A NEW set of rules intended to settle complaints between councillors and avoid the need for formal investigations has been agreed.

Monmouthshire County Council backed a Local Resolution Protocol as a way of agreeing how to resolve complaints between councillors.

Labour’s Angela Sandles, the cabinet member responsible, told the full council: “It is to deal with what are referred to as low level, member on member complaints.”

She told the full council’s May meeting the protocol was endorsed by all member of the council’s standards committee when they discussed it in January.

The council’s top legal officer James Williams, who is also the monitoring officer responsible for the rule book, had told the committee in January: “The resolution could be an apology or a social media post.”

Complaints will have to be submitted to the monitoring officer within 30 days of the incident they are complaining about or 30 days of them becoming aware of it.

The monitoring officer will then have to consider if the complaint can be dealt with under the protocol or referred to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

If the complaint can be dealt with locally the monitoring officer will try to resolve it informally with the agreement of all parties.

If that isn’t possible the complainant can ask to move to the second stage of the protocol which will involve a meeting of all parties including the councillor subject to the complaint, their accuser and relevant group leaders.

The chair of the standards committee can also attend the meeting which is intended to agree a resolution of the complaint to the satisfaction of both parties.

Where a complaint remains unresolved following stage two, either member may refer the complaint to the ombudsman.