Independent person role well received and vexatious complaints falling: CSPL

There is some evidence to suggest that the role of independent person in local government standards is generally well received and that vexatious complaints are falling, the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) has said.

However, in its 2015/16 annual report, published this month, the CSPL said the effectiveness of the sanctions regime was “still a concern”.

The CSPL agreed at the time of the Localism Act to maintain a watching brief on: the need for a mandatory code of conduct; strong local leadership; effective independent persons; and concern at the lack of sanctions.

The committee said it had received correspondence both from members of the public, councils and councillors on the issue of standards. “This correspondence includes, for example, calls for a national code of conduct, strengthened guidelines or sanctions or a power of recall.”

It added that it continued “to invite councils to consider whether their own local standards frameworks are sufficient to address standards breaches and build public trust”.

The CSPL said it would also continue to liaise with the relevant stakeholders on the way in which ethical standards could effectively be embedded in all parts of local government.