336.This section gives the Standards Board for England the power to delegate any of its functions to:
an officer or servant of the Board;
a committee or sub-committee of the Board; or
an individual member of the Board.
337.The Standards Board is an independent body responsible for the promotion and maintenance of high standards of conduct by members and co-opted members of relevant authorities in England.
338.The Standards Board was set up and is governed by the Local Government Act 2000. The Board has a number of functions conferred by the Act, one of which is to consider a written allegation and decide whether the allegation should be referred to an ethical standards officer for investigation.
339.There is no provision in the Act which gives the Standards Board the ability to delegate functions. The number of complaints received by the Board and the ability to cope with the demands made by those complaints has led to the view that a power of delegation is required in order to allow Board members to fulfil their proper role of setting strategic guidance and direction.