Independent Person (Standards)

About the Borough

This is a Joint Appointment to the London Borough of Sutton and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

About the Service and Team

As an Independent Person, you will not be a council employee. However, you will work closely with the Monitoring Officer, their deputies, and colleagues in reviewing Code of Conduct complaints.

A small allowance is payable by Kingston Council and reasonable expenses will be paid by Sutton Council in the discharge of this role. As technically a voluntary position, you will not be expected to work to a specific schedule but will correspond with the Monitoring Officer and other officers via phone and/or email when your advice is sought.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

The Independent Person is a role required by law to support Monitoring Officers in Local Government and provide an independent view on Code of Conduct complaints submitted against members of the council (elected councillors). This role is being jointly advertised to support the Monitoring Officers in the London Boroughs of Kingston and Sutton.

Both Councils aim to maintain a small panel of independent persons, typically 2 or 3 at any one time, both to allow for any conflicts of interest and to share the workload. The expected average time commitment is dependent on the number of complaints received however it is anticipated the weekly commitment would be no more than 1 or 2 hours where complaints have been received. There may, on rare occasions, be a requirement to attend a standards hearing, which usually take place during the day and may take several hours, however these are rare at both authorities.

Key aspects of the role include:

• Providing timely advice to the Monitoring Officer in considering allegations that a councillor/co-opted member has breached the relevant council’s Code of Conduct;
• Sometimes sharing your views on a complaint with the councillor against whom it has been submitted;
• If necessary, attending meetings of the relevant Council in relation to a complaint investigation and outcome. Some of these meetings may be held in public;
• be involved in disciplinary matters in relation to the dismissal of the councils’ statutory officers.

It is essential that you:

• Are familiar with the Seven Principles of Public Life (the “Nolan Principles”)
• Understand the role of the Independent Person and are familiar with both Council’s procedure for handling complaints against elected members
• Are a good communicator with questioning skills
• Are inquisitive, open-minded and non-judgemental

It is desirable that you:

• Have an understanding of the pressures and constraints of serving as an elected or co-opted member of a democratically accountable public body
• Have experience of mediation or dispute resolution (previous experience as an Independent Person welcomed)
• Are qualified or experienced in legal or governance matters
• Have an understanding of the arrangements for dealing with Councillor complaints, the Councillors Code of Conduct and the ethical governance provisions of the Localism Act 2011
• Live and/or work in the Kingston / Sutton area

An Independent Person cannot:

• be a current or former (within the last 5 years) councillor, co-opted member or officer of either Kingston or Sutton Council or
• be a relative, or close friend of an individual who fulfils the criteria in the bullet point above
• be disqualified from standing for election as a councillor, ie been adjudged bankrupt or been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for a period of not less than three months in the past five years
• currently have and must not enter into any contractual relations with the council under which he/she will gain personally

Our Offer to You

This is a voluntary position, with reimbursement available for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses such as travel.

Application Process

To apply, please complete the online application form, outlining your relevant experience for the role.

If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Beaumont, Corporate Head, Democratic & Electoral Services (Democratic.Services@Kingston.gov.uk)

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.