THREE complaints were made about the conduct of councillors which had to be considered by a standards committee.
Two complaints related to social media posts and the other to comments made at a public meeting.
But Rhodri Guest, the independent chairman of Torfaen Borough Council’s ethics and standards committee, told the full council none of the complaints made under the local resolution scheme required further action.
‘Confidential’
He told councillors: “The hearings are all confidential so that’s all I’m going to say about them.”
Mr Guest, who is one of four appointed independent members of the eight member committee that also includes three borough councillors and one representative from the area’s town and community councils, said it was “pleasing” no complaints made to the local government ombudsman had to be referred to the committee in the past year.
He also said the well-being of councillors, particularly around perceived social media abuse and trolling, was raised by the leaders of the council’s political groups at their annual meeting with the committee.
WLGA Guidance
As a result it asked that guidance produced by the Welsh Local Government Association be shared with councillors who also received guidance on social media during refresher training on the code of conduct held last October.
The committee was reassured group leaders are generally working together with “a shared commitment in trying to ensure good standards of conduct”.
The annual ethics and standards report for 2024/25, which was noted by the full council, also highlighted while attendance at full council is high it “remains inconsistent” at some committee meetings and “needs to improve” for some committees.
Inconsistent use of cameras during hybrid meetings, where some councillors attend in the chamber and others via video link, and attendance for the full duration of meetings was noted during monitoring of meetings.
The democratic services committee will explore how these areas can be improved.
The committee also agreed 31 dispensations which allowed councillors to use the small scheme donation fund to benefit local groups in their wards. Donations to groups councillors are involved in wouldn’t normally be allowed under the code of conduct but the dispensations were granted to “allow members who are particularly active in their ward through committee and club memberships to make donations without infringing the code”.