The Sub-Committee will elect a Chairman for the meeting.

It was moved by Councillor Alexander, seconded by Councillor Codling and:-

RESOLVED that Councillor Casey be elected as Chairman for the meeting.

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor L Belgrove (Alresford Parish Council) and Shelia Murphy (one of Tendring District Council’s Independent Persons).

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registerable Interests of Non-Registerable Interests, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

In accordance with the terms of reference of the Town and Parish Councils’ Standards Sub-Committee to advise and assist Town and Parish Councils and Councillors to maintain high standards of conduct and to make recommendations to Parish and Town Councils on improving standards or actions.

A recent investigation and generic research has revealed that Town and Parish Councils may benefit from raising awareness and guidance to their Councillors on the use of social media whilst being holders of public office, subject to their Code of Conduct and the Seven Principles of Public Life.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Monitoring Officer (A.1) which made Members aware that a complaint had been received in November 2024, regarding the alleged behaviour of a Councillor (“the Subject Member”), under the local council’s Members’ Code of Conduct.

The Complaint referred to the behaviours of the Subject Member in relation to social media posts that as a result were alleged to have contravened the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Members were told that complaints received relating to the Code of Conduct must be dealt with in accordance with the Council’s formally adopted Complaints Procedure, as set out in Part 6 of the Council’s Constitution (Part 6.19 to 6.34), which had been adopted by the District Council on 26 November 2013 and recently updated in August 2025.

It was reported that the Monitoring Officer had decided that it was reasonable and appropriate that the Complaint merited further investigation. The parties had been informed of this decision and that an internal investigator would be appointed. The Council’s Complaint Procedure set out how an investigation was conducted and that the Investigation Report must contain a conclusion as to whether the evidence supported a finding of failure to comply with the Code of Conduct.

The Sub-Committee was informed that, following a thorough investigation, it had been concluded that there was sufficient evidence to show that the Subject Member, based on a balance of probabilities and the evidence available, through the use of social media had breached Paragraphs 1.1 (respect), 5.1 (disrepute) and 6.1 (use of position) of the Members’ Code of Conduct. The investigation had also concluded that Paragraph 2.2 had not been breached.

All parties had had the opportunity to comment on the Investigation Report and the findings contained therein. The report had been finalised on 6 October 2025.

Members were also made aware that, if an investigation concluded that there was evidence of a failure to comply with the Code of Conduct, then the Council’s Complaints Procedure at Section 7.1 provided the Monitoring Officer with the authority to obtain an informal resolution, in consultation with the Independent Person (IP), where it could reasonably be resolved without the need for a hearing by the Town and Parish Councils’ Standards Sub-Committee (“the Standards Sub-Committee”).

Although the procedure did not require consultation with the IP if the Monitoring Officer considered informal resolution was not an appropriate course of action, and that the matter should be referred for a hearing before the Town and Parish Councils’ Standards Sub-Committee, it was considered that seeking their view was still beneficial prior to making such a decision.

The Sub-Committee was also notified that, in accordance with 7.1.2 of the Council’s Complaints Procedure, the Investigator’s Report was kept confidential until the day of the hearing in order to protect the parties. The Standards Sub-Committee had been scheduled to hold a hearing on 12 February 2026.

However, the Monitoring Officer had recently been made aware the Subject Member had resigned from their position as a Councillor, and therefore consequently,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.