More than 60 complaints filed about Sheffield councillors

The figures include both parish and city councillors and were revealed in a recent Sheffield Council report prepared for consideration by the audit and standards committee in a meeting this week.

It showed there were 22 complaints received in 2019, the following year saw 31 complaints lodged and so far this year there have been 10 complaints.

In the report, Stephen Bower, internal audit and risk manager, said: “The number of complaints received by the council against members is relatively small and many of these fall outside the remit of the process and as such are dealt with quickly and efficiently. The resources used are appropriate, however consideration is being made to business continuity arrangements to ensure that the process can continue should the current individual not be available.

“It was noted that in all cases the complaints except for those in the Covid pandemic period had been responded to on a prompt basis.”

A backlog of complaints caused by Covid-19 has “for the most part” now been dealt with and only one more complex case is ongoing.

Officers said complex cases were uncommon and these fall into four categories which are cases: involving more than one councillor, between councillors, where a number of different allegations are made or by a number of parties and which cover a long period of time.

All elected members across Sheffield must adhere to a code of conduct which, among other things, includes being: selfless, honest and acting with integrity and accountable to the public for their actions.

Anyone can make a complaint against a councillor here: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/your-city-council/councillors