If you are a parish councillor anywhere in England – or any friend or member of your family is – then THIS CASE SHOULD CONCERN YOU and we really need your help and support.

This case will clarify how a council should deal with complaints against a Councillor. The outcome is likely to have implications for town and parish councillors throughout England.

We need to raise £60,000. Any contribution you can make will help.

COMPLAINTS: LOCALISM ACT OR GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES?

This Judicial Review - to be heard on 1 March 2018 - seeks to clarify whether a council may deal with complaints against a Councillor by a process other than that as outlined in the Localism Act 2011. The outcome of this Judicial Review is likely to have implications for town and parish councillors throughout England.
The Judicial Review will consider whether it is lawful for parish councils to use local Grievance Procedures to investigate and determine complaints and to ultimately impose measures against councillors; or whether a councillor’s conduct must always and only be considered according to the terms of the Localism Act 2011.

THE LAW

The Localism Act 2011 states that any questions concerning a parish councillor’s conduct should be addressed by the Monitoring Officer of their next tier District, Borough, County or Unitary authority using its agreed code of conduct framework.
However, in recent years there have been a growing number of cases where parish councils have passed judgement on the actions of their own elected members, independent of the Monitoring Officer and/or the Localism Act 2011. They have argued that they can investigate and place restrictive measures on councillors (e.g. ban them from committees, etc.) by treating staff complaints as internal grievances and not as code of conduct matters.
The relevant employment law is clear in that grievances can only be raised by staff members against other employees or against the council itself as the member of staff’s employer. Individual councillors don’t fall into either of these categories.
Councillors' conduct is governed, not by employment law, but by their council's Code of Conduct, as described in the Localism Act 2011. This is a fundamental democratic principle.

TWO INNOCENT COUNCILLORS HAVE BEEN BANNED IN LEDBURY

In the Herefordshire town of Ledbury, town councillors, Liz Harvey and Andrew Harrison, have been 'banned' by their fellow councillors for more than 18 months for allegedly bullying and harassing staff. This decision was arrived at by a group of their fellow councillors using the council’s staff grievance process.
Liz and Andrew referred the serious allegations made against them to Herefordshire Council’s Monitoring Officer so that the staff complaints could be investigated via the proper legal process.

An independent investigation into the two councillors' conduct was commissioned by the monitoring officer and was carried out by councillor code of conduct experts, Hoey Ainscough Associates and Wilkin Chapman LLP. The outcome was that the Monitoring Officer determined that there had been no breach of the code by Liz or Andrew.

Even so, Ledbury Town Council claimed that the outcome of Herefordshire Council’s investigation had no bearing on the Town Council’s decision as it had been undertaken in relation to their role as employer.

HOW:

Liz Harvey's Judicial Review challenges:

•The Town Council’s powers to determine complaints about Councillors through their grievance procedure instead of through the code of conduct procedure set out in the Localism Act 2011;

•The fact that the Council’s actions, if lawful, were an unjustified interference with her rights as a democratically elected Councillor; and

•The way in which the procedure that the council followed was undertaken namely, that it was unfair.

Liz believes that since the abolition of the Standards Boards under the Localism Act 2011, all issues relating to the behaviour of a councillor must be referred to the senior authority for determination following a fair and objective process.

Ledbury Town Council argues that it can impose even the most serious and restricting measures against councillors using a Grievance Process, regardless of the Monitoring Officer's opinion.

The Judicial Review will determine who is correct.

NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS:

An important aspect of the case is that Ledbury Town Council states that it has been following advice from Herefordshire Association of Local Councils and from National Association of Local Councils (NALC).  Accordingly, NALC’s view is that a council may deal with complaints against a Councillor by a process other than that as outlined in the Localism Act 2011.

For as long as parish councils continue to believe they can make their own members subject to staff grievance procedures, what has happened to Liz and Andrew in Ledbury could happen to any parish councillor.

The key question is whether it is right that parish councillors should be instrumental in decisions relating to their fellow councillors’ actions, or whether difficult questions of conduct be should adjudicated by the 'principal authority', as described in the Localism Act 2011.

WHEN:

The decision of the High Court in Bristol on 1 March 2018 may represent a landmark in clarifying the appropriate process for the adjudication of parish and town councillor conduct.

If Liz wins her case, the judgement should clarify that the only route by which a councillor’s conduct may be investigated, and by which any restrictive measures can be applied, is via the Monitoring Officer as specified in the Localism Act 2011.
This outcome will protect all parish councillors from being judged locally by their peers.

It will also give future councillors the assurance and confidence that they will be treated in accordance with the appropriate law in offering their time and skills to the communities they serve.

YOU:

Can you help us fund this legal action? Liz has put every penny of her savings into fighting this case and the wider point of law underpinning it.
Every and any donation you can offer will be of help.
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