Codes of Conduct for Councillors

All Councils are required to have a Code of Conduct for Members and Co-opted Members of the Council, and the Code has to include provisions included in a Model approved by the Government. The current West Oxfordshire District Council Code of Conduct was effective from 1st June 2007, and all members and co-opted Members of the Council have signed an undertaking that they will observe the Code.

Town and Parish Councils

The 54 town and parish councils in West Oxfordshire have also adopted the Code of Conduct. This also has to include the provisions included in the national Model, but is slightly different from the District code. See also the Parish and Town Councils Code page.

Standards Committee

As required by law, we have a Standards Committee, which includes Independent (non-Councillor) Members and representatives of the town and parish councils in the District. The Committee:

promotes good conduct, including by providing training
monitors the operation and effectiveness of the Code for the District Council and for town and parish councils
considers complaints that a Councillor has not followed the Code of Conduct

Please see Standards Committee Membership 2011-2012 for membership information.

Complaints

Complaints that a Councillor or a co-opted member of the Council, or of a town or parish council in West Oxfordshire has not followed the code of conduct have be made to the Council. Please see Code of Conduct Complaint Information for guidance about making a complaint. For more information, and for a complaint form, please use our General Enquiry Form, or write to The Monitoring Officer, West Oxfordshire District Council, Woodgreen, Witney, Oxon, OX28 1NB; or telephone 01993 861521.

Guidance

The Standards Board for England has produced Guidance on the Code, and a series of brief factsheets on the Code.

Register of Interests

One of the requirements in the Codes is that Councillors must register specified "interests". The registers may be inspected at the Council Offices at Woodgreen, Witney during normal office hours. Alternatively, a copy of the register for a particular town or parish council may be inspected by arrangement with their town or parish clerk.