Councillor Code of Conduct and Standards Committee

Our standards committee is responsible for promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by councillors, independent members and co-opted members.

Code of conduct

In 2012 Durham County Council formally adopted a code of conduct for all county councillors in compliance with the Localism Act 2011. We updated the code of conduct on 23 May 2018.

Code of Conduct for Members (PDF, 100 KB)

Role and functions

Our standards committee is primarily responsible for promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by councillors, independent members and co-opted members. It is responsible for advising and arranging relevant training for members relating to the requirements of the code of conduct for councillors. It is also responsible for:

The assessment and/ or referral for investigation and determination of allegations of misconduct.
Dealing with any alleged breaches by a councillor of other relevant council codes and protocols.
The determination of allegations of misconduct on the part of Members and Co-opted Members of the Council and Parish and Town Council Members.
Approving the arrangements under which allegations of a failure to comply with the Council's Code of Conduct for Members can be investigated and decisions on allegations can be made, pursuant to section 28(6) of the Localism Act 2011.
Overseeing the Protocol on Member / Officer Relations.
Approving the appointment of at least one independent person to discharge the functions set out in section 28(7) of the Localism Act 2011.

This broad remit gives the committee the chance to make a much more meaningful, proactive and positive contribution to the work of the council. You can see further details on the committee in article nine of our Constitution of the council.

Committee minutes and reports

You can see all of the reports and minutes from the committee on our Standards Committee page.

Register of disclosable pecuniary and other interests

Under the code of conduct, we are required to maintain a register of certain financial and other interests. Each councillor's register of disclosable and pecuniary interests can be found on their respective web page which you can view on the Your councillors page. All of the documents are also available for inspection at County Hall, Durham, during normal office hours. We also maintain a register of interests for councillors on parish and town councils.