The Chief Officer Legal & Regulatory Services, HR and Corporate Policy presented a report which informed Cabinet of the Information Report for that had been published since its last scheduled meeting.

She explained that the report related to Ombudsman Annual Letter 2022-23 and asked Cabinet to note the contents of the report.

The Deputy Leader asked for clarity to be provided to Members on what the process was when a Member gets referred to the Standards Committee, and how long that process will take.

The Chief Officer Legal & Regulatory Services, HR and Corporate Policy explained that the Members can receive a Code of Conduct complaint which covered alleged breeches of the Code of Conduct which are firstly referred to the ombudsman. The ombudsman will then investigate whether there was actually a breech, and then decide on the severity of the breech whether or not they will carry out the investigation themselves, or refer to the Standards Committee for determination. The process can be very short or can take years in some cases depending on the complexity of the case. A recent case took approximately 18 months to conclude.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet acknowledged the publication of the report referred to in paragraph 3.1 of the report.