1. Which complaints will the Standards Sub Committee normally refer for investigation?
2. Which complaints will the Standards Sub Committee not normally refer for investigation?
3. When will the complaint be normally referred to the Standards Board for investigation rather than be referred to the Council's Monitoring Officer?

1. Which complaints will the Standards Sub Committee normally refer for investigation?
A/ It is serious enough, if proven, to justify the range of sanctions available to the Standards Committee or;
B/ There are individual acts of minor misconduct which appear to be a part of a continuing pattern of behaviour that is unreasonably disrupting the business of the Council and there is no other avenue left to deal with it other than by way of an investigation, for example where there are continuing minor acts of rudeness at Council meetings and the Councillor has already been informally rebuked.
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2. Which complaints will the Standards Sub Committee not normally refer for investigation?
A/ Not considered sufficiently serious to warrant investigation or;
B/ The complaints appear to be simply motivated by malice or is "tit-for-tat" or;
C/ It appears that there can be no breach of the Code of Conduct, for example that it relates to the Councillor's private life or is about dissatisfaction with a council decision or;
D/ There is insufficient information available for a referral or;
E/ The matter occurred so long ago that it would be difficult for a fair investigation to be carried out or;
F/ The same, or similar, complaint has already been investigated and there is nothing further to be gained by seeking the sanctions available to the Standards Committee or the Adjudication Panel or;
G/ It is an anonymous complaint, unless it includes sufficient documentary evidence to show a significant breach of the Code of Conduct.
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3. When will the complaint be normally referred to the Standards Board for investigation rather than be referred to the Council's Monitoring Officer?
A/ When the Standards Committee would have a conflict of interest or where the Council has a vested interest in the outcome of any investigation or;
B/ When the complaint comes from a Senior Officer of the Council such as the Chief Executive or the Monitoring Officer and it would be difficult for the Monitoring Officer to investigate or;
C/ The complaint is about a high profile member of the Council such as the Leader of the Council or the Chairman of the Council and it would be difficult for the Monitoring Officer to investigate or;
D/ Where the complaint involved so many members or is too serious or too complex that it cannot or should not be investigated by the Monitoring Officer.
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