Statements made at meetings and elsewhere have suggested complaints made by residents in respect of the Code of Conduct and concerns or ‘challenges’ raised with the External Auditor (following recognized and legitimate mechanisms) are ‘vexatious’ and a misleading narrative has been allowed to develop.
Such complaints are fully assessed and are only investigated if they merit investigation. Updates have suggested the complaints have been a ‘complete waste of time and money’. It has also been suggested there have been no matters upheld as the result of complaints which have been vexatious.
At the above meeting, a local resident highlighted the below and asked the following questions of the Chair during the public participation session –
Posts on Debden residents group Facebook (Administered by a Parish Councillor) and a previous update from our District Councillor refer to complaints being a waste of time, money and vexatious. However, a Code of Conduct investigation (2022) on behalf of Uttlesford District Council upheld –
- A Parish Councillor brought their office or the Council into disrepute.
- A Parish Councillor failed to disclose a prejudicial interest.
- Actions by the Council were done to circumvent legislation. (Covert Camera deployment on Byway 37, the resident advised against this at the time).
The External Auditor has upheld objections in respect of –
- A lack of transparency in budgetary control and spending.
- A lack of adherence to financial regulations in respect of expenditure/ tendering/ contracts.
Further breaches have been reported by the External Auditor for 2021/22. The Parish Council received this report several days before the meeting on 29th March 2023.
How can these therefore be vexatious ? Would the Parish Council like to correct the record in the interests of transparency, accuracy and acknowledge if they had acted correctly the investigations would have been unnecessary ?
The Chair refused to comment on the above official findings or even acknowledge them. Instead she referred to the additional Public Information Report issued by the External Auditor for Certifying exemption from a limited assurance review for the year ended 31 March 2021 where the exemption criteria were not satisfied. It was pointed out to the Chair that this was an additional matter and had nothing to do with the questions asked.
It was also pointed out by the resident that, had the correct procedures/ legislation been followed by the Parish Council [residents raised concerns/ advised at the time] the complaints and investigations would have been unnecessary.
Why are such matters being hidden from Debden residents ?
Almost £20,000 shown as legal/ HR advice spent in the last 18 months relates to a personnel matter, not complaints !