A meeting of Handforth Parish Council from December, conducted via Zoom, is going viral this evening after a video recording of it was picked up by a number of high profile social media accounts.
The meeting, in which chaos ensues as warring factions within the parish council can be seen squabbling throughout, has led to Cheshire East Council’s monitoring officer David Brown issuing a letter reminding councillors of their obligations and responsibilities. (More on this later in the article).
Towards the beginning of the video, a voice can be heard muttering “fuck off” shortly after the council’s chair Cllr Brian Tolver asks “when do we plan to start?”
Jackie Weaver – who has become a particular favourite for the many of the memes being created – tries her best to hold things together as she steps in to act as clerk after Handforth Parish Council’s former clerk Ashely Comiskey Dawson was dismissed and is now believed to be taking the parish council to an employment tribunal as a result.
It’s understood – though not confirmed – that the reason for his dismissal is related to the suspension of Cllr Jean Martin who it’s alleged failed to attend seven month’s worth of meetings.
As the meeting progresses, Mrs Weaver is heard calling for “reasonable behaviour from everyone,” after which the chair complains that he was thrown out of a previous meeting.
Further chaos ensures, as the chair questions Weaver’s authority and is subsequently removed.
At one point vice chair Cllr Aled Brewerton appears to leave the meeting entirely, with his father seeming to attend in his place.
Cllr John Smith tries to get things back on track, saying: “My first point is to apologise to Jackie, but welcome to Handforth,” to which Mrs Weaver responds: “It’s nothing if not lively in Handforth!”
Further into the meeting, it becomes apparent that the chair, Cllr Brian Tolver, has declared himself to be the new clerk in an email to a resident and by use of that moniker on the video call.
There’s then some debate as to whether this is lawful or not.
This leads to a moment of hilarity as Mrs Weaver requests jokingly: “Please refer to me as Britney Spears from now on!”
The remaining councillors – including Cllr Cynthia Samson and Cllr Susan Moore along with Cllr John Smith who took over the role of the chair for the meeting – try to battle on, but their difficulties in doing so are further exacerbated by the attendees’ struggles with technology.
In a letter to all councillors of Handforth Parish Council, Cheshire East Council’s monitoring officer (who is director of governance and compliance for the area) David Brown said: “As Monitoring Officer in Cheshire East I have received a multiplicity of complaints and referrals.”
Mr Brown continued: “These range from multiple complaints about councillors behaviour; to fundamental issues of governance and member/officer engagement.”
He explained: “The Monitoring Officer does not provide general governance advice to town and parish councils.
“If the Code of Conduct matters raised are taken at face value they are sufficiently serious to warrant detailed consideration.
“The detailed consideration may result in a hearing before the Cheshire East Council Committee for Standards.
“The outcome of any such hearing may be public and may be used as evidence in related legal proceedings.
“Until an assessment and investigation of any code of conduct issue is completed, I am unable to comment on any potential culpability of any individual or group of members.”
He also cautioned: “You should be aware that any member who knowingly acts unlawfully places themselves at risk of personal liability for damages to third parties, and the recovery of any public money purported to be expended by them on behalf of the parish council.”
You can read Mr Brown’s letter in full, below. We’ve also shared video links to the full meeting as well as the subsequent meeting in January for those who are interested.
OFFICIAL NOTICE
Letter from Director of Governance and Compliance
Cheshire District Council
Dear Parish Councillors,
I am writing to you following a number of referrals and complaints received in respect of Handforth Parish Council. I will divide this letter into three parts to separate the issues and prevent any conflating of behavioural and conduct issues with any substantive election point.
Part 1
The Returning Officer appointed by Cheshire East has received multiple correspondence which appears to suggest that the Returning Officer should not comply with the statutory and regulatory regime for the calling of an election. As I will explain that suggestion is misconceived and wholly inappropriate.
For the avoidance of doubt the Returning Officer is charged with the proper administration of the election process. The Returning Officer role does not include any element of referee, policeman, judge, adjudicator or adviser. The Returning Officer is under strict obligations of impartiality and has no view on the conduct of members, clerks or other persons within Handforth Parish Council.
The Returning Officer has received a declaration of vacant office from Handforth Parish Council and this has triggered a mandatory election process.
If any individual member or resident believes Handforth Parish Council has acted erroneously they should seek independent legal advice on how to challenge Handforth Parish Council’s notification to the Returning Officer.
The Returning Officer is impartial and must not engage in any internal parish council dispute.
Part 2
As Monitoring Officer in Cheshire East I have received a multiplicity of complaints and referrals.
These range from multiple complaints about councillors behaviour; to fundamental issues of governance and member/officer engagement.
The most recent referrals relate to suggestions that some members of Handforth Parish Council have purported to take decisions that are plainly unlawful, and these decisions have resulted in expenditure of public funds.
The Monitoring Officer does not provide general governance advice to town and parish councils. If the Code of Conduct matters raised are taken at face value they are sufficiently serious to warrant detailed consideration.
The detailed consideration may result in a hearing before the Cheshire East Council Committee for Standards. The outcome of any such hearing may be public and may be used as evidence in related legal proceedings.
The costs associated with the investigation of any misconduct are published and will become a matter for the Parish Council to defend.
Until an assessment and investigation of any code of conduct issue is completed, I am unable to comment on any potential culpability of any individual or group of members.
Part 3
Although this does not form part of the obligation of a Monitoring Officer to any Parish Council you should be aware that any member who knowingly acts unlawfully places themselves at risk of personal liability for damages to third parties, and the recovery of any public money purported to be expended by them on behalf of the parish council.
It may be timely, given the nature of the referrals made, for Councillors to reassure themselves that no element of misfeasance in public office could arise.
The elements of the offence are summarised in Attorney General’s Reference No 3 of 2003 [2004] EWCA Crim 868 and expanded upon in the Crown Prosecution Service website.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/misconduct-public-office
Councillors are all aware that there has been no valid challenge, upheld by a court to the declaration of vacancy as notified to the Returning Officer.
It is therefore probable that any Councillor acting on the purported belief there is no vacancy may be engaging in misconduct and acting wilfully or being recklessly indifferent to that fact.
Please note the offence only requires that the public trust in the officeholder to be abused and that may be achieved by relatively modest misuse of public funds or misconduct.
Handforth Parish Council, or any individual councillor, may seek advice and assistance from the local association of Town and Parish Councils for help with any potential issue and to seek advice to resolve the difficulties that have been reported.
Given the high volume of complaints received, significant scrutiny of the Parish Councils actions is likely.
Yours sincerely
David Brown
Director of Governance and Compliance
Monitoring Officer
Handforth Parish Council meeting (December 2020) in full:
Handforth Parish Council meeting (January 2020) in full:
