03 - Report - Cointraive & Glendaruel Community Council
Argyll and Bute Council · 4 March 2025
Back to Community Council Conduct Review Panel — 4 March 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY COUNCIL CONDUCT REVIEW PANEL LEGAL AND REGULATORY SUPPORT 16 January 2025 Colintraive & Glendaruel Community Council – Complaint Referrals 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The Council has received 2 complaints in relation to the conduct of Colintraive & Glendaruel Community Council. As the complaints refer to the conduct of the whole Community Council they have been referred to a Conduct Review Panel. 1.2 This report provides information on the detail contained within the complaints, the response to the complaints from the Community Council and detail on the procedure to be followed by the Panel in terms of dealing with the referral.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY COUNCIL CONDUCT REVIEW PANEL LEGAL AND REGULATORY SUPPORT 16 January 2025 Colintraive & Glendaruel Community Council – Complaint Referrals 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 2 formal referrals under paragraph 13.2.1 of the Scheme for the Establishment of Community Council in Argyll and Bute 2022 have been submitted to the Community Council Liaison Officer. These complaints have been referred to a Conduct Review Panel as they refer to the conduct of half or more of the members of Colintraive & Glendaruel Community Council. 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 The Community Council Conduct Review Panel is asked to consider the content of the complaints which have been submitted. 4.0 PROCEDURE 4.1 Members of the Panel are required to confirm that they have sufficient information before them to reach a view on the grounds of the referrals and to discuss and determine the matter in accordance with the Note of Procedure, which is attached at appendix 1. 5.0 DETAIL 5.1 On the 19 November 2024 the Community Council Liaison Officer received two complaints from Mr David Eaglesham which relate to the conduct of Colintraive & Glendaruel Community Council Community Council. 5.2 The first complaint, dated 10 June 2024 and attached at appendix 2, alleges that the Community Council failed to “Inform the community of the work and decisions of the community council by posting agendas and minutes of meetings in public places, such as libraries and notice boards…” 5.3 This first complaint was originally submitted to and considered by the Community Council at its meeting held on 10 June 2024. In response to this complaint, the Community Council agreed that the AGM be cancelled and rescheduled to follow the next Community Council meeting, scheduled for Monday, 9 September. The minutes of this meeting can be found at appendix 3, the associated decision can be found next to AOCB. 5.4 Subsequent to this Mr Eaglesham advised the Community Council Liaison Officer, on 19 November 2024, that the first complaint outlined in paragraph 5.2
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was not acknowledged nor referred to the Community Council Liaison Officer. This, second, complaint can be found at appendix 4. 5.5 The Scheme for Establishment of Community Councils directs that ‘All complaints shall be dealt with by the community council in the first instance, unless the complaint concerns the conduct of the community council as a whole, or the conduct of half or more of the community council members’ (13.2.1) or ‘the complaint concerns the response of the community council to a previous complaint’ (13.2.3). 6.0 Community Council response 6.1 The Community Council were sent the details of the 2 complaints by e-mail on 20 November 2024 and were asked to respond to the complaints by 18 December 2024. A copy of the response, received on the 11 December 2024, from the Community Council is attached at appendix 5. 7.0 OPTIONS 7.1 On considering the referral, the Review Panel, after dealing with any preliminary matters, should consider the information provided by the complainant and the responses provided by the Community Council. 7.2 The Review Panel must, thereafter, decide whether the Community Council, on the balance of probabilities, has failed to comply with and abide by the terms of: - the Scheme for Establishment of Community Councils (attached at Appendix 6), - the constitution and Standing Orders of Colintraive & Glendaruel Community (attached at Appendix 7 and Appendix 7.1) and/or - the Code of Conduct for Community Council Members (attached at Appendix 8). 7.3 To help the Review Panel in their consideration of the complaints the Argyll and Bute Council/Argyll and Bute Communty Council Best Practice Agreement 2022 and Good Practice Guidance for Local Authorities and Community Councils is attached at Appendix 9 and 10. 7.4 Should the Review Panel determine that the Community Council’s behaviour was in breach of any of the aforementioned documents, the Panel must either impose sanction(s) as set out in clauses 13.5.1 to 13.5.3 of the Scheme of Establishment for Community Councils, outlined below: Paragraph 13.5.1 censure the member(s) in question. 13.5.2 issue a formal written warning to the member(s) in question. 13.5.3 suspend the member(s) from the community council for up to 3 months.
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7.4 Should the Panel consider that the sanctions set out in clauses 13.5.1 to 13.5.3 of the Scheme to be inappropriate or insufficient the Panel must consider imposing the sanction(s) set out in clauses 13.12.3 to 13.12.7 of the Scheme for Community Councils, outlined below: 8.0 CONCLUSION 8.1 The Review Panel is asked to consider the substance of the referrals and take action as they deem appropriate. For further information contact: Stuart McLean, Committee Manager, stuart.mclean@argyll-bute.gov.uk (01436) 658717 Paragraph 13.12.3 suspend the member(s) in question from the relevant community council for up to one year. 13.12.4 remove the member(s) in question from the relevant community council, either with or without a period of disqualification under 13.12.5. 13.12.5 disqualify an individual from sitting on any community council within the Argyll and Bute Council area for such period as the Panel shall decide, up to a maximum of the remainder of the relevant community council’s term or 2 years, whichever is the greater. 13.12.6 13.12.7 request the subject of the complaint to participate in mediation with the complainer (without prejudice to the Panel’s ability to impose one of the other remedies set out in clause 13.12 if that mediation is unsuccessful) or in circumstances where it appears that the whole community council, or a significant proportion of its members, have engaged in gross misconduct, recommend that Argyll and Bute Council suspend or dissolve the community council under clause 14.
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APPENDICES Appendix Detail Pages Appendix 1 Complaints Review Panel Procedure Note 9 – 10 Appendix 2 Complaint one (June 2024) 11 - 12 Appendix 3 Community Council minute 10 June 2024 13 – 18 Appendix 4 Complaint two (November 2024) 19 – 20 Appendix 5 Community Council Response 21 – 22 Appendix 6 Community Council Scheme of Establishment 2022 23 - 56 Appendix 7 Colintraive & Glendaruel Signed Constitution 57 – 64 Appendix 7.1 Colintraive & Glendaruel Standing Orders 65 – 68 Appendix 8 Code of Conduct for Community Council Members 69 – 72 Appendix 9 Best Practice Agreement 2022 73 – 92 Appendix 10 Good Practice Guidance for Local Authorities and Community Councils 93 - 162