Investigation into Wixams Parish Council complaints could cost £55k

A parish council spokesman said the majority of complaints have been “raised by or against one councillor” going back 11 months.

Bedford Borough Council said it doesn’t have the internal capacity to handle the volume of complaints. It added that it is “reasonable” to ask the parish council to meet unavoidable costs for hiring external staff.

A borough council spokesperson said: “The borough council has received multiple complaints from Wixams Parish Councillors about other members.

“Due to the volume of these complaints, the borough council does not have the internal capacity to handle all investigations.

“To address this, additional qualified staff would need to be hired on short-term agency contracts.

“The total cost for these additional staff is estimated at £55,000, considering the complexity and time required to investigate each complaint.

“Given the additional financial pressure this unprecedented scenario brings, Bedford Borough Council considers that it would be reasonable for seek suitable recompense from Wixams Parish Council to meet these costs if they cannot be avoided.

“The complaints are being considered on an ongoing basis by the borough council’s Standards Sub-Committee whose preference has been to resolve these complaints though a local resolution process.

“The sub-committee through the Monitoring Officer has written to the parish council to make recommendations which it is considered would resolve the majority of the issues that are the subject of the complaints,” they said.

In May, Bedford Borough Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that “there is no legal requirement for parish councils to contribute to the cost of any investigation.”

At the time, Wixams parish councillors told the LDRS that a bill of £30,000 had been mentioned. But this estimate has nearly doubled over the last four months.

While Bedford Borough Council can investigate complaints, its powers to take direct action “are limited” – it cannot remove or require the resignation of any parish councillor.

Parish councillors hold their positions for their term of office unless they voluntarily resign or are legally disqualified under specific circumstances, such as certain criminal convictions.

A Wixams Parish Council spokesperson said the parish council “looks forward” to working with the borough council to get the complaints investigated.

“The majority have been raised by or against one councillor going back 11 months to the first one raised to the current Monitoring Officer’s predecessor,” they said.

“As part of Bedford Borough Council’s Standard Committee’s first recommendations, delegated committees have been abolished and will be replaced by working groups with all future decisions to be made only by full council.

“The current Chair and others have had chair training provided by BATPC [Bedfordshire Association of Town & Parish Councils].

“And all Wixams Parish Councillors have been encouraged to attend full council training from BATPC.

“Any investigation by Bedford Borough Council needs to be completed forthwith so that Wixam Parish Council can move forwards from the current impasse.”