Standards Complaints - Guidance Notes

The points listed below will help you decide whether the Standards (Code of Conduct) procedure is the right process for your Complaint: 

Your Complaint must be about:

• one or more named members of South Hams District Council/West Devon Borough Council OR
• a member of one of the Parish/Town Councils within the South Hams or West Devon.

Your Complaint must be about a Councillor's conduct that occurred while the Councillor was in office. Conduct before the Councillor was elected, co-opted or appointed to the Council, or after s/he has resigned or otherwise ceased to be a Councillor, cannot be considered.

Your Complaint must be that the Councillor has (or may have) breached the Code of Conduct.

Copies of the Parish/Town Council Code of Conduct are available from the Clerk to the relevant Parish/Town Council.

If you are unhappy with:

• a decision made by the Council;
• any action taken by the Council or one of its committees;
• a service provided by the Council;
• the Council's procedures; or
• the actions of people employed by the Council then you need to use the Council's Complaints Procedure instead.

If you are unhappy with decisions, actions, or procedures relating to the Parish/Town Council, then please contact the Parish /Town Council Clerk. The District/Borough Council has no powers to consider complaints against Parish/Town Clerks.

It is also important to note that not every Complaint that the Code has been broken will be referred for investigation. The Monitoring Officer must decide whether this is appropriate, and will make this decision using adopted criteria.

If the Council decides not to refer your Complaint for investigation, we will give you the reasons for this decision.