How the Standards Committee deals with complaints

The Standards Committee is made up of three county councillors and three independent members with no link to the Council. Each stage of the complaints process is chaired by an independent member to ensure fairness and objectivity.

The following documents set out the terms of reference of the sub committees, and the monitoring officer protocol. They also include the guidance provided to the Standards Committee to help them when they deal with complaints about councillors.

You can find the Standards Committee's main terms of reference in the constitution of the Council.

Acrobat (PDF)
Monitoring officer protocol (33k) Guidance for the monitoring officer on dealing with a complaint about a councillor.
Assessment Sub Committee terms of reference (17k) Guidance for the Assessment Sub Committee when dealing with a complaint.
Review Sub Committee terms of reference (12k) Guidance for the Review Sub Committee when dealing with a councillor complaint.
Hearing Sub Committee terms of reference (15k) Guidance for the Hearing Sub Committee when dealing with complaints.
Process for handling member complaints (274k) Guidance on the process that is followed when a complaint is made against a councillor.
Standards Committee assessment criteria (49k) How the Standards Committee may assess a complaint.