Information on Investigations

Which Sector? > Local Authorities > Clackmannanshire Council > LA/C/86

Note Of Decision Web Version

Complaint no. LA/C/86 concerning an alleged contravention of the Councillors' Code of Conduct by Councillors Margaret Paterson, Janet Cadenhead, William Calder, Eddie Carrick, Kenneth Earle, Brian Fearon, George Matchett, Robert McGill, Samuel Ovens and Provost Derek Stewart of Clackmannanshire Council

1. Complaint number LA/C/86 alleged a contravention of the Councillors' Code of Conduct ("the Code") by the aforementioned councillors ("the respondents").

2. It was alleged that the respondents had contravened the Code, in particular, the provisions in Section 2 relating to Integrity and Objectivity.

3. The person complaining ("the complainant") was Councillor Keith Brown who is an elected member of the Clackmannanshire Council and Leader of the SNP Group on the Council. He alleged that the Labour Group on the Council secured an adjournment of the Council meeting on 7 January 004 for the purpose of discussing and deciding, as a Group, whether to submit a complaint against three of the SNP members of the Council. In the complainant's view, by conferring on this issue and by arriving at a Group decision, enforced by a Group whip, the respondents failed to consider the matter on its merits and, consequently, breached the principles of integrity and objectivity in the Code.

4. In their evidence all ten respondents indicated that the adjournment of the meeting was granted to allow the various motions and amendments to be photocopied and that, during the adjournment, Labour Councillors did not discuss the motion or the amendments as a Group. The Leader of the Council and the Labour Party Group whip rejected the allegation that the party whip was used.

5. The substantive evidence indicated that the adjournment of the meeting on 7 January was to enable the various motions and amendments to be photocopied and distributed to members as required under standing orders. While the adjournment afforded the opportunity for both political groups to engage in discussion of the issues before the Council there was no evidence that any Group discussions took place. Accordingly, I concluded that the respondents had not breached the Councillors' Code of Conduct.

D Stuart Allan,
Chief Investigating Officer.
Forsyth House
Innova Campus
Rosyth Europarc
Rosyth
Fife
KY11 2UU
05 October 2004