|
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
||
|
PART 2 |
|
| 1. ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT By not later than 28th January 2002 all the authorities listed below must have a code of conduct as to how their members should behave, and within two months of an authority adopting a code of conduct all its members must agree to abide by it. (You may obtain a copy of the relevant code from the authority.) In addition to investigating complaints of injustice, the Ombudsman can also investigate an allegation that a member or co-opted member of these authorities has failed, or may have failed, to comply with the authority's code of conduct. The authorities concerned are: (a) a County Council (b) a County Borough Council (c) a Community Council (d) a Fire Authority (e) a Police Authority (f) a National Park Authority (g) a Joint Authority |
||
| top of page | ||
| 2. WHO CAN MAKE THE ALLEGATION? Anyone can make an allegation. |
||
| top of page | ||
| 3. HOW DO I MAKE AN ALLEGATION? The allegation must be in writing, and must say in what way the member has breached the authority's code of conduct. If you wish to submit such an allegation to the Local Commissioner for Wales (the Local Government Ombudsman) you should complete the down-loadable form for making an allegation of misconduct, available here, and send it to the address shown on the form. |
||
| top of page | ||
| 4. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I HAVE COMPLETED THE ALLEGATION FORM AND RETURNED IT TO THE COMMISSION? Your allegation will be examined to see whether it is one which can be investigated. The Commissioner may ask an investigator to interview you and ask you to sign a formal written statement of what you say in support of your allegation. If the Local Commissioner decides, in the light of what you say, that your allegation should not be investigated, he will write to tell you his decision and give you his reasons. If he decides to investigate the allegation, he will at some stage have to tell the member concerned of the allegation and give him or her an opportunity to comment on it. The exact form of the investigation will be for the Local Commissioner to decide in the light of the circumstances of each case, but he has the right to cease his investigation at any time. If he does cease his investigation he may at the same time decide to refer the allegation to the authority's Monitoring Officer for him to investigate further. |
||
| top of page | ||
|
5. WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES OF AN INVESTIGATION? (a) that there is no evidence of any failure to comply with a code of conduct, or If the Commissioner decides to refer the case either to the Monitoring Officer or to the President of the Adjudication Panel for Wales, he will produce a report on his investigation. He may not necessarily produce a report if he decides that there is no evidence of a breach of the code or that no further action needs to be taken, but he will let you know the outcome. |
||
| top of page | ||
| 6. WHAT IF MY ALLEGATION RESULTS IN A REFERENCE TO A STANDARDS COMMITTEE OR A TRIBUNAL? If the Commissioner's report on his investigation into your allegation is referred to a Standards Committee or a case tribunal, it will be for that Standards Committee or that tribunal to decide whether or not there has been a breach of the code of conduct, and if so what penalty if any should be imposed on the member concerned. It will also be for the Standards Committee or the tribunal to decide what evidence it needs to hear before reaching its decision, but the Standards Committee or the tribunal may require you to give evidence in support of your allegation. The Standards Committee's and the tribunal's hearings will normally be held in public, and in contrast to the position of someone making a complaint of maladministration and injustice but not an allegation of misconduct (see the complaints section), your anonymity cannot be guaranteed and your identity may become known to those attending the Standards Committee's or the tribunal's proceedings. |
||
| top of page |