the CSPL published its written submission evidence to the House of Commons Speaker’s Conference on the security of candidates, MPs and elections - CSPL_to_speakers_conference_2025.pdf, following on from the CSPL’s 2017 report “Intimidation in Public Life” (which made a package of recommendations to government, political parties, the police, social media companies, press regulators and the media to address these issues - Intimidation in Public Life: A Review by the Committee on Standards in Public Life - GOV.UK).
6.2 The submission:
· recognises the importance of upholding high standards of conduct in public life;
· highlights growing and pressing concerns about intimidation and abuse of parliamentary candidates, MPs and wider public office holders, often inflamed by social media, particularly during election periods;
· urges increased regulation by social media platforms in addressing online abuse and support for users facing intimidation;
· recognises changes implemented to electoral law (the Elections Act 2022) to help strengthen the security of candidates and democracy by the introduction of a disqualification order penalty for those convicted of intimidation directed at candidates, campaigners or elected representatives;
· calls on political parties to take greater responsibility and leadership in demonstrating respect in public discourse;
· emphasises that unchecked intimidation could deter individuals from participating in public life.
6.3 The CSPL is of the view that whilst much progress has been made since its 2017 report, there remains “more to do, and at a greater pace, by everyone in public life to address this important issue.”
7.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 There are no significant financial implications arising from this report.
8.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
8.1 The legal implications are set out in the body of this report.
9.0 ENVIRONMENTAL/CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
9.1 There are no significant environmental implications arising from this report.
10.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
10.1 There are no significant equalities implications arising from this report.
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11.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
11.1 That the Committee notes the contents of this report.
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BARRY KHAN
Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer
Background Papers:
The Localism Act 2011
County Hall
NORTHALLERTON
6 June 2025