In June 2023, the Local Government Association (LGA) conducted a survey to capture data on the LGA Model Councillor Code of Conduct (the “Model code") to gauge the impact of the Model code on councils.
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Key findings
Impact and utility of the Model Councillor Code of Conduct
- All respondents to the survey were aware of the Model Councillor Code of Conduct.
- Eighty-two per cent of respondents said they had adopted the LGA Model Councillor Code of Conduct to at least some extent, with 25 per cent adopting it in full and 40 per cent adopting the code with some additions or minor amendments.
- Almost all respondents had reviewed their councillor code of conduct since the Model Councillor Code of Conduct was launched in December 2020, with 85 per cent conducting a formal review and 10 per cent an informal review.
- Of the councils which reviewed their code of conduct, 97 per cent used the code to inform their review.
- Among councils which used the Model Councillor Code of Conduct to inform their review, 73 per cent reported it being ‘Very useful’ and 25 per cent stated it was ‘Fairly useful’.
- A light touch review of the constitutions of councils that did not respond to the survey indicated that 54 per cent of non-respondent councils had adopted the Model Councillor Code of Conduct in full or in part.
- In total across England, 63 per cent of councils have adopted the Model Councillor Code of Conduct either completely or partially and 37 per cent have not.
- Published by:
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LGA
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