Investigation launched after complaint against senior South Tyneside councillor

Councillor Ed Malcolm combines his position as cabinet member for resources and innovation, which includes responsibility for setting South Tyneside Council’s annual budget, with a role as chairman of South Tyneside Homes (STH).

But this has now triggered a formal investigation after concerns were highlighted over Cllr Malcolm’s apparent failure to raise this when local authority rules state he should have.

According to correspondence seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council’s Standards Committee is due to probe claims Cllr Malcolm:

:: Has a ‘serious’ conflict of interest in acting as a cabinet member and chairman of STH

:: Had failed to declare his ‘disclosable pecuniary interest’ as chairman of STH when the housing association was due to be discussed at meetings of the full borough council and executive cabinet, among other panels

Cllr Malcolm currently receives a ‘special responsibility allowance’ (SRA) worth £12,241 for his cabinet role, on top of his councillor’s ‘basic allowance’ of £7,667.

As chairman of STH he is entitled to a further £9,636 every year.

Cllr Malcolm has been chairman of STH’s board since 2013, but was only granted a formal ‘dispensation’ to continue to take part in council meetings relating to STH in September this year.

This also applies to three other councillors – Jim Foreman, Margaret Peacock and Jim Sewell, who is also vice chairman.

The four all have their involvement in STH formally recorded in the council’s publicly available register of interests.

But the council’s code of conduct also requires that elected councillors disclose any ‘personal interests [which are] relevant to an item of business which is being considered’ when attending any council committee meetings and refrain from voting or taking part in debates, unless they have been granted a dispensation on the matter.

And for meetings of the full borough council: “A Councillor must withdraw from the meeting room during consideration of any item of business in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, except where permitted to remain as a result of a dispensation.”

Independent opposition councillor John Robertson, who submitted the original complaint against Cllr Malcolm, said: “Ed Malcolm is a career politician, he should know the council’s’ constitution back to front – even a member of the public knows when they have a conflict of interest.”

A South Tyneside Council spokesperson said: “We will neither confirm nor deny that we have received a complaint in order to protect the integrity of the complaints process.

“Any complaint would be dealt with through the appropriate process and it is inappropriate to comment about any specific complaints.

“The complaints process is underpinned by confidentiality.

“Any investigation with regards to a complaint made against an elected member for breach of the code of conduct that concludes there has been a failure by that member to comply with the code of conduct, will be referred to the Standards Committee for formal hearing.

“Any meeting of the Standards Committee will be open to the public and press unless confidential information or exempt information under Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 is likely to be disclosed.”

Cllr Malcolm has been contacted for comment.

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest football stories and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.