About the Standards Board for England (SBE)
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1 The writer refers the reader to the Standards Board for England web site at http://www.standardsboard.co.uk/ This is the official web site of the Standards Board for England who deal with complaints about councillors.
2 The reader will first encounter a symbol of open hands at the web site. The writer notes that the Labour Government who founded the Standards Board for England believes in open government and accountability. The writer believes that the SBE has failed on both aims.
3 The motto of the SBE is Confidence in Local Democracy. The writer considers that the people of the UK do not need the SBE to exist to have confidence in local democracy. The writer is of the opinion that the SBE undermines confidence in democracy.
4 The SBE states "Confidence in local democracy is a cornerstone of our way of life. It can only be achieved when elected and co-opted members of local authorities are seen to live up to the high standards the public has a right to expect from them."

To whose high standards exactly? The writer considers that the courts, police and the ballot box are the best way to enforce high standards in members of local authorities. The writer is of the opinion that high standards can be maintained amongst local authority members without the SBE.
5 SBE: "The Standards Board for England is responsible for promoting high ethical standards and investigating allegations that members' behaviour may have fallen short of the required standards." In plain English the SBE looks into complaints about councillors of which nearly 90% come to nothing. The SBE enforces and punishes councillors who in its opinion have broken a set of rules.
6 SBE: "Our work is important to everyone who cares about the maintenance of an open and honest system of local governance." The writer considers the same aim can be achieved without the SBE.
7 SBE: "The Standards Board for England was formally established in March 2001. Although set up by Act of Parliament, we are completely independent of government."

The majority of local authorities and councillors functioned to high standards long before the SBE existed in 2001. The writer notes that an Act of Parliament can be reversed. The writer considers that the SBE is not independent of government.
8 SBE: "We do not have any responsibility for the conduct of staff in these authorities, only councillors, members and co-opted members." Why only councillors and not council officers? The writer considers that unless elected members and council officers are on an equal footing then the SBE and the Code of Conduct for Councillors is rendered as worthless in the aim of the "maintenance of an open honest system of local government."
9 SBE: "How is the Standards Board different from the Local Government Ombudsman?"

"The Board's main task is to ensure that standards of ethical conduct are maintained across authorities and to deal with complaints of misconduct against individual members. Unlike the Ombudsman, it does not deal with issues of corporate maladministration nor seek to secure financial recompense for complainants."

 The SBE oversees the conduct of councillors of all authorities down to the Parish Council level. The Local Government Ombudsman does not deal with complaints about Parish Councils. The writer notes that if problems arise in Parish level councils, which lack a body to oversee them, then parish councillors are restricted by the SBE and the Code of Conduct in properly addressing such issues. The writer wonders why the Government has not placed Parish Councils under the remit of the Local Government Ombudsman.
10 SBE: "The Standards Board works with authorities to help them provide support and guidance to members regarding ethical behaviour."

"We also seek out and promote good practice so that authorities may learn from their peers."

"Our policy team answer a range of enquires about the Code of Conduct and the promotion of ethical behaviour but cannot provide information or advice relating to specific cases, existing or potential, as this would compromise our ability to investigate should an allegation be received."

