Ipswich Borough Council adopted its Code of Conduct on 5 May 2022, as set out in the Constitution. 

The Code sets out the standards of conduct required of all councillors.

The Monitoring Officer is responsible for considering complaints that a Borough councillor may have breached their Code of Conduct.

The Monitoring Officer considers complaints in consultation with an Independent Person appointed by the Council. There is a Suffolk wide pool of Independent Persons appointed who may be consulted by the Monitoring Officer.

Independent Persons:

• Tracy Colman 
• Josie Finch 
• Rebecca Preedy
• Susan Putters

Please note: The Monitoring Officer can only deal with complaints about the behaviour of a councillor that are covered by the Council's Code of Conduct, and the code only applies to a councillor whilst undertaking his/her functions as a councillor. It does not apply to a councillor acting in their personal capacity.

How to make a complaint

Complaints about the conduct of a councillor must be made using the complaint form below:

Councillor conduct complaint form (pdf)

Councillor conduct complaint form (Word)

Please email or post the completed complaint form to the Monitoring Officer using the contact details on this page.

Complaints solely about the failure of a councillor to register or declare pecuniary interests in council business should now be made to the Police, although you may wish to notify the Monitoring Officer as well if this is connected to a complaint about a breach of the code.

What happens next?

An initial assessment of the complaint will be made by the Monitoring Officer to check:

1. it is a complaint against a councillor who is covered by a Code of Conduct within Ipswich Borough;
2. the councillor was in office at the time of the alleged conduct;
3. it is clear that if the complaint is proven it would be a breach of the general obligations in the Local Code of Conduct;
4. the alleged conduct was committed or connected to their official capacity as councillor as opposed to a purely private matter.

If the alleged conduct is captured by the code, the Monitoring Officer will contact one of the Independent Persons for their views as to the next steps. The possible steps and outcomes are detailed on the Councillor complaints procedure flowchart.