Cambourne Parish Council whitewashes my complaints

Having put in complaints about 5 Parish Councillors on Cambourne Parish Council I wasn't amazed at the outcome. A complete whitewash.

This is the text of the report: (My Comments)

The Parish received a complaint against five councillors stating that they  had not updated their declarations of interest to show changes of circumstance or missed information that should have been added.

It is the Councillors responsibility to ensure that their Register of Interest is current and up to date.

After careful consideration of the details of the complaint, that there was some lack of understanding and the necessity to keep their Register of Interests up to date was not made clear (It couldn't be clearer. Obviously ignorance of the law IS an excuse) the Parish Clerk would suggest the following actions taken to resolve the issues raised.

1. To ensure all Councillors Register of Interest are up to date copies have been circulated so we can ensure all are up to date. The Parish Office will check to ensure all forms are returned and will be checked to see if the relevant information has been updated. (so far only Simon Crocker has updated his RoI)

2. The template of the agenda for full Council and Committee meetings is to be changed so that there is a note reminding Councillors that it is there responsibility to keep their register of interest up to date in line with the code of conduct. (Hasn't happened yet)

3. The Parish Council web site will be updated to show a link to member’s register of interest. (The law requires it is published on the Parish Council website)

4. When new councillors attend the Parish Office for their induction meeting the Parish Clerk will ensure the importance of ensuring the register of interest is kept up to date in line with the Councils
Code of Conduct. (Should be happening already)

5. After every ordinary election year Councillor Training will be arranged with one of the items being the importance of recording and maintaining the Register of Interests. (5 is covered by 4 so this is just filler)

RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Council confirms the actions listed be implemented.

Further to this. I'm being informed that Simon Crocker, Parish Chairman and a Parish Clerk with Cilca qualification: "that there was some lack of understanding and the necessity to keep their Register of Interests up to date was not made clear". Obviously this lack of basic knowledge for a Parish Clerk is worrying for Caldecote Parish Council and as Chairman of Cambourne Parish Council. What else does he not understand? Obviously the 6 months rule to start with.

That is not all. Who voted for this whitewash? Of the 10 members attending 2 had just been co-opted (Cllr Mrs J Sawford and Cllr G Thompson) 4 were not complained against (Cllr J O’Dwyer, Cllr G Cooper, Cllr Mrs R Poulton and Cllr T Hudson) and 4 were complained against (Cllr S Crocker (Chairman), Cllr Ms R Betson, Cllr J Patel and Cllr S Masters).

John Vickery, the Parish Clerk, wrote the report. He is also a member of the Society of Local Council Clerks as is Simon Crocker who is also a Parish Clerk at Caldecote. And 4 of those complained against voted for the outcome. Why were they allowed to do so? Because Simon Crocker was Chairman.

Ron says: I do not know whether the outcome would be different if an Independent person had looked at these complaints. What I do know is this is riddled with conflicts of interests. I doesn't look good when the accused are also part of the jury who decide the fate of the accused.