Agenda and minutes

The Senior Democratic and Governance Officer opened the meeting.

To elect a Chair for the meeting.

It was proposed by N Eysenck seconded by A Todd

Decision

That G Suttle be elected Chair of the Audit and Governance (Hearing) Sub-committee for this meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct.  In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider passing the following recommendation:

Recommendation

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in item 5 because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) 1 and 2 of Part 1 of schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered. (Any live streaming will end at this juncture).

Reason for taking the item in private

Paragraph 1 – Information relating to any individual.

Paragraph 2 – Information which is likely to reveal identity of an individual.

The sub-committee agreed that the meeting would be held in public.

N Eysenck provided the following statement at this point in the meeting:

“I have a short statement to make before the hearing starts.

At the recent Lib Dem group meeting, I was approached unexpectedly by Councillor Fuhrmann, who began speaking to me about this code of conduct complaint. I told him I could not discuss the matter and that he should attend the hearing to have his say, but he continued. I was so taken aback by the situation that I did not meaningfully engage with or absorb what he was saying. I want to make clear that I have not formed any views about the complaint in advance of this hearing and come to it with an open mind, ready to consider all the evidence and opinions presented today.”

To consider the report.

The Chair of the sub-committee noted that the Subject Member, Councillor A Fuhrmann was not in attendance at the meeting and asked the sub-committee if they were content to continue the hearing in his absence. The sub-committee agreed that the hearing would continue.

M Dolley, Investigating Officer presented her report in respect of complaints made against Dorset Council Councillor Alex Fuhrmann by Dorset Council Councillors Jane Somper, Laura Beddow and Andrew Parry. The complaints had been supported by Dorset Council Councillors Jill Haynes, Sherry Jespersen, Cathy Lugg, Emma Parker, Carole Jones and Val Pothecary.

The Investigating Officer provided detail of the complaints received which alleged a breach of paragraphs 1 (requirement to treat councillors and others with respect) and 2 (relating to bullying, harassment and discrimination) of the Dorset Council Councillor Code of Conduct.

To investigate the complaints, the Investigating Officer had taken into consideration the following evidence:

·       Dorset Council Code of Conduct

·       Dorset Council’s policy relating to the use of social media (applicable to members and officers), material about the use of social media offered by the Local Government Association and material about bullying provided by the Anti-bullying Alliance

·       Research of information on posting and removing material from Facebook and Instagram

·       Interviews with the three principal complainants, Councillor Fuhrmann and one other member of Dorset Council (statements included within the investigation report)

The complaints were set out in full in the report and the Investigating Officer took the sub-committee through the main points arising.

The complaints related to the use by Councillor Fuhrmann of social media, including messaging facilities, specifically Facebook and Instagram and as set out in the report, that his conduct breached paragraphs 1.1 and 2 of the Code of Conduct. The material complained of comprised screenshots of social media posts and of messages sent privately on an Instagram messaging facility. Most of the relevant events took place within the space of a few hours late in the afternoon and early evening on 18 December 2024. The report set out the sequence of the relevant events and their timing, which included material posted on 5 December 2024 by Councillor Fuhrmann on his Instagram account and re-posted by Councillor Somper on her Facebook page on 7 December 2024. Comments were subsequently applied to the post on 18 December. The material shared as a story by Councillor Fuhrmann on his Instagram account on 18 December 2024 was in the same time frame as the above comments. The significance of the material being shared as a story on an Instagram account rather than being posted was set out in the report.

The Investigating Officer noted that in addition, a private exchange of messages between Councillor Fuhrmann and Councillor Beddow took place on 18 December 2024, at the same time that the comments were being made on the Facebook post.

It was noted that the material referred to above, was communication to which the Code of Conduct applied.

The Investigating Officer provided an overview of the conclusions set out in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider the report.