Agenda and minutes

Report of the Director of Governance & Digital Services (HP/19/1) attached.

DECISION NOTICE

BREACHES OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT HAVE BEEN FOUND

ACTION REQUIRED

Reference:                             DN/19/1

Complainants:                       Sarah Allen

                                                Michelle Smitham

Subject Member:                  Cllr. Terry Napper    

Summary of Complaint

Complaints were received from Sarah Allen and Michelle Smitham that the Subject Member had breached the Authority’s Code of Conduct by referring, at a public Authority meeting on 28 June 2019, to firefighters as “firemen” and giving the listener the impression that female firefighters were not able to be fluid or flexible in the way they worked.

Decision and Action

That, for the reasons a set out in this Notice, the Subject Member has breached the approved Code of Conduct for the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Authority.

That, by way of sanctions:

      1.      the Subject Member is required to draft a letter of apology to the Authority addressing the issues that were the subject of the complaint.  The form of words for the apology to be agreed with the Monitoring Officer and to be appended to this Decision Notice;

      2.      The Subject Member is required to draft letters of apology to each of the complainants, addressing the issues that were the subject of the complaint.  The form of words for the apology to be agreed with the Monitoring Officer;

      3.      that the Subject Member be required to undertake diversity and inclusion training (to be arranged by the Monitoring Officer) to assist the Subject Member in maintaining the high standards of behaviour required by the Authority.

Breaches of the Code found

The Subject Member:

      1.      failed to conduct himself in a manner consistent with the Authority’s duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by its Members, contrary to paragraph 4.1(1) of the Code;

      2.      failed to treat others with courtesy or respect, contrary to paragraph 4.1(2) of the Code;

      3.      treated others in a way that amounted to, or may reasonably have been construed as, unlawful discrimination, contrary to paragraph 4.2(3) of the Code; and

      4.      conducted himself in a manner so as to give a reasonable person the impression of bringing his office (but not the Authority) into disrepute, contrary to paragraph 4.2(11) of the Code.

Matters Considered

In deciding the complaint, the Hearings Panel had regard to:

·         the report of the independent Investigating Officer;

·         submissions made at the hearing by both the Subject Member and his supporter;

·         views of the Authority’s Independent Person.

Findings of Fact

The Hearing Panel applied the civil test of the balance of probabilities when determining whether the Code of Conduct had been breached i.e. would a reasonable person, in possession of all of the facts and looking at those facts objectively, consider it more likely than not that the Code had been breached.

The basis for the complaints was that, at the Authority meeting on Friday 28 June 2019, whilst discussing options for consultation the Subject Member began his contribution by saying “At Glastonbury I was talking, and I will say this, firemen”.  The Subject Member is then said to have continued to justify  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.