Wragge Report: Sandwell Council bosses want tougher powers to discipline councillors
Council bosses have called for tougher powers to discipline councillors who step out of line, in the wake of the Wragge Report saga.
Sandwell Council chiefs have written to Home Secretary Amber Rudd and urged her to make it easier to take legal action against councillors who breach authorities' codes of conduct.
The Wragge Report probed claims former deputy leader Mahboob Hussain was involved in the sale of council-owned toilet blocks and allegedly quashed parking tickets for family members.
Mr Hussain was found to have breached the council code of conduct on both counts, by its standards committee.
Now committee chairman Liam Preece has written to Ms Rudd and Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders saying prosecutors 'should be more willing and empowered to take [legal] action' around council misconduct.
Concerned
Mr Preece's letter, which forms a report to this coming Thursday's audit committee, says: "Following a detailed review of the evidence held by the council, the police reached a determination that there was insufficient evidence to meet the threshold for recording a crime.
"However, they stated that this would not prevent the council pursuing any action that it deemed appropriate if it identified breaches of standards or misconduct.
"The audit and risk assurance committee of course accepted the decision of the police, but were ultimately concerned there is an extremely high threshold for consideration of misconduct in public office offences which in turn could lead to a lack of public confidence in the process.
"The committee resolved that I write to yourself in order to bring their concerns to your attention in the hope that the relevant guidance issued to police forces in relation to the threshold criteria for such offences could be reviewed.
"The committee feel that in cases of multiple serious breaches of the code of conduct, the police should feel more justified to bring charges against elected members to restore and maintain public confidence."
Frustration
Council leader Steve Eling said: "I think there was some frustration about how difficult it was to deal with these things through the standards process and how long it took.
"I think the law needs to be far more specific about what the standards process is.
"That will help take away people's ability to 'filibuster' and string cases on – that's been the main frustration in Sandwell.
"Cases were brought but it has taken years to get through the process."
More from the Sandwell Council saga:
Mr Hussain, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was unavailable for comment last night.
However, after the standards committee hearing last month he said he had been ‘denied any natural justice’ and insisted there was evidence of a ‘co-ordinated campaign of harassment’ against him by council bosses.
