Ethics and Standards Committee

All councils must demonstrate high standards of conduct among members and officers. We have an Ethics and Standards Committee made up of councillors from all groups and four non-council members to ensure that we maintain the highest ethical standards in all our work.

Full Council appoints the Ethics and Standards Committee

Seven city councillors
Three independent committee members
Two Chester District Parish Council representatives

The Ethics and Standard Committee is responsible for:

Promoting high standards of conduct by councillors and officers
Helping councillors observe the Members' Code of Conduct
Advising Council on, and monitoring the Members' Code of Conduct
Dealing with reports from the Standards Board for England and the Monitoring Officer

What is the Standards Board?

The Standards Board is an independent public body appointed and funded by the Government. It oversees the conduct of councillors and will:

Investigate written allegations that a member has broken the Council's Code of Conduct
Use ethical standards officers to investigate alleged misconduct
Advise the Council on matters relating to members conduct

The Ethics and Standards Committee is also responsible for:

Advising Parish Councillors on the Code of Conduct
Overseeing complaints procedure
The Council's "Whistleblowing Policy"

What is the "Whistleblowing Policy?"

This allows employees to report serious wrongdoing or malpractice at work without fear of dismissal, harassment, intimidation or other detrimental action by the city council. It is backed in law by The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. Our policy enables employees to blow the whistle, or disclose their concerns within the council, rather than ignore malpractice or disclose it to organisations outside the city council.

Chairman
Jack McGarva
Independent Member

Councillor Jeanne Storrar
Conservative

Councillor Terri Gray
Conservative

Councillor Hilarie McNae
Conservative

Councillor David Hughes (S)
Labour

Councillor Norman Stainthorp
Labour

Councillor Graham Proctor
Liberal Democrat

Councillor Ken Holding (S)
Liberal Democrat

Anne-Marie Harrop - Independent Member

Roger Parkin (Parish)

Brian Kerr (Parish)

Maureen Brady Independent (w/e 1 June 2007)