All County Councillors, Town/Community Councillors and Co-opted Members are required to abide by the Code of Conduct for Councillors adopted by their respective councils, which conform to the mandatory requirements of the Model Code of Conduct issued by the National Assembly for Wales.
Complaints relating to an allegation that a County Councillor has breached the Code should be sent to the Ombudsman directly and/or to the Council’s Monitoring Officer (MO).
The Ombudsman also publishes guidance on the PSOW website on how to make a complaint about an elected member and a Factsheet.
The PSOW may decide that the MO should investigate a complaint, or may ask the Councils Ethics & Standards (ES) Committee to make a determination. Options available to the ES Committee include no further action; censure and suspension for up to 6 months.
If the Ombudsman investigates an allegation of a breach of the Code and concludes that a breach has occurred he will forward a report of his findings to the Monitoring officer and to the Councillor concerned.
If the Ombudsman considers that the breach is serious then the matter may be forwarded to the Adjudication Panel for Wales who have the power to disqualify a councillor for up to 5 years.
The Ombudsman’s contact details are as follows:
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
1 Ffordd yr Hen Gae
Pencoed
Bridgend CF35 5LJ
Telephone: 0300 790 0203 (local call rate)
E-mail: ask@ombudsman.wales
Website: www.ombudsman.wales
You may also contact the Council’s Monitoring Officer (MO):
Monitoring Officer
Ceredigion County Council
Penmorfa
Aberaeron
Ceredigion
SA46 0PA