Will the Minister make a statement on the 49 per cent increase in Code of Conduct complaints made to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales with regard to community councils from 2014-15 to 2015-16, and advise as to how he will work with town and community councils, One Voice Wales and other organisations to seek to ensure this number is reduced for 2016-17 and beyond?
It is disappointing there has been an increase in community and town council complaints during 2015-16 after a small fall the previous year. Scrutiny of the figures shows a disproportionate number of complaints were associated with a small number of councils. The code of conduct guides councillors on appropriate standards, and includes an obligation not to make frivolous, vexatious or malicious complaints. The Welsh Government has recently made a number of amendments to the ethical framework which the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales acknowledges in his latest annual report will improve the effectiveness of the framework and reduce the number of complaints. Statutory responsibility for arranging training on the code of conduct for councillors, including community councillors, rests with local standards committees. In practice, this training is normally provided by monitoring officers. One Voice Wales also offers training on the code specifically for community and town councillors. Although all this support is important, individual councillors must take personal responsibility for the way they conduct themselves in public office.