Councillor complaints - West Surrey Council

The West Surrey Shadow Authority has agreed arrangements for dealing with allegations of misconduct by councillors of West Surrey Shadow Authority. The Code of Conduct for Members is set out in West Surrey Shadow Authority Constitution (Part 5-1) and is attached at Annex A.

The arrangements for dealing with complaints are set out in the Standards Procedure Rules are also set out in the West Surrey Shadow Authority Constitution (Part 4-5) and are attached at Annex B.

If you believe that a Shadow Authority Councillor (“Member”) has breached the Member Code of Conduct, you should report it, in writing, to the Monitoring Officer using the form below.

If you have questions for the Monitoring Officer, please contact them using the following details:

Email: monitoring.officer@westsurrey.gov.uk

Guidance for submitting a councillor complaint online

This online form is for making a formal complaint that a West Surrey Shadow Councillor has broken the Code of Conduct for Members (‘the Code’).

Before completing this form please note the following:

  • The Code only applies to Shadow Councillors of West Surrey Shadow Authority when they are acting as a councillor - other complaints cannot be investigated. 
  • We can only consider a complaint about a breach of the Code. This means
    • We cannot consider complaints which are about other parts of the constitution.
    • We cannot consider complaints which are just about the Seven Principles of Public Life as set out in Appendix A to the Code.
  • Not all complaints are investigated, even if they allege a breach of the code. For example, we do not investigate minor complaints or ones which are more accurately described as a complaint about the council rather than the conduct of a Councillor.
  • County, District / Borough and Parish Councils have their own codes of conduct, so if the Member is acting as a Councillor in another capacity and is not a Shadow Authority Councillor then you should send your details of your complaint to the relevant Council’s Monitoring Officer.

Additional Help

Complaints must be submitted in writing. We can accept complaints by email to monitoring.officer@westsurrey.gov.uk However, in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, we will make reasonable adjustments to assist you if you have a disability that prevents you from making your complaint in writing. 

If you need any support in completing this form, please let us know as soon as possible.

Using your information

We will use the information you give us to deal with your complaint and to promote high standards of conduct within West Surrey Shadow Authority. Information you give us may be passed where necessary to the Member concerned, any investigator, the Standards Committee, any Independent Person we use to advise us about standards issue and any witnesses.

Before completing this form, you must read the Standard Procedure Rules – Annex B (Part 4–5) and the Code of Conduct – Annex A (Part 5–1).

You will be required to identify the specific paragraph(s) of the Code of Conduct that you believe have been breached and provide details of how the councillor's conduct constitutes a breach of those provisions.

Please make a note of the relevant paragraph numbers before completing the form, as each page of the online form will time out after 30 minutes.