The Ombudsman received a referral that a member (“the Member”) of Vale of Glamorgan Council (“the Council”) had breached the Code of Conduct (“the Code”) when he applied for a number of business grants.
The investigation considered whether the Member failed to comply with paragraphs 4(b), 4(d), 6(1)(a), 7(a), 7(b), 15(1)(b) and 15(2) of the Code.
The investigation considered evidence from the Council and the Welsh Government Fraud Office. Witnesses provided witness evidence. The Member was interviewed.
The investigation found that the Member sent emails from his Council email address about business grant applications he had submitted. The Ombudsman found that the emails were not sent in the interests of Council business – they were sent for the benefit of the Member’s, and his wife’s, personal business interests. The Ombudsman also found that, in sending emails as officers of the Council from his Council email address, the Member’s actions could be perceived as him attempting to use his position as an elected member to gain an advantage for himself. The Ombudsman concluded that the Member’s actions were suggestive of a breach of paragraphs 6(1)(a), 7(a) and 7(b) of the Code.
The investigation found that the Member failed to include 2 properties on his Register of Interests. The Member had received training on the Code which included training on interests and registering and declaring any such interests. The Member, alongside all other members of the Council, received consistent and regular reminders about the need to keep their Register of Interests updated. In view of this, the Ombudsman considered that the Member’s failure to declare interests on his Register of Interests was suggestive of a breach of paragraphs 15(1)(b) and 15(2) of the Code.
The investigation found that the Member failed to update the Council about the occupancy of 1 of his properties and was suggestive of a breach of paragraph 6(1)(a) of the Code. However, the Ombudsman also noted that when the Member was asked about the occupancy, he provided the correct date of which he took over the occupancy of the property. The Ombudsman concluded that the Member’s actions were not suggestive of a breach of paragraph 7(a) of the Code of Conduct.
The investigation found that the Member provided the Council with misleading information about the occupancy of a property he owned. Given that the Member had improperly made enquiries with the Council about the property, from his Council email address, when acting in a private capacity, the Ombudsman considered that this established a connection between the Member’s private business and his role as an elected member. The Ombudsman noted that the Council’s internal audit report had found that the Member’s misleading actions resulted in the rejection of another business’ grant application. The Ombudsman concluded that the Member’s actions were suggestive of a breach of paragraph 7(a).
Finally, the Ombudsman’s investigation found that the Member’s conduct in relation to the business grant applications resulted in the Council carrying out an internal audit investigation. The Council’s internal audit investigation concluded that the Member failed to provide the Council with accurate information, attempted to gain grant funding when it was apparent claims were not justified, failed to inform or update the Council in respect of the occupancy and therefore business rates liability for particular properties, provided contradictory information when applying for grant funding, made enquiries for grants and misled the Council, and caused an eligible company to miss out on a grant to which it was entitled. The Ombudsman considered that the serious and concerning findings of the Council’s internal audit investigation gave rise to concerns about the Member’s conduct which appears to have been contrary to the Principles which govern the conduct of members, which required the Member to act with selflessness, honesty, integrity and in the public interest. As such, the Ombudsman concluded that the Member’s actions could seriously affect public confidence in the office of Member and were suggestive of a breach of paragraph 6(1)(a) of the Code.
The report on the investigation was referred to the Deputy Monitoring Officer of the Council for consideration by the local Standards Committee. The Standards Committee found that the Member had failed to comply with the Code of Conduct. Its sanction was to suspend the Member from being a Member of the Vale of Glamorgan Council for a period of three months.