Standards Committee - 5 February 2026

The Standards Committee confirmed that the minutes of its 30 October 2025 meeting were correctly recorded, with an amendment removing a reference to Councillor Alvey on page 4. The amended minutes were signed by the Chairman. No declarations of interest were made.

The Head of Governance, Elections and Democratic Services presented the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) complaints report. Members were informed that forthcoming Government legislation on case‑review processes would not apply retrospectively and would take effect only after enactment. A consensus was reached to include a glossary of acronyms in future reports, and the mechanisms for capturing lessons learned from both statutory and non‑statutory complaints were outlined. The Committee noted that Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) complaints are a national issue and agreed to contact Adult Social Care and Together for Families for updates before the next meeting. It was also decided that car‑parking and Penalty Charge Notice complaints fall outside LGSCO jurisdiction, and the Together for Families case that had been referred directly to the Ombudsman would be raised at the next Together for Families Working Group meeting.

A discussion was held after Councillor Tudor raised a question about whether a Governance Officer should have treated the lawful expression of a gender‑critical belief as a potential breach of the Cornwall Council Code of Conduct. The Head of Governance clarified that the complaint remained under the standard assessment process, which is confidential and not for public discussion, and that no decision had yet been made. The Committee reiterated its non‑political nature, the need for prompt and consistent handling of complaints, and the distinction between Code of Conduct standards and legal requirements. Members were reminded that the assessment procedures are reviewed every 12–18 months and will return to the Committee in July 2026; Tudor’s request for alignment with the Supreme Court ruling was noted for future consideration.

The Committee reviewed the current Standards Committee Policy, noting several minor but important updates: inclusion of non‑elected and independent members of other committees, clarified wording in templates, revised complaints procedures, updated contact details, and the addition of liaison requirements with the prescribed person. Typographical errors were identified, the subjective term “good faith” was slated for review, and the section on whistle‑blower protection was to be made more explicit. Following these amendments, the Whistleblowing Policy was formally approved.