The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) (Amendment) Regulations 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Under the provisions of Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 ethical standards officers may carry out investigations into allegations that a member of a relevant authority in England has failed to comply with the authority’s code of conduct. A Local Commissioner in Wales may carry out a similar investigation into an allegation that a member of a police authority in Wales has failed to comply with the authority’s code of conduct. The ethical standards officer or the Local Commissioner, as the case may be, may choose to refer the report on the outcome of his investigation to the monitoring officer of any authority concerned. The Local Authorities (Code of Conduct) (Local Determination) Regulations 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”) made provision in respect of the way such matters referred to monitoring officers are dealt with by the authority’s standards committee.

The ethical standards officer may also choose to refer an allegation to the monitoring officer of an authority concerned prior to his having carried out or concluded an investigation. These Regulations amend the 2003 Regulations to make provision in respect of the way such matters should be investigated by monitoring officers and also in respect of the way standards committees should then deal with reports prepared by the monitoring officer on the outcome of any such investigation.

Regulation 1 provides for the commencement of the Regulations and for their application to relevant authorities in England and police authorities in Wales.

Regulation 2 amends the Relevant Authorities (Standards Committees) Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”). The 2001 Regulations make provision in respect of standards committees of relevant authorities in England and police authorities in Wales. They apply, with certain modifications, the provisions of Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972 (which relates to access to meetings and documents of certain authorities, committees and sub-committees) to meetings of standards committees. The 2001 Regulations are amended so as to apply the provisions of Part VA where a standards committee is considering a report from either a monitoring officer or an ethical standards officer.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 2 of the 2003 Regulations (interpretation) so as to clarify the meaning of the term “monitoring officer”.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 4 of the 2003 Regulations (modification of section 63 of the Local Government Act 2000). It further modifies the application of section 63 of the Local Government Act 2000 in relation to monitoring officers, standards committees and appeals tribunals in the performance of their functions under Part III of that Act. Section 63, as so modified, provides that disclosure of any information obtained by an ethical standards officer will not be prohibited if it is made for the purpose of enabling any of those functions to be carried out.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 5 of the 2003 Regulations (reports received by a monitoring officer). It specifies how matters referred by ethical standards officers to monitoring officers for investigation shall be dealt with.

Regulation 7 amends regulation 6 of the 2003 Regulations (hearings by standards committees). It specifies how standards committees will deal with reports referred to them by monitoring officers.

Regulation 8 amends regulation 7 (findings of standards committees) so as to make further provision concerning the combinations of sanctions that may be imposed by a standards committee.