election of chairman

Councillor Duncan Dewar-Whalley was elected Chairman for this meeting.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

part b minutes for information

consideration of complaint no. sbc 01.13

Members agreed that the meeting would be held in open session.

The Chairman opened the meeting by introducing the Sub-Committee and the officers present. He then outlined the procedure that would be followed.

The Director of Corporate Services, in his role as Monitoring Officer, introduced the report which set out the complaint of Member misconduct: SBC 01.13. The Investigating Officer's report had found that there had been a breach in the Members' Code of Conduct. The Sub-Committee was being asked to determine whether there had been a breach of the Code of Conduct, and if there had, to determine what sanction, if any, should be recommended to the Parish Council.

The Chairman asked the subject member whether the pre-hearing process summary and Form C in the report were an accurate summary and the subject member agreed that they were.

The Chairman then invited the Investigating Officer to present the findings of his investigation into the alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct. Members were given the opportunity to ask questions of the Investigating Officer.

The Chairman then invited the subject member to present her case into the alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct. The subject member's witness also presented her evidence on the alleged breaches. Members were given the opportunity to ask questions of the subject member.

The Chairman invited the Independent Person and the Parish Council Observer to present their representation as to whether there had been a breach of the Code of Conduct. Both found that there had been a breach of the Code of Conduct.

The Sub-Committee, Assistant Solicitor and Democratic Services Officer left the meeting at 3.50 pm and returned at 4.20 pm to request further information on the decision made by the Independent Person and the Parish Council Observer.

The Independent Person and the Parish Council Observer further outlined their reasons for their decision.

The Sub-Committee, Assistant Solicitor and Democratic Services Officer left the meeting at 4.25 pm and returned at 4.50 pm to advise of the Sub-Committee's decision.

The Sub-Committee determined that there had been no breach of paragraph 9, but there had been a breach of paragraph 10 of the Code of Conduct.

The Chairman invited the Independent Person, the Investigating Officer and the Parish Council Observer to make representations on any sanctions they considered should be implemented.

The Sub-Committee, Assistant Solicitor and Democratic Services Officer left the meeting at 4.58 pm and returned at 5.10 pm to advise of the Sub-Committee's decision on any sanctions that were to be implemented.

In concluding the meeting, the Chairman confirmed that a written decision would be published within 20 working days and there was no right of appeal.