Doncaster Council: Five complaints lodged against city councillors in last year, report shows

Members of the Council’s audit committee will see the report by monitoring officer Scott Fawcus when they meet next week.

The report states two of the complaints were found to be breaches of the Council’s Code of Conduct and the councillors concerned “agreed with the Monitoring Officer that an apology was an appropriate remedy”.

It is not revealed who the councillors subject to any complaints are.

Separately, Mr Fawcus’ report also states that two other complaints were “related to the same incident and effectively stemmed from residents dissatisfaction with actions taken by their ward councillor” and that “this is not a breach of the Code”.

The fifth complaint was reportedly investigated thoroughly by officers, but no breach of the Code of Conduct was found.

Mr Fawcus’ report states: “My experience remains that members are sensitive to complaints and are on most occasions willing to apologise if they have inadvertently upset a resident. Including the elected mayor there are 56 ward councillors and in that context five complaints received is a very low number and I remain comfortable with the position.

“A mayoral election and “all out ward elections” will be held across Doncaster on May 1st 2025 and it is likely that a number of present councillors will cease to be councillors at that point. It therefore seems to be an appropriate point to thank them for their service and from a Monitoring Officer perspective their adherence to the Nolan Principles and the Code of Conduct.”

The report states there have been 10 complaints made against councillors sitting on parish and town councils across Doncaster over the same time period.

Councillors on the Audit Committee at the City of Doncaster Council will note the report when they meet on Thursday, April 24, 2025.