The council's Code of Conduct investigations into councillors

RE: I am requesting information on your council's Code of Conduct investigations into councillors, for the financial years 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 (taking the financial year from 1 April to 31 March.)

1. Published Reports or Online Links

Please provide the URLs or copies of any annual or quarterly reports published on your website that summarise Code of Conduct complaints, outcomes, and investigations for the above years. This may include Standards Committee reports, Monitoring Officer updates, or local governance summaries. (For this request, I am not interested in any Parish Council investigations / complaints).

2. Case-Level Investigation Data

For each individual complaint that was formally investigated (not just referred or dismissed at initial filter stage), please provide this data (preferred format, in a spreadsheet or CSV, one row per case)

2.1 Financial Year

2.2 Investigator Type

2.3 Total Cost of case (£)

2.4 Hours Charged in the case

2.5 Outcome Type

* Investigator Type should be one of:

2.6 Internal officer (e.g. MO/DMO)

2.7 Reciprocal arrangement with another Council

2.8 Independent freelancer

2.9 Specialist agency (e.g. Hoey Ainscough)

2.10 Law firm or solicitor (e.g. VWV, Wilkin Chapman Rollits, etc.)

2.11 Other (please specify)

* Outcome Codes

Please include a basic outcome classification, such as:

2.12 no breach

2.13 informal resolution

2.14 breach found

2.15 referred to full Standards Committee, etc.

3. Nil responses

Please indicate if there is a nil response in any year, i.e. if there were no formal investigations.

I can confirm that the information requested is held by Lincolnshire County Council. I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

1. See attached links to the annual Monitoring Officer report for the years requested:

1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023 https://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s58388/4.0%20Monitoring%20Officer%20A nnual%20

1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 https://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s62675/5.0%20MO%20Annual%20report%2 024%20003%2021.5.2024.pdf

1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025 https://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s68336/MO%20Annual%20report%201.4.20 24-31.3.2025%20WSB.pdf

As such, this information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with the exemption set out at Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which provides that a public authority need not comply with a request for disclosure under the Act where that information is reasonably accessible by other means.

2. There have been no formal investigations for any of the years requested.

3. N/a