Standards of Conduct

Since the adoption of a new Code of Conduct for Councllors in July 2012, the Governance Committee is now responsible for promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by Councillors, Co-opted Members and Parish and Town Councillors. Its role includes giving the Council advice on adopting a Local Code of Conduct, monitoring the effectiveness of the Code and training Members on the Code.

Membership of the Committee

The Governance Committee is made up of 9 Borough Councillors and is politically balanced to reflect the overall political make up of the Council.  The agenda, reports and minutes of Governance Committee meetings can be viewed on the Council's website.

Register of Councillors' Interests

All Councillors are required to register their 'disclosable pecuniary interests'.  These are any interests of the Councillor or co-opted member or their partner (which means spouse or civil partner, a person with whom the Councillor is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the Councillor is living as if they are civil partners) within the following descriptions:

• Employment, office, trade, profession or vocation
• Sponsorship
• Contracts that are made between the relevant person (or a body in which the relevant person has a beneficial interest) and the relevant authority
• Land within the area of the relevant authority
• Licences to occupy land in the area of the relevant authority for a month or longer
• Corporate tenancies where the landlord is the relevant authority; and the tenant is a body in which the relevant person has a beneficial interest
• Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body where that body (to the Councillor's knowledge) has a place of business or land in the area of the relevant authority; and either:
  the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body; or
  if the share capital of that body is of more than one class, the total nominal value of the shares of any one class in which the relevant person has a beneficial interest exceeds one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class.

To view details of the entries contained on the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests please click the link here.

Complaints about Councillors

The Council’s Monitoring Officer is responsible for considering any complaint that a Member has breached the Members’ Code of Conduct. Any person can make a complaint that a Councillor or Co-opted Member* has breached the Code of Conduct.

*A Co-opted Member is a voting Member of the authority or one of its committees who was appointed to their position rather than elected.

Please note that the Monitoring Officer can only consider complaints about the behaviour of individual Councillors, not about the authority as a whole or the people employed by it.

Complaints must be made in writing (or by email) and submitted to:

The Monitoring Officer
Solihull MBC
Council House
Solihull
B91 3QB

A complaint form can be downloaded for you to complete or alternatively you can express your complaint in a letter which covers the points on the form. You should send copies of any documents which support your complaint.

If you cannot write your complaint in English, the Council can arrange for it to be translated for you.

If you have any questions or difficulties in completing the form please contact the Monitoring Officer on 0121 704 6721 or by email to legal@solihull.gov.uk

Who you can complain about?

The Monitoring Officer can only consider complaints about individual councillors or members. This includes Borough  Councillors as well as Town and Parish Councillors.

The Monitoring Officer cannot consider complaints about the Council as a whole or about decisions made. In these cases you should take the matter up with your local ward councillor or town or parish councillor.

Complaints which cannot be considered by the Monitoring Officer

• Complaints where a member is not named
• Complaints that are not in writing
• Incidents or actions which are not covered by the Code of Conduct
• Incidents that are about a fault in the way an authority has acted. For these complaints see the complaints page
• Complaints about the way in which a Town or Parish Council has acted could be taken up directly with that council (see contact details for town and parish councils)
• Complaints about Council employees (For complaints about employees see the complaints page
• Complaints about incidents which occurred before a member was elected

Before you complain

Note that the Monitoring Officer is unlikely to be able to keep your identity confidential from the person you are complaining about. Details of your complaint will normally be passed to the member you have complained about. If you think there are good reasons why the member should not be informed you should contact the Monitoring Officer.

What happens when you complain

The complaint is considered by the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Political Group Leader of the member complained about (if a member of a political group). The Monitoring Officer will seek additional information/supporting evidence if required.  Where appropriate the Monitoring Officer may also consult an Independent Person.   You will be advised of the outcome of the complaint and if any action is to be taken you will be informed of the details.

The functions of the Independent Person are :-

• The Independent Person must be consulted by the authority before it makes a decision whether to investigate an allegation that a Councillor or co-opted member has breached the Code of Conduct.
• The Independent Person may be consulted by the Council in respect of a complaint that a Councillor has breached the Code of Conduct.
• The Independent Person may be consulted by a Councillor who is subject to an allegation that they have breached the Code of Conduct.

Complaints about the Monitoring Officer

Our Corporate Complaints Procedure covers complaints about:

• the standard of service provided by the Monitoring Officer on behalf of the Governance Committee
• the behaviour of the Monitoring Officer, investigating officers and other staff
• any action or lack of action by the Monitoring Officer or staff affecting an individual or group

It does not cover:

• dissatisfaction with a decision made by the Governance Committee or Monitoring Officer
• Dissatisfaction with the findings of investigations carried out by an investigating officer
• Decisions about whether to refer an allegation to be investigated