Report of the Independent Investigator and Governance Committee determination of Code of Conduct Complaint (FS-CASE-694000403).
Decision:
RESOLVED
That no further action is to be taken.
Minutes:
The Committee considered the Independent Investigator’s report regarding a Code of Conduct Complaint made by Mr Phil Shears about Councillor Jane Taylor (FS-CASE-694000403).
The complaint, submitted on behalf of Officers of the Council, alleged that Councillor Taylor failed to comply with the Code of Conduct in that she made public statements which were untrue and which have publicly undermined the professional reputation of Officers. The complaint alleged that sections 3, 4.2, 5 and 10 of the Code of Conduct and section 2 of the Member Officer Protocol were breached.
The Independent Investigator applied sections 1, 2 and 5 of the Code. The Independent Investigator concluded that there had not been a failure to comply with the Code. They found that Councillor Taylor was challenging, created a difficult environment for officers, persistently asked questions and did not accept the answers and made statements which were blatantly wrong.
The Investigator commented that Councillor Taylor’s Article 10 rights protected her rights to express opinions and this right is protected even if the opinion is based on incorrect facts as long as the Councillor believes what they are saying is correct.
The Investigator found that Councillor Taylor believes what she is saying is true and there is no justification to interfere with her freedom of expression rights as they are based on matters of political expression and public importance.
Councillor Bullivant introduced the report and the item.
Councillor Taylor made a representation to the Committee on the Independent Investigator’s report, namely:
· That the Conclusion of the report was that there was no breach of the code of conduct.
· That the Committee should re-consider the evidence gave by Officer X within the report as it was inconsistent and that Councillor Taylor and Councillor Bradford’s evidence should have been equally weighted and that the Independent Investigator should have considered it further.
· That the report’s findings should be accepted.
· That if required, this report should be taken to a public hearing for further consideration.
At this juncture, Councillor Bullivant asked all those who were not Committee members to leave the room to allow the Committee to discuss the report.
Councillor Bullivant highlighted Councillor’s freedom of expression rights, and their rights to express their views and that the conclusion of the report was that there was no breach of the code of conduct.
Councillors Henderson, Clarance and Nuttall also spoke to this item in relation to the Independent Investigator’s conclusions.
The Independent Person(s) commented on the report and Councillor Taylor’s earlier representation, pointing to the relevant sections of the report which showed that Councillor Taylor made similar points in her response to the draft report.
Following deliberations amongst the Committee and advice from the Monitoring Officer, the Committee had settled on its determination and invited those not present to come back into the Council Chamber.
Councillor Bullivant proposed and it was agreed unanimously to return back into a PART I meeting.
Councillor Bullivant summarised the discussion and repeated the conclusion of the Independent Investigator’s report that there was no breach of the code of conduct. Cllr Bullivant noted paragraphs 261, 262 and 263 of the report in relation to Councillor Taylor’s representation that the investigator had considered Councillor Taylor’s response to the draft report and did not make any changes to his report as a result.
It was PROPOSED by Councillor Nuttall and SECONDED by Councillor Clarance and unanimously
RESOLVED
That no further action is to be taken.