Hedon Town Councillor: East Riding Standards Committee complaint

HEDON TOWN COUNCILLOR John Dennis has recently been investigated by the East Riding Council following a complaint made against him. The complaint was initiated by Councillor Dennis himself! 

The East Riding Council investigation examined the councillor's conduct, following his own concerns that he had "failed to declare a personal and prejudicial interest" before casting his vote at a Hedon Town Council Finance and General Purposes Committee held in April 2009.

Following the meeting, and having realised his mistake, Councillor Dennis notified his concerns to the East Riding Council's Standards Committee. This is the council body responsible for guiding councillors on achieving the very highest standards of conduct possible. Due process was followed, and the Standards Committee met to discuss the case last week. Yes! - that's 18 months later!

The hearing found that Councillor Dennis did not act in a way that would prejudice his judgement of the public interest, and that no sanction would be imposed. However, it was recommended that the Monitoring Officer writes to him to provide him with further information about personal and prejudicial interests.

Whilst this matter may seem quite trivial, even comical - complaining about yourself! - it does raise important issues for our local democracy. A look at any council minutes, whether locally or from the East Riding, will confirm that our public representatives are continuously reminded to declare any interests that might impact on their decision-making or council duties.

Councillors must act in the public interest - and not their own interests. And they must be seen to be doing so! Essential procedures and structures (i.e. the Standards Committee) exist to ensure that this is the case. However, the fact that this case took several months to be heard, and the complainant was also the one complained against, does suggest that the system does not seem to work as intended!

In this matter, Councillor Dennis appears to have acted honourably by referring himself to the Standards Committee because of his own concerns. It is a good sign that our town councillors not only hold others to account for their actions - but also hold themselves accountable! However, perhaps the standards system itself needs to be looked at again?

NOTE: The Government has announced that the existing standards system will be axed in the New Year and replaced by new measures to ensure that councillors do not misuse their positions of trust.

Additional information. See: Hedon Town Council - Minutes