Power to suspend councillors for misconduct is back on the table
Public Law and Judicial Review, Local Government
In an exchange of letters published last week by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, the government has confirmed it will consult on the CSPL’s recommendation to introduce a new power to suspend councillors for misconduct.
In 2019, the CSPL published its report, Local Government Ethical Standards. The report made a series of recommendations, the most eye-catching of which was a proposal to amend the Localism Act 2011 to enable local authorities to suspend councillors for up to 6 months without allowances. The CSPL’s justification was that the lack of “serious sanctions” – such as suspension – was undermining the effectiveness and credibility of the standards regime.
The CSPL’s advice was that suspension – if permitted – should only be used rarely and in the most serious of cases, giving examples such as councillors found to have bullied or harassed others or for “repeated non-compliance with lower level sanctions.”
However, they did not consider the evidence justified a power of disqualification.
The Conservative government – led at the time by Boris Johnson – firmly rejected that recommendation.
In responding on the government’s behalf (more than three years after the report’s publication), Kemi Badenoch MP (now leader of HM Opposition) wrote that the removal of the power to suspend or disqualify councillors was a deliberate policy choice to remedy the “flawed” pre-2011 standards regime, claiming that the old regime had “allowed politically motivated complaints and had a chilling effect on free speech within local government.”
However, in a speech in October this year, the new Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP, promised a “reset” of relations between central and local government. In making that announcement, the Deputy Prime Minister cited cases of persistent poor behaviour by councillors, adding that the current framework does not protect victim or empower councils to address poor conduct.
She announced an intention to consult on amendments to the legislation, including “a proposal to allow for the suspension of members who violate codes of conduct.”
In response to a follow-up letter from the Chair of the CSPL, Doug Chalmers, inviting the government to reconsider their recommendations, Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon OBE MP, confirmed that the government will consult on a range of changes to the current standards rules – including a power of suspension.
The consultation could also see a revival of the many other CSPL recommendations either rejected by the previous government or which were not progressed, including:
- a statutory definition of “official capacity”
- additions to the list of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, such as unpaid directorships and trusteeships, and membership of campaigning organisations
- a statutory requirement to adopt a gifts and hospitality register
- reintroducing a “prejudicial interest” test for when councillors must withdraw from an item of business due to conflicts (or perceived) conflicts of interest
- strengthening the role of independent members of standards committees by allowing them to vote on determinations and sanctions
- clarification as to the roles of principal and town/parish councils in handling and determining complaints against town/parish councillors
- an extension of statutory protections for senior officers to all forms of disciplinary protection (and not just dismissal)
Matt Lewin is a member of the Public Law team at Cornerstone Barristers and a specialist in local government standards. He is the editor of Cornerstone on Councillors’ Conduct and Standards in Public Life which was published by Bloomsbury earlier this year.
Matt is routinely instructed by monitoring officers across the country to investigate complaints and advise on standards and governance issues.
