Agenda item

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer (attached herewith).

The Chair invited the Monitoring Officer to present his report.

The Monitoring Officer explained that a complaint had been submitted by a member of the public, Ms Rigby-Faux, in June 2020 alleging that Cllr Stephen Gauntlett had failed to comply with Lewes District Council’s Code of Conduct for Members (the Code).

In line with the Council’s Arrangements for Dealing with Complaints about Councillor Conduct, and in discussion with the Independent Person, it was agreed that the allegations submitted were serious enough to warrant an external investigation. ch&i associates was engaged to conduct the investigation, which entailed extensive interviews and evidence gathering. Both the Complainant and the Subject Member had taken the opportunity to comment on the subsequent report from ch&i associates.

In consequence of the report’s findings, and in line with the Code’s complaint processes, a Standards Hearing Panel had been convened to determine a final decision.

The Monitoring Officer noted that Cllr Gauntlett had requested that the Panel had sight of certain emails which the External Investigator had specifically referenced in his report.  These were reproduced in appendices 3-5 of the agenda pack.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that the day’s hearing would follow the order of proceedings outlined in appendix 6.

The Monitoring Officer clarified that the scope of the Panel’s determination was limited to the conduct of Cllr Gauntlett when acting in his capacity as a councillor, and none other.  In the event that the Panel decided there had been a breach of the Code, a range of sanctions were available to the Panel, as set out in Appendix 7. In considering both the decision, and any subsequent sanctions, the Panel was to take into account the views of the Independent Person.

The Chair invited questions from the Panel. The Panel members confirmed they had no questions for the Monitoring Officer in respect of his report.

The Chair invited the External Investigator, Alex Oram from ch&i associates, to present his report (appendix 1 of the agenda pack).

The External Investigator began by checking that all present had seen and read the 54 page investigation report, and then proceeded to provide a summary explanation of the approach taken for the investigation and the reasoning of the report’s findings. 

The External Investigator explained that a key element of the investigation was to evaluate and identify those elements of the events in question that pertained to and fell within the scope of Lewes District Council’s Code of Conduct for Members.

The External Investigator noted that the report concluded that the majority of Cllr Gauntlett’s actions as chair of Greenhavens Network largely fell outside the scope of the investigation.  However, it was the final view of the External Investigator that there were occasions when the behaviour and conduct of the Subject Member did bring him within scope of Code, most notably in those instances set out in sections 5.3 and 5.4 of the report.

In conclusion, the report recommended that Cllr Gauntlett be found to have failed to comply with paragraph 6(a) of the Council’s Code because, in emails he sent on 3 April, 1 May and 30 May 2020, he sought to improperly use his position as Chair of the Council to influence an internal dispute within the Greenhavens Network in a manner that advantaged him and disadvantaged Ms Rigby-Faux, but that no other aspects of Ms Rigby-Faux’s complaint should be upheld.

Following questions from the Panel, the External Investigator confirmed it was his understanding that Ms Rigby-Faux had continued to work after her alleged breakdown, and noted that Ms Rigby-Faux was not the focus of the investigation.

In addition, the External Investigator advised the Panel that, while Mr Frost had denied that Cllr Gauntlett’s communications had influenced his decision to make Ms Rigby-Faux’s post as Community Liaison Officer redundant, the Panel should consider the context and come to its own conclusion.

The Panel noted the high quality of the report and thanked the External Investigator and ch&i associates for their work.

The Chair invited the complainant, Ms Karen Rigby-Faux, to make her representation to the Panel. 

The Complainant, Ms Rigby-Faux, outlined her role at the Greenhavens Network and involvement with the national lottery bid, and her view of the deterioration in communications in the period February to June 2020. The Complainant noted that the report had found no instances of improper behaviour on her part. She also outlined her concerns over the circumstances and the public explanation of her redundancy. The Complainant asked the Panel to recognise the findings of the report, the loss of job and severe anguish she felt she had experienced and outlined the sanctions that she would like to see imposed.

The Complainant concluded by expressing her gratitude that the investigation had taken place and thanked the external investigator for his work and the Panel for providing the opportunity for her to speak.

The Chair invited the Panel to ask any questions they had for the complainant. There were no questions.

The Chair invited the Subject Member, Cllr Gauntlett, to make his representation to the Panel.

Cllr Gauntlett began with an overview of his early involvement with the Greenhavens Network, at which point he praised the work of the Complainant. He thanked the External Investigator for his work in tackling a complex situation to produce a clear report. He focussed on providing his explanation for the three emails quoted in the findings and recommendation of the external report. 

The Chair invited final questions from the Panel.

After confirming that the Panel had no further questions, the hearing moved into closed session.