Worthing Borough Council

• Code of Conduct
• Declaring a Personal or a Prejudicial Interest
• Standards Committee
• Additional Guidance and Codes

Conduct of Councillors

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democratic.services@worthing.gov.uk

Maintaining the Good Conduct of Councillors

The Council has a Code of Conduct for Councillors, which is based upon a national document published by the Government.  It sets out a number of general obligations for Councillors including the following:

• To treat others with respect
• To comply with the law relating to the equal treatment of individuals
• Not to bully or intimidate people
• Not to compromise the impartiality of officers of the Council
• Not to disclose confidential information
• Not to prevent access to information to which individuals are entitled by law
• Not to bring the office of Councillor or the Council into disrepute
• Not to use a position improperly to gain an advantage/disadvantage for the Councillor or any other person
• To use the Council’s resources in accordance with its requirements and for proper purposes only
• To consider formal advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer or Chief Finance Officer

These are a summary only and you are referred to the following pages for further in depth information:

• Code of Conduct
• Declaring a Personal or a Prejudicial Interest
• Standards Committee
• Additional Guidance and Codes

How do I complain about a councillor?

Members of the public concerned about the conduct of a Councillor, or Councillors, can now make complaints directly to Worthing Borough Council.

All Councillors have to keep to a Code of Conduct to ensure that they maintain the high ethical standards the public expect from them. If a complainant reveals that a potential breach of this Code has taken place, Worthing Borough Council may refer the allegations for investigation or decide to take other action.

Investigations themselves will also be managed by Worthing Borough Council, except in cases where a conflict of interest or other unusual circumstances mean that it would be more appropriate for the Standards for England Board to handle.

Once cases have been investigated, the authority’s independently-chaired standards committee will decide what action, if any, should be taken against the member. On rare occasions this responsibility will be given to the Adjudication Panel for England, an independent judicial tribunal.

Complaints, should be submitted, in writing, to the Monitoring Officer, Worthing Borough Council, Town Hall, Chapel Road, Worthing, BN11 1HA 

See also : Standards for England website (Councillor complaints)

The complaint should be set out in the complaint form.

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