NO action is to be taken against two Petersfield town councillors following investigations by the Standards Board of England. Complaints were made against the chairman of the grounds committee, Chris Jenner, and former mayor Brian Dutton in May this year as the relationship between officers and members deteriorated. The allegation against Mr Jenner was that he failed to treat others with respect, compromised the impartiality of council employees, brought his office or authority into disrepute, failed to declare a personal interest, failed to withdraw from a meeting when a matter in which he had a prejudicial interest was discussed and improperly sought to influence a decision on the matter. But the board announced this week that its ethical standard officer had found that no action needed to be taken. In a summary of the case, the board said: "The complainants alleged that Mr Christopher Jenner, a member of Petersfield Town Council, failed to treat officers with respect in a series of emails. It was also alleged that Councillor Jenner prevented officers from being unbiased." "The ethical standard officer considered that Councillor Jenner used inappropriate language in work related emails and occasionally used a sarcastic tone. "However, the ethical standards officer did not consider that Mr Jenner's conduct was sufficiently serious to amount to a failure to treat the officers with respect. "The ethical standards officer found no evidence to support the allegation that Mr Jenner's e-mails to the officers prevented them from being impartial." On the issue of the personal interest, the standards board officer decided that he did have an interest in two council meetings due to his complaint against the two officers, and that the interest was prejudicial. 'The ethical standards officer reached the view that Mr Jenner breached the code of conduct by failing to declare a personal interest and failing to withdraw from the meetings." But having taken all of the circumstances into account he found "no action needs to be taken in relation to these matters". This week Mr Jenner told The Herald: "It's a tremendous relief to have the result, and the only complaint where they found me guilty, I had sought advice from the relevant authority and followed that advice to the letter. I hope this means we can put this behind us now and get on with serving the town." The allegation against Mr Dutton was that he failed to withdraw from a meeting in which he had a prejudicial interest and improperly sought to influence a decision on the matter.. Mr Dutton denied the allegations and the ethical standards officer found no evidence of any failure to comply with the code of conduct, as Mr Dutton withdrew from the meeting before any discussion about the report took place. "I am delighted that this matter has been cleared up successfully," said Mr Dutton. "It has taken a considerable amount of time and has been a waste of public money. Had the minutes of the meeting been read properly, there would have been no need for a complaint in the first place." The result of complaints against Bob Ayer and his wife, Hilary, are expected shortly from the standards board.