 The writer wonders why the emphasis in the SBE is on investigation and retribution of councillors who are alleged to infringe the Code of Conduct. The writer is aware that most complaints are made about unpaid parish level councillors who may lack the experience and training of their paid counterparts. The writer considers that local democracy would be better served with a more enlightened educational body that served parish councillor needs by education instead of punishing them for every little mistake.
11 SBE: "The Secretary of State appointed a board of nine members in early 2001. They are responsible for setting the organisation's work programme, issuing guidance and setting the criteria for complaints to be passed to an Ethical Standards Officer for in-depth investigation." The SBE board by being appointed by the Secretary of State of the Government in power is hardly independent of Government is it? The writer notes that a small number of people dictates how an organisation of a 120+ strong deals with complaints about approx 100,000 councillors. The writer questions the ethics of a body with such an undemocratic setup dictating the standards of conduct of democratically elected members of local government.
12 The SBE boasts 8 departments: * Referrals Unit * Investigations department * Policy and Guidance Department * Research Department * Communications Department * Legal Department * Finance and IT Department * Human Resources The writer considers the taxpayer is paying for a highly inefficient, over administrated organisation dealing with complaints about councillors of which nearly 90% come to nothing. The SBE is a poor use of public funds.
13 SBE: "The Standards Board for England works with other regulatory organisations to support the ethical framework set out in the Local Government Act 2000. Establishing good, co-operative relationships between regulators is essential to that framework." The opinion of the writer is that the SBE is only interested in complaints about councillors, and where an elected member may be attempting to address a problem within an authority the SBE, rather than involving an appropriate body such as the Audit Commission, will act against the elected councillor.
14 SBE: "The Standards Board for England has produced this publication scheme under section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. The intention of publication schemes is to promote openness and transparency in decision making." The SBE has far reaching powers to access information during the course of its investigations. The writer feels the restrictions on confidentiality placed upon parties involved in investigations can lead to an injustice. The writer is aware of examples where false allegations where made against councillors but the SBE refused to name the source of the allegations. As the present system stands with the SBE the writer considers that investigations can be one sided.
15 The SBE has produced a Corporate Plan at Here The writer has the impression that the SBE is focused upon statistics and figures instead of the job of efficiently dealing with complaints about people whose lives and political careers are disrupted by complaints, of which the majority are rejected. The writer thinks the SBE is inefficient and wastes financial resources that could be diverted to more worthy schemes..
16 The SBE has a complaints procedure Here The writer welcomes feedback on the SBE complaints procedure. The writer highlights that the Parliamentary Ombudsman oversees complaints about the SBE.
17 The SBE model codes of conduct are Here The SBE codes of conduct are slightly different to each other but include the basic similar principles. The writer considers the code as controversial and restrictive in nature. The writer highlights the requirement that members inform on each other and the need to "respect" others as amongst the elements of concern in the codes of conduct.
18 SBE: "If you think a member has broken their authority's Code of Conduct, you can report them to The Standards Board for England." The writer notes that complaints about councillors is the 'meat and drink' of the employees of the SBE. Without complaints the SBE would not exist. The SBE and all authorities have this message somewhere. The writer considers the industry that encourages complaints against councillors, of which nearly 90% come to nothing, is a cancer that local democracy can do without.
19 The SBE process of investigation is Here The writer considers that the SBE is very inefficient and ineffective in its investigative process. The writer has a poor opinion of the SBE process of investigation which the writer will comment on in more detail in another part of the site.
20 The SBE publishes every result of an investigation by its Ethical Standards Officers Here Not only do councillors have to suffer the harrowing investigative process of the SBE but those found not to have breached the Code of Conduct must also suffer by having their details, with the SBE findings, published for the world to see on the SBE web site.
21 SBE facts and figures on the number of complaints received and the results of those complaints are Here Nearly 90% of complaints to the SBE over councillors comes to nothing. Unpaid hard working parish councillors take the brunt of the complaints and SBE investigations that destroys councillor careers and causes unpaid councillors to quit local government due to the trauma they suffered at the hands of the SBE.
22 The SBE has produced various publications Here Like many official bodies the SBE produces huge quantities of paperwork.
23 The SBE holds events Here The writer notes that with political parties, including the Conservatives, and growing legions of councillors calling for the SBE to be abolished that the SBE is using events and roadshows to fight for its survival.
24 The SBE Press Office is Here

The SBE press officers are busy every day fielding enquiries from the media about complained about councillors throughout the UK. The press coverage of complaints against councillors in the writers opinion does nothing to enhance public opinion about councillors or local government, being that it is always of a negative nature.
25 Careers with the SBE is Here The writer notes that the SBE continues to have unrestricted growth on the back of an industry of complaints against councillors. The writer is aware that the SBE doubled in size since 2003 from around 60 to more than 120 staff but councillors continue to suffer for many months whilst they await the outcomes of complaints against them. The writer considers that a career with the SBE, as against private industry, is quite good with 6 weeks holiday and other benefits thrown in for SBE staff.
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