9. Standards Hearing Sub-Committee Stage 5
Meetings of the Hearing Sub-Committee will generally be held in public unless the Subject Member persuades the hearing that there are legitimate reasons for holding the Hearing in confidential session.
The Hearing Sub-Committee will be drawn from members of the Standards Committee as detailed in the Council’s Constitution. There is a written procedure to be followed by the Hearing Sub-Committee which is contained at Appendix 4
To seek to protect the principles of natural justice, no member may sit on a Hearing Sub-Committee if they sat on the Assessment Sub-Committee that considered the complaint initially, save where through conflicts of interest it is not otherwise possible to convene a panel of members to sit.
The Independent Investigator will present their report to the Hearing Sub-Committee and the Subject Member, the Complainant and Independent Person will be able to make representations to the Hearing Sub Committee members before the Sub-Committee decides whether there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct and what, if any, sanctions are appropriate.
Decision notices from hearings are published on the Council’s website.
Normally a Standards Hearing Sub-Committee will be held within six weeks of the outcome from the preceding stage.