In 2000 the law relating to the Conduct of Councillors was completely changed and a new ethical framework was introduced based on the following 10 general principles of public life:
- Selflessness
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Objectivity
- Accountability
- Openness
- Personal Judgement
- Respect for others
- Duty to uphold the law
- Stewardship
- Leadership
These principles apply to the Conduct of Councillor and Co-opted Members when they are acting as members of the authority, including meetings of the authority, except that honesty and integrity and duty to uphold the law apply on all occasions.
In order to give these principles some teeth, and to ensure that elected councillors would be subject to sanction should they not observe them, each authority is obliged to adopt a local code of conduct for councillor based on a Model Code of Conduct issued by the Secretary of State.
A link to the Council's Code of Conduct is set out below
Code of Conduct
A link to guidance on Predisposition, Predetermination or Bias is set out below Predisposition
Complaints against a councillor
If you want to complain about the conduct of a Councillor of Preston City Council or a Councillor of one of our parish councils, you must submit your complaint to:
The Assessment Sub-Committee
c/o The Monitoring Officer
Head of Member Services
Governance Directorate
Town Hall
Lancaster road
Preston PR1 2RL
It is important to note that the Assessment Sub-Committee can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of an elected councillor or co-opted Member. If you make a complaint to the Assessment Sub-Committee it must be about why you think a councillor has not followed the Code of Conduct. All other complaints will be dealt with in accordance with the Council's Corporate Complaints Procedure see below for more details. Information on how to complain against a councillor can be found below.
Making a complaint against a councillor
Local standards committee
At local level, each relevant authority has the obligation to establish a Standards Committee that has the statutory duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by councillors and co-opted members of the authority; and assist them in observing the authority's Code of Conduct. In addition, the Standards Committee is responsible for advising the authority on the adoption or revision of its Code of Conduct; monitoring the operation of the code; and advising, training, or arranging to train councillors and co-opted members on matters relating to the Code of Conduct. The Standards Committee also has the function of granting dispensations in appropriate circumstances.
The Standards Committee is currently made up of 4 City Councillor Councillors, 3 Parish Councillors and 4 Independent Members
Standards committee
| Steven Coombs |
Independent and Chair of the Committee |
| Professor Iqbal memon |
Independent and Deputy Chair of the Committee |
| Brian Heath |
Independent |
| Ian Higginbotham |
Independent |
| Peter Moss |
Parish Councillor |
| Geoff Swarbrick |
Parish Councillor |
| Peter Jones |
Parish Councillor
|
| Alan Hackett |
City Councillor
|
| Albert Richardson |
City Councillor
|
| Anthony Gornall |
City Councillor
|
| Joyce Cartwright |
City Councillor |
|
|
The Standards Committee meets on a regular basis and further details including the agenda and minutes can be viewed on the following link:
Standards Committee
Councillors/officer protocol
The Council also has a protocol to guide councillors and officers of the Council in their relations with one another. A copy of the protocol can be viewed here:
Member/Officer protocol
Employees code of conduct
It is important that the public have absolute confidence in the integrity of the Council and its employees. The Council has a Code of Conduct which all employees should be signed up to that aims to ensure that:
(i) employees are protected against any unjustified allegations of wrongdoing
(ii) there can be no perception of suggestion that any employee of the Council could be influenced in any way by improper motives.
A copy of the employee code of conduct can be viewed here:
Employee's code of conduct
Local code of practice for councillors and officers dealing with planning matters
This local code builds on the Code of Conduct for Councillors as previously referred to earlier. In essence it goes beyond the probity concerns of the model Code to give more detailed advice on the operation of the planning system. The aim of this additional advice is to ensure the preservation of the integrity of the planning system as open and fair to all parties. This guidance therefore serves a dual role. Whilst the Code of Conduct is concerned primarily with individual probity and other aspects of conduct across the whole range of Councillor's duties, this guidance is concerned with the integrity of the planning system, including the conduct of Councillors in its processes and procedures. The two documents overlap, but have different targets. A clear consensus as to the relationship between the statutory Code of Councillor Conduct and this guidance on planning issues is therefore essential.
A copy of the Local Code of Practice for Councillors and Officers dealing with Planning Matters can be viewed here:
Code of good practice for Councillors and Officers dealing with Planning matters
Complaints procedure
Preston City Council is committed to providing the best possible level of service to its customers. We realise, however, that sometimes we don't get everything right, and there may be occasions when you are unhappy with the service we provide.
The Council welcomes your complaint as an opportunity to improve services and, where possible, we will try to rectify the situation.
If you would like to make a complaint please select the following link:
Preston City Council Complaints Procedure
Whistleblowing policy
The Council provides a whistleblowing policy for use by its members of staff. Employees are often the first to realise that there may be something seriously wrong within the Council. However, they may not express their concerns because they feel that speaking up would be disloyal to their colleagues or to the Council. They may also fear harassment or victimisation. In these circumstances, employees may be tempted to ignore the concern rather than report what may just be a suspicion of malpractice.
However, the Council is committed to the highest possible standards of openness, probity and accountability. In line with this, it positively encourages employees to come forward and voice those concerns. This policy makes it clear that staff can do so without fear of reprisal. The Whistleblowing policy is intended to encourage and enable staff to raise serious concerns within the Council, rather than overlooking a problem or "blowing the whistle" outside. (see relevant documents below)
Document links
Date Updated: 09/03/10