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Note Of Decision Web Version

Complaint no. LA/E 201 concerning an alleged contravention of the Councillors' Code of Conduct by Councillor Liz O'Malley of The City of Edinburgh Council

1. Complaint number LA/E/201 alleged a contravention of the Councillors' Code of Conduct ("the Code") by Councillor Liz O'Malley ("the respondent").

2. It was alleged that the respondent had contravened the Code, in particular paragraph 7.8 of the Code which states that a councillor should not organise support or opposition, lobby other councillors or act as an advocate to promote a particular recommendation on a planning application, on a planning agreement or on taking enforcement action.

3. The person complaining ("the complainant") alleged that, by sending a letter to local residents in her ward advising them of possible reasons for objecting to a planning application which the complainant had submitted to the Council, the respondent had breached the provisions of paragraph 7.8 of the Code.

4. Guidance issued by the Standards Commission on the application of the Code makes it clear that the terms of paragraph 7.8 apply to councillors who have responsibility for dealing with planning applications and that, if a councillor does not have such responsibility and wishes to support, oppose or promote a particular recommendation on an individual application, he or she should do so in an open and transparent manner consistent with proper planning procedures.

5. It was established that the respondent is not a member of the Development Quality Sub Committee or the Planning Committee, both of which deal with planning applications. It is the practice of the Council to permit a councillor, who is not a member of a particular Committee or Sub Committee and who has a local ward interest in a particular agenda item, to attend the meeting of the Committee or Sub Committee and be heard as part of the preliminaries to consideration of the agenda item. The councillor is not permitted, however, to take part in the formal debate or vote on the item. The respondent utilised this facility to speak on the complainant's application at a meeting of the Development Quality Sub Committee.

6. As the respondent is not a member of the Planning Committee or the Development Quality Sub Committee she is not responsible for planning matters and is not subject, therefore, to the provisions of section 7.8 of the Code. In addition, the fact that she has the facility to speak, as part of the preliminaries to consideration of planning applications, at the Development Quality Sub Committee and that she utilised that facility in relation to the complainant's application, does not render her subject to the provisions of paragraph 7.8. In seeking to assist her constituents she did so in an open and transparent manner.

7. Having considered the information arising from my investigation I concluded that Councillor Liz O'Malley had not contravened the Councillors' Code of Conduct.

D Stuart Allan,
Chief Investigating Officer.
Forsyth House
Innova Campus
Rosyth Europarc
Rosyth
Fife
KY11 2UU
14 July 2005