Changes to rules governing councillors
In 2000, the government introduced a framework of ethical standards and a code of conduct for elected members.
Broadly, it has worked well and serious misbehaviour by councillors and officers is rare. Bolton Council, together with its town councils, has an excellent record with few complaints.
To handle complaints, the government set up the Standards Board for England. While this ensured complaints were handled in the same way, dealing with relatively trivial complaints centrally resulted in delays and an acknowledgement that they could have been handled more effectively locally.
The government has addressed this problem, together with others, in a new code that came into effect in 2008.
To view the code of conduct, please click on the link on the right
To ensure these rules are followed, all councils have a standards committee with independent members and an independent chair. The Standards Committee decides whether complaints should be investigated, whether the code has been breached and, if so, makes appropriate sanctions, which can include suspension of a member for up to 6 months.
More serious alleged breaches of the code can still be investigated by the Standards Board, with possible disqualification for five years.
The Standards Committee also promotes ethical behaviour ensuring that officers and members are aware the standards expected of them through communications and training.
How to raise concerns
If you have concerns about ethical conduct issues, write to the Chair of the Standards Committee using the contact information on the right.