A councillor from the recently established Westmorland and Furness Council is currently under investigation following a code of conduct complaint lodged by another council member. The complaint was made just 83 days after the council took over as the local government body for the area.
The complaint, submitted on June 23, 2023, to the council's monitoring officer, remains an active case as the council proceeds with its code of conduct investigation. While the precise details of the complaint have not been disclosed to the public, it is known that the councillor in question had previously served in one of the councils replaced by Westmorland and Furness Council on April 1st this year.
In addition to this ongoing case, Westmorland and Furness Council currently has six other open code of conduct investigations against serving town council members. These complaints have been brought forward by members of the public and fellow councillors.
Westmorland and Furness Council is tasked with investigating and convening a panel to adjudicate and determine the actions in response to any valid code of conduct complaints lodged against council members. This extends to code of conduct complaints made against town and parish councillors within the Westmorland and Furness council area.
Westmorland and Furness council's makeup comprises 65 councillors, with just four representing Penrith since the transition on April 1st. The Penrith councillors are Cllr Patricia Bell and Cllr Mark Rudhall for Penrith North ward, as well as Cllr Virginia Taylor and Cllr Michael Eyles for Penrith South ward.
Westmorland and Furness Council has introduced a change in how it handles code of conduct hearings. Unlike its local predecessor, Eden District Council, code of conduct hearings held by Westmorland and Furness Council will permit the complainant and the councillor under investigation to attend, speak at the hearing, and call witnesses to testify. These hearings will also be open to the public and the press, representing a significant departure from the closed-door, secret panel hearings previously held by Eden Council, where councillors and complainants had no participation rights.
Unlike a civil or criminal court hearing decisions reached at the councils code of conduct hearing by the panel, composed of Westmorland and Furness councillors from the council's standards committee and an independent person, will have no avenue for appeal. Any penalties imposed as a result of the hearing, should the complaint be upheld, will be final.
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