Long running complaint over parish councillor could soon be finalised in online hearing

Councillor Robert Barrett, who is an elected member of Upton Parish Council, has been referred to Northampton Borough Council for an alleged breach of the councillors’ Code of Conduct.

No official reason has been given yet as to why the complaint has been made, but the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that Councillor Barrett has been accused of bullying female workers at the parish council. It is understood a number of clerks have left their posts in recent years. But Councillor Barrett has said that the accusations are ‘nonsense’.

A standards hearing had originally been held in November 2019 to determine whether the code had been breached, but this was adjourned after Councillor Barrett argued that Upton Parish Council had failed to follow its own ‘Dignity At Work’ policy by granting him a grievance hearing.

The standards committee was due to reconvene in order to allow the borough council’s deputy monitoring officer, Laurie Gould, the necessary time to read the parish council’s Dignity At Work policy.

But the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic put to a stop a process that dates back to May 2018, when the original complaint was made.

Now Mr Gould has proposed holding the new meeting on Zoom, as he wants the issue resolved before the borough council is abolished in March next year to make way for the new West Northamptonshire unitary council.

Speaking at the latest standards committee meeting, held online on Monday (November 30), he said: “You will recall that we did have a standards panel some time ago and we decided to defer this after submissions were made by the person. Unfortunately then COVID overtook us so we were not able to recall that standards meeting.

“We were aiming for a standards panel to be held before Christmas, but that has obviously not been possible due to extended lockdowns. There’s the possibility now of the council coming towards the end of its term on March 31st next year without having dealt with this issue, which causes me some concern.

“I’m going to propose that we approach this by way of Zoom and that I approach the gentleman concerned and see if he’s willing to take part in a standards panel virtually. But if he wants to get this over and done with then this kind of meeting in January would give him time to think about this. I’m not leaving something unresolved unless we have attempted to find a solution.”

The perceived breaches of the code of conduct were referred to the borough council’s monitoring officer by Councillor Shaun Pape, the chairman of Upton Parish Council, after a number of complaints were received by the parish. It was unanimously agreed at a full parish council meeting on May 14, 2018, to refer these complaints to the borough council’s monitoring officer. The minutes of that meeting name Councillor Barrett as the member in question.

Councillor Barrett – who states on his biography on the parish council’s website that he has a ‘direct, no nonsense approach who does not entertain or suffer fools and laggards lightly’ – had previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he ‘refused to join the collective ‘Private Members Club’ that purports to be a representative local body’. He said the claims against him were a ‘witch hunt’.

The standards committee was informed that Councillor Barrett’s hearing, if it goes ahead, would be held publicly and streamed live on YouTube as it was ‘a matter of public concern’. The committee was also told that it could still potentially be held in his absence if he refused to engage.