Blog: Friday 6th February - Browne Jacobson: New Powers to Tackle Councillor Misconduct: Are You Ready?

New Powers to Tackle Councillor Misconduct: Are You Ready?

The UK Government has confirmed reforms to strengthen the local authority member code of conduct and standards regime in England. After years of criticism that the current system lacks enforcement power, councils may finally gain the tools they need to address serious misconduct.

Why Change Is Needed

Under the existing framework established by the Localism Act 2011, councils have only limited sanctions for misconduct, with no ability to suspend councillors or withhold their allowances even where breaches have been found. This leaves statutory officers in very challenging situations where their ability to protect employees, officers, other elected officials, or members of the public is severely limited.

The result can be bullying, harassment, and unethical behaviour going seemingly unpunished, eroding public trust. The perception that meaningful action can't be taken is also damaging to local authorities.

What's Changing?

The Government has outlined plans to legislate for a comprehensive overhaul, including a mandatory national code of conduct, formal standards committees in every authority, and crucially, the power to suspend councillors for up to six months for serious breaches.

Other key reforms include:

• The ability to withhold official allowances during suspension for the most serious cases
• Interim suspensions where criminal investigations are pending
• A "two strikes" disqualification rule for repeat offenders suspended twice within five years
• Dedicated support for both complainants and respondents during investigations
• A national appeals body to ensure consistency and impartiality

Back to the Future?

The new reforms reintroduce many key features of the pre-2011 system: a national code of conduct, mandatory standards committees, the ability to suspend councillors, and an independent national oversight mechanism were all present previously and now appear to be returning – albeit not in identical form. The exact details remain unknown – we await sight of the proposed legislation before we can have certainty on how these changes will be delivered.

What Happens Next?

With the consultation complete and ministers appearing committed to reform, the focus now shifts to implementation. If these reforms are successfully implemented, expect a period of adjustment, with potentially a spike in complaints as people test the new system, as well as additional time, resource and financial pressures on councils as they implement the new requirements and ensure everyone is sufficiently trained.

Are you prepared? Monitoring officers, standards committees, and council leaders should start planning now. From resourcing investigations to training committee members, implementation will require careful consideration and forward planning.

Without sight of the exact legislation, there remain unknowns. However, we strongly advise officers to start conversations now about how your authority will adapt to this strengthened regime.

We also expect the Government to reach out to stakeholders to discuss implementation. We encourage all local authorities to engage with this process: whilst data suggests strong support for some proposed changes, agreement levels for other proposals being taken forward was lower.

For more information about the changes, please see here.

Helen Gill, Principal Associate, Browne Jacobson.