Press policy

Contact the Press Office

To speak to a member of the press team, call 0161 817 5400, or send an email to: press.enquiries@standardsforengland.gov.uk

Outside office hours, call 07990 715192.

How we can help the press

Standards for England’s responsibilities changed on 8 May 2008. That means there have also been changes in the way we help the press.

Standards for England is no longer responsible for assessing and referring complaints about members’ conduct, although we still investigate certain allegations. Complaints about members now go directly to their authority. So, if you have questions about allegations made after 8 May, you will need to contact the authority’s own press office to find out more.

We will, of course, continue to answer questions about complaints made before 8 May and about current and past Standards for England investigations.  However, there will inevitably be some information that we cannot give while an investigation is ongoing. Generally, the following guidelines apply.

We can confirm:

• Names of members who are the subject of current or past investigations or complaints
• The type of person who has complained about a member – whether they are a fellow councillor, a member of the public or a council officer
• Whether we have referred a complaint for investigation
• The outcome of an investigation, three working days after we have issued the final report.

We cannot confirm:

• The name of a complainant
• During an investigation, the specific details of any allegations, beyond the part of the Code of which the potential breach gave rise to the complaint being referred for investigation
• Whether draft reports have been issued and what they contain

We wait three working days before confirming the outcome of an investigation to the press – as a matter of courtesy, we need to notify the member and the complainant in writing first.

If you want to ask us about a complaint or investigation, please try to tell us the name of the member who you think may be the subject of it, rather than just the name of their authority. It can take some time for us to answer speculative enquiries about whole authorities and while we will try to help you, we may not be able to deal with these sorts of queries within your deadline.

We cannot answer questions about complainants – so, while we will tell you how many complaints have been made about a member, we will not tell you how many complaints a specific person has made.

When reporting on complaints or investigations, it is important to be aware that while an investigation is ongoing, no decision is made on whether a member has breached the Code.