The Standards Committee (Further Provisions) (England) Regulations 2009

Assessment of allegations by Standards Board

9.—(1) This regulation applies where a direction under section 57D(1) of the Act is in force and specifies the Standards Board as the body to whom relevant allegations and relevant requests should be referred.

(2) Section 57A(4), and section 57C(2) and (3) of the Act(1) shall apply as if, for references in those subsections to “the standards committee”, there were substituted references to “the Standards Board”.

(3) Section 58 of the Act (allegations referred to Standards Board)(2) shall apply to an allegation referred by a standards committee to the Standards Board under section 57D(1)(b) of the Act, as it applies to an allegation referred under section 57A(2)(b) of the Act, but with the modifications set out in paragraph (4) of this regulation.

(4) The modifications to section 58 of the Act mentioned in paragraph (3) are that—

(a) subsection (1) shall apply as if for paragraph (c) of that subsection, there were substituted “refer the allegation to the monitoring officer of the authority (or, if appropriate, of another authority), to be dealt with as if it had been referred by a standards committee under section 57A(2)(a)”; and

(b) subsections (3) and (4) are omitted.

(5) Regulations 11, 13, 14 and 16 of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008(3) shall apply in respect of matters referred to monitoring officers under section 58(1)(c) of the Act as modified by paragraph (4) of this regulation, as they apply to matters referred under section 57A(2) or (3) of the Act, with the modifications set out in paragraph (6) of this regulation.

(6) The modifications mentioned in paragraph (5) are that—

(a) Regulation 11 (modification of duty to give written summary) shall apply as if—

(i) references in that regulation to “the standards committee” were references to “the Standards Board”; and

(ii) the references to section 57C(2) of the Act were references to that section as applied by paragraph (2) of this regulation.

(b) Regulation 13 (referral of matters to monitoring officer for steps other than investigation) shall apply as if—

(i) the reference in paragraph (1)(a) to “a standards committee” and the references in paragraphs (3)(c), (5) and the first reference in paragraph (6) to “the standards committee”, were each a reference to “the Standards Board”;

(ii) the reference in paragraph (1)(a) to “section 57A(2)(a) or 57A(3) of the Act” were a reference to section 58(1)(c) of the Act as modified by paragraph (4)(a) of this regulation;

(iii) paragraph (2) were omitted; and

(iv) for paragraph (4)(c)(i) there were substituted “where the matter was referred to the monitoring officer under section 58(1)(c) of the Act, to the Standards Board with a copy also being sent to the standards committee”.

(c) Regulation 14 (referral of matters to monitoring officer for investigation) shall apply as if—

(i) the references in paragraph (1) to section 57A(2)(a) and 57A(3) were a reference to section 58(1)(c) as modified by paragraph (4)(a) of this regulation;

(ii) the first reference to “the standards committee” in paragraph (2) were a reference to “the Standards Board”; and

(iii) at the end of paragraph (8)(c) there were added “and to the Standards Board”.

(d) Regulation 16 (references back from monitoring officer) shall apply as if—

(i) after the reference in paragraph (1) to section 57A(2)(a), there were inserted “or section 58(1)(c)”;

(ii) for the words “refer that matter back to the standards committee concerned” in paragraph (1) there were substituted “refer the matter to, or back to, the Standards Board”;

(iii) in the full-out after paragraph (1)(a)(ii), after “section 57A(2) of the Act” there were inserted “or the Standards Board when it made its decision under section 58(1)(c) of the Act”;

(iv) in paragraph (1)(a)(iii) after the words “standards committee” there were inserted “or Standards Board, as the case may be,”;

(v) for paragraph (2) there were substituted “If a matter is referred to, or back to, the Standards Board under this regulation, the Standards Board shall make a decision as if the allegation had been made to the standards committee under section 57A(1) of the Act”; and

(vi) for paragraph (4) there were substituted “Where the Standards Board considers a matter referred to it, or back to it, under this regulation, it may direct that the matter should not be referred to it a further time.”.

(1)

Sections 57A and 57C were inserted by section 185 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c. 28).

(2)

Section 58 was substituted by section 185 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

(3)

SI 2008 No. 1085.