Ombudsman to take no action against councillor who attended remote meeting while driving

A Conwy County Borough Council councillor who attended a remote council meeting while driving his car has avoided sanction from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Following the meeting, Cllr Andrew Wood, who was also seen voting while driving, was subject to complaints alleging he had breached the council's Code of Conduct by bringing his office or the council into disrepute.

In the course of the Ombudsman's investigation, the councillor acknowledged that the video showed him driving the vehicle. "The Member felt it important that he attend all meetings," the Ombudsman reported.

The Ombudsman found that the councillor's actions "were suggestive of a breach of the Code" and that Cllr Wood "demonstrated poor judgement and had the potential to bring the council into disrepute".

However, the watchdog noted that the councillor's actions did not appear to be indicative of repeated behaviour.

It also noted that Cllr Wood did appear to attend later meetings while in his car, but in these cases, he was either stationary or in the passenger seat. This suggested he had "not repeated the behaviour and has learned from this complaint," the Ombudsman concluded.

Ultimately, the Ombudsman found that: "[Although] the Member's actions were suggestive of a breach of the Code, that he had not repeated the behaviour since, and the lack of a criminal investigation meant it would not be in the public interest to take further action."

The Ombudsman found that, under Section 69(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 2000, no action needed to be taken in respect of the matters investigated.

Commenting on the decision, Cllr Wood claimed that none of his actions were motoring offences, adding that listening to a meeting while driving was “no different” to listening to music, changing channels, loading CDs, or using hands-free phones while driving.

Adam Carey