Council Chief Executive Rules Standards Committee Decision Unconstitutional

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 8th Sep 2004

Barry Catchpole, Chief Executive of Surrey Heath Borough Council, has confirmed that the decision by the Council's Standards Committee to seek judicial review of the Standards Board for England's decision was unconstitutional.

Whilst the Standards Committee was acting within its remit to consider the Standards Board's decision, it did not have the authority to commit the Council to expenditure, and so should have made a recommendation only on this matter which could be debated and resolved at the appropriate Council body.

Mr Catchpole admitted that this was an error in the advice given to the Committee: "I have concluded that the Standards Committee was not fully apprised of the position and should have been advised that it needed to make a separate recommendation in addition to its resolution at the time of the meeting."

Cllr Bob Smith, who raised the matter with Mr Catchpole, commented:" It was always my belief that this matter should be debated and decided at a full meeting of the Council. By calling an Extraordinary meeting of the Council, the Lib Dem group ensured this in any case. This ruling by the Chief Executive means hopefully that it will not be necessary to take such measures in the future."