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Complaint no. LA/WL/191 concerning an alleged contravention of the Councillors' Code of Conduct by Councillor Stuart Borrowman of West Lothian Council

1. Complaint number LA/WL/191 alleged a contravention of the Councillors' Code of Conduct ("the Code") by Councillor Stuart Borrowman ("the respondent").

2. It was alleged that the respondent had contravened the Code, in particular, the key principles in section 2 of the Code relating to Duty, Leadership, Selflessness, Openness and Accountability and Stewardship.

3. The person complaining ("the complainant") alleged that the respondent had failed to reply to numerous letters from the Community Council and that he had failed to answer satisfactorily why he had excluded the Community Council from meetings which he had arranged about the image and future of Armadale.

4. The complainant enclosed two letters which he had sent, in his capacity as Chair of the Community Council, to the respondent. The first letter sought a response to earlier correspondence and requested the names of those who had been invited to attend a meeting held on 25 February 2004 and arranged by the respondent. The second letter requested similar information about further meetings organised by the respondent.

5. The respondent stated that he chose to respond orally to the first letter, at more than one meeting of the Community Council, as he felt that this was more immediate, ensured that other members of the Community Council received the same information and allowed elaboration and questions. He produced a copy of a written reply which he had sent to the complainant's second letter.

6. Information supplied by the Members Services Department of the Council, which had assisted the respondent to send out invitations to the meetings, showed that the Chair of the Community Council and one other member had been invited to the first meeting arranged by the respondent and that the principal office bearers and nine members of the Community Council had been invited to the second meeting.

7. While it was not unreasonable for the Community Council to have expected a written reply to their first letter, and while it would have been preferable for the respondent to have replied in writing, I found that his omission to do so did not amount to a breach of the key principles of the Code identified by the complainant.

8. The information supplied by the Members Services Department did not support the complainant's allegations that the respondent did not invite members of the Community Council to his meetings. Consequently, I found that there was no requirement on the respondent to explain why he had excluded members of the Community Council from his meetings.

9. Having considered the information arising from my investigation, I concluded that Councillor Stuart Borrowman had not contravened the Councillors' Code of Conduct.

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