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Each council has its own Code of Conduct (opens in new tab) that councillors must follow. Councillors should conduct themselves to the highest standards and in a manner that maintains public confidence in local government. However, if you believe a councillor has breached the Code of Conduct, this page explains how to make a complaint and how it will be dealt with.
Complaints about a councillor's conduct are dealt with through a separate process than our council complaints system.
Make a complaint about a councillor
You can complain about an elected district, town or parish councillor, or a co-opted member. A co-opted member is someone appointed to a council or committee rather than elected
When submitting your complaint, you must provide sufficient information including which part(s) of the Code of Conduct you believe has been breached. This allows the Monitoring Officer to determine whether an investigation or other action is warranted.
Before you send us your complaint, you should be aware that we are unlikely to keep your identity confidential from the person you are complaining about. They will be provided with details of the complaint.
Only if the Monitoring Officer is of the view that there are reasonable grounds to withhold these details will they do so.
If you have serious concerns about your name or details of your complaint being released, complete Section 5 of the complaint form.
Make your complaint by using the online form below.
Each town/parish council has adopted its own Code of Conduct. This is normally available on the town/parish council's website or available from the town/parish clerk.
A model Parish Council Code of Conduct was adopted by many of the town/parish councils in the Dover district and is shown below.
*Please note that references to the Standards Committee and Standards Committee Hearing Panel should be read as the Governance Committee and Governance Committee Hearing Panel.
Gifts and hospitality
Councillors must register any gift, benefit or hospitality worth £100 or more within 28 days of accepting it. This also applies where multiple gifts, benefits or hospitality from the same source have a combined value of £100 or more in a calendar year.
Councillors must provide details of the gift, benefit or hospitality and its source to the Monitoring Officer.
If a registered gift, benefit or hospitality relates to a matter being discussed at a council meeting, councillors must declare it at the start of the meeting (or when it becomes apparent). They must continue to declare it at relevant meetings for 3 years from the date of registration.
In most cases, councillors can take part in discussions and vote on the matter. However, where an Other Significant Interest exists, the requirements in paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct will apply.
Some gifts and hospitality do not need to be registered:
You can complain about a councillor breaking any part of their council's Code of Conduct. This usually includes:
bullying and intimidation
doing something to prevent those who work for the council from being impartial
revealing information that was given to them in confidence, or stopping someone getting information they are entitled to by law
damaging the reputation of their office or council
using their position improperly, to their own or someone else's advantage or disadvantage
misusing the council's resources
allowing the council's resources to be misused for the activities of a political party
failing to register a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest
failing to disclose a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or an Other Significant Interest at a meeting
taking part in a meeting or making a decision where the councillor has a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or an Other Significant Interest
failing to register any gifts or hospitality they have received in their role as a councillor, worth over £100.
There are some complaints that cannot be investigated, including:
complaints where a councillor is not named
complaints that are not in writing
acts carried out in a councillor's private life when they are not carrying out the work of the council
incidents or actions that are not covered by the Code of Conduct
incidents that are about a fault in the way the council has or has not done something – this is something that may be dealt with by a different complaints procedure
complaints about people employed by local councils – this would be dealt with by the employer
incidents that happened before a councillor was elected
incidents that happened before the authority adopted its local Code of Conduct
complaints about the way in which the council conducts and records its meetings.
When we receive your complaint, we'll let you know we've received it. Your complaint will then be referred to the Monitoring Officer.
The Monitoring Officer, acting in consultation with the Independent Person (an independent adviser appointed to help ensure complaints are handled fairly), will decide to:
not refer the complaint for investigation
refer the complaint for investigation
apply the informal resolution process either before or after an investigation
following investigation, refer the complaint to the Hearing Panel
take no action and close the matter; or
refer the complaint to the relevant political group leader for action.
In assessing your complaint, the Monitoring Officer will use the following criteria:
Legal jurisdiction criteria test
was the person complained about a member of the district or parish council at the time of the alleged conduct?
was the person complained about acting in an official capacity at the time of the alleged conduct?
if the facts could be established as a matter of evidence, could the alleged conduct be capable of a breach of the Code of Conduct?
did the alleged conduct occur before the adoption of the Code of Conduct?
did the alleged conduct occur when the person complained about was acting as a member of another authority?
is the complaint about dissatisfaction with the district or parish council’s decisions, policies and priorities etc?
If the complaint fails one or more of the jurisdiction tests, no further action will be taken by the Monitoring Officer and the complaint will be rejected.
The complainant will be notified accordingly with reasons by the Monitoring Officer. There is no right of appeal against the decision.
Local assessment criteria test
If the complaint satisfies the jurisdiction test, the Monitoring Officer will then apply the following local assessment criteria test:
the complaint is a ‘repeat complaint’, unless supported by new or further evidence substantiating or indicating that the complaint is exceptionally serious or significant
the complaint is anonymous, unless supported by independent documentary evidence substantiating or indicating that the complaint is exceptionally serious or significant
insufficient or no information/evidence to substantiate the complaint has been submitted by the complainant
the complaint is malicious, trivial, politically motivated or ‘tit-for-tat’
the complainant is unreasonably persistent, malicious and/or vexatious
the alleged misconduct happened more than three months ago
the complaint is relatively minor and dealing with the complaint would have a disproportionate effect on both public money and officers’ and members’ time
the circumstances have changed so much that there would be little benefit arising from an investigation or other action
the complaint has been the subject of an investigation or other action and there is nothing more to be gained by further action being taken
the complaint is such that it is unlikely that an investigation will be able to come to a firm conclusion on the matter, for example, where there is no firm evidence on the matter
the complaint is about a deceased person
the complaint is about a person who is no longer a district or parish councillor or co-opted member.
If one or more of the local assessment criteria applies to the complaint, no further action will be taken by the Monitoring Officer and the complaint will be rejected.
The complainant will be notified accordingly with reasons by the Monitoring Officer. There is no right of appeal against the Monitoring Officer’s decision.
If the Monitoring Officer refers your complaint for investigation you will have an opportunity to provide further detailed information/documents you consider to be relevant, therefore please avoid sending us large amounts of background information with your initial complaint.
At the end of an investigation the Monitoring Officer will, having consulted with the Independent Person, decide whether there is evidence of a failure to comply with the Code of Conduct.
They will do one of the following:
take no action
seek informal resolution
refer the matter for consideration by the Hearing Panel
A Hearing Panel is a panel made up of councillors of the district council. The panel can decide if there has been a breach of the Code and if so what sanction to recommend.
In line with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 2000, we can make reasonable adjustments to assist you if you have a disability that prevents you from making your complaint in writing.
We can also help if English is not your first language. However, we recommend you try to find a friend or relative who can speak or read English to help you with your enquiry initially. This will help both you and us to deal with your needs more effectively.
If you need advice or any support in completing the complaints form, please contact the corporate services officer by phoning 01304 872322.
You can also contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, Law Centre or other advice centre.
We will not issue any comments to the press and public about the complaint and neither will we confirm nor deny that a complaint has been received.
Proceedings of a Hearing Panel would generally be held in public (subject to the normal statutory rules about excluding the press and public if applicable). Details of any Hearing Panel meeting will be published on our website.
