08 November 2002
Local government minister Nick Raynsford announced that as at October 31, 1,601 allegations about the conduct of elected individuals had been received by the Standards Board for England, the body set up to deal with such complaints. Of those, 68 were awaiting investigation, 843 had been referred to officers and 690 had been rejected.
Raynsford told Parliament on November 5 that the figures were 'far in excess of what is expected' by the government.
A source at the ODPM later told Public Finance that the high numbers were 'boosted' by the new code of conduct, which was introduced across all local authorities, including parish councils, last summer.
'There's no doubt the new code [of conduct] has played a part in these startling figures,' the source said.
Of the 843 cases referred to the officers, 777 were still being investigated and 66 had been completed, Raynsford said.
Southport Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh asked Raynsford if he knew the extent to which 'political' complaints had been referred to the Standards Board in the run-up to elections. He said he was concerned that some complaints could be made to discredit candidates in the run-up to ballots, only to be dropped soon after the elections.
Raynsford replied: 'We're trying to deal with these complaints in a way that doesn't open them up to criticism of the type you have mentioned.'
PFnov2002
