4. In this Part—
“the 2000 Act” means the Local Government Act 2000(1);
“the 2008 Regulations” means the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008(2);
“allegation” means a written allegation under section 57A(1) of the 2000 Act;
“standards committee”, in relation to a council, means that council’s standards committee or a sub-committee of that committee,
and references to a numbered regulation are to the regulation of that number in the 2008 Regulations.
5.—(1) Where—
(a)under regulation 19 (findings of standards committee), a predecessor council’s standards committee is considering the imposition on a member of the sanction of suspension (or partial suspension); and
(b)but for the council’s dissolution on the reorganisation date, would be minded to suspend the member for a period extending beyond that date,
the standards committee must refer the matter to the Adjudication Panel for England constituted under section 75(1) of the 2000 Act (Adjudication Panels).
(2) In relation to a referral under paragraph (1)—
(a)paragraph (6) of regulation 17 (consideration of reports by standards committee) shall have effect as if for “a reference under paragraph (1)(c)” there were substituted “a referral under regulation 5(1) of the Local Government (Structural Changes) (Further Transitional and Supplementary Provision and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2009”; and
(b)the reference in paragraph (7) of regulation 17 to paragraph (6) shall have effect as a reference to that paragraph as modified in accordance with sub-paragraph (a).
(3) Expressions used in paragraph (1) and in Part 3 of the 2008 Regulations(3) (procedures relating to allegations) have the same meaning in that paragraph as they have in that Part.
6.—(1) This regulation applies where—
(a)14 days before the reorganisation date steps remain to be taken under the 2000 Act by a predecessor council’s standards committee or PMO in relation to an allegation; and
(b)it appears to that committee that it is unlikely that those remaining steps will have been taken before the reorganisation date.
(2) The PMO must, before the reorganisation date, provide the RMO with—
(a)a copy of the allegation;
(b)a summary of the steps taken by the PMO or the predecessor council’s standards committee under the 2008 Regulations in relation to the allegation (“the relevant steps”);
(c)every other document relevant to the allegation or the relevant steps; and
(d)such other information relating to the allegation or the relevant steps as the RMO may reasonably require.
(3) An RMO who receives a copy of an allegation must present it, and the summary mentioned in paragraph (2)(b) to the single tier council’s standards committee at the committee’s first meeting.
(4) The single tier council’s standards committee shall treat the allegation as if it had been received by them under subsection (1) of section 57A of the 2000 Act (written allegations: right to make, and initial assessment); and
(a)if the relevant steps consisted of or included the referral of the matter to the PMO under regulation 13 (referral of matters to monitoring officer for steps other than an investigation), but did not include referral to the PMO under regulation 14 (referral of matters to a monitoring officer for investigation) the single tier council’s standards committee must treat the allegation as if it had been considered by the committee under section 57A(2) of the 2000 Act and referred to the RMO;
(b)if the relevant steps consisted of or included the referral of the matter to the PMO under regulation 14, but did not include referral of the PMO’s report under paragraph (8)(d) of that regulation, the single tier council’s standards committee must treat the allegation as if it were before them for consideration under section 57A(2) of the 2000 Act;
(c)if the PMO’s report had been referred to the predecessor council’s standards committee under regulation 14(8)(d) but the report had not been considered by that committee, the single tier council’s standards committee must treat the report as if it had been made to the committee by the RMO;
(d)if the predecessor council’s standards committee—
(i)had considered the PMO’s report,
(ii)had concluded under paragraph (1)(b) of regulation 17 (consideration of reports by standards committee) that there should be a hearing, but
(iii)had not begun the hearing,
the single tier council’s standards committee must hold a hearing under regulation 18 (hearings by standards committee); and
(e)if—
(i)the circumstances are as stated in sub-paragraph (d)(i) and (ii), and
(ii)the predecessor council’s standards committee had begun a hearing but had not made a finding under regulation 19 (findings of standards committees),
the single tier council’s standards committee must recommence the hearing.
(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4), relevant steps taken by a PMO or a predecessor council’s standards committee shall be treated as relevant steps taken by the RMO or the standards committee of the predecessor council’s related single tier council (as the case may be).
(6) In this regulation—
“PMO” means a predecessor council’s monitoring officer;
“relevant steps”, in relation to an allegation—
except for the purposes of paragraph (4)(e), means the steps taken by the PMO or the predecessor council’s standards committee in relation to the allegation;
for the purposes of paragraph (4)(e), excludes steps taken by the predecessor council’s standards committee under regulation 18 in relation to the allegation; and
“RMO”—
as regards times before the reorganisation date, means the monitoring officer of the preparing or shadow council (as the case may be) that is related to the predecessor council which employs the PMO;
as regards times or relevant steps taken on or after the reorganisation date, means the monitoring officer of the single tier council that is so related.
7.—(1) The dissolution of a predecessor council shall not affect a person’s right on or after the reorganisation date—
(a)to make an allegation in respect of the conduct before that date of a member of a predecessor council; or
(b)to request (under section 57B(2) of the 2000 Act) the review of a decision of a predecessor council under section 57A(2) of that Act that no action should be taken in respect of an allegation about the conduct of a member of that council.
(2) An allegation of the description in paragraph (1)(a) must be made in writing addressed to the predecessor council’s related single tier council at the address published by the single tier council in accordance with paragraph (1) of regulation 10 (written allegations).
(3) A request of the description in paragraph (1)(b)—
(a)must be made in writing addressed as mentioned in paragraph (2), and
(b)may not be made after 30 days beginning with the date of the predecessor council’s notice under section 57A(4).
(4) An allegation or request made in accordance with paragraph (2) or (3) must be considered by the related single tier council’s standards committee; and in relation to any step taken under the 2008 Regulations in connection with the allegation, references in those Regulations to an authority shall, so far as is required for giving effect to the Regulations, be taken to include references to the predecessor council.
2000 c.22. Section 57A, with sections 57B to 57D and section 58, were substituted for section 58 by section 185 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c.28).
See, in particular, regulation 9.