City council rebukes parish for "unprecedented volume" of standards complaints

In a letter sent to Kents Hill and Monkston Parish Council, the chair of Milton Keynes City Council’s Standards Committee, Cllr Mandy Legg, said the circumstances had resulted in a "disproportionate pull on the City Council’s resources".

According to the correspondence, the parish is responsible for 64% of all parish council complaints received during this financial year, despite the number of electors registered in the parish comprising less than 3% of those in the local authority area.

The complaints have thus far resulted in two investigations commissioned by the monitoring officer, incurring costs to the city council of over £10,000.

Cllr Legg also predicted that the associated cost of consulting Independent Persons was likely to be in excess of £3,000.

The letter said that Milton Keynes has previously resolved to ask whether the Parish Council would consider contributing towards the investigation costs currently borne by the city council.

It also recommended that the parish council promote "preventative and holistic measures such as mediation, training, and governance reviews as opposed to relying only on the complaints process".

"In our experience, this is a better way of addressing the issues being presented and a more comprehensive approach may result in individual councillors reflecting on the benefits of progressing live complaints," Cllr Legg added.

The letter was highlighted in a report on standards complaints, which is set to be discussed by members of the Standards Committee on Wednesday (14 January).

The report stated that the parish council undertook to discuss the letter at a future meeting, and the Standards Committee will be updated when a response has been received.

Kents Hill and Monkston Parish Council has been approached for comment.

Adam Carey