Cumbria’s town and parish councils are facing off with dozens of ‘unresolvable’ complaints.
The county is home to 233 parish and town councils and since 2023, over 167 complaints have been progressed against them.
While it might not sound like a large number – many of these complaints are considered persistent long-term issues that have no real way of being resolved.
Complaints that parish and town councils are facing include:
- One council alone in the Cumberland area accounted for 11 complaints that remain under consideration in 2025/2026
- 34 complaints were also generated by only 15 parish or town councils of the 123 in the Cumberland area in 2025/2026
- In the 2024/2025 period, one parish council in the Cumberland area had 14 misconduct complaints raised in 12 months – nine of which were lodged by the same person
- In 2024, yearly figures from Westmorland and Furness Council revealed that complaints were only lodged against parish councillors
The figure is also considerably higher than the number of complaints progressed by both unitary councils combined – over 50 since 2023.
Both Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council have a statutory duty to investigate complaints.
But they also have very few powers to deal with them.
Sanctions are available too, but they are also limited primarily to recommendations for training or mediation.
So why are powers so limited? How do complaints become unresolvable? And why can’t they be properly dealt with?
We spoke with Mary Bradley, chair of Cumbria Association of Local Councils to understand how complaints become unresolvable and why it happens.
So how are complaints dealt with?
The unitary authorities of Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness councils have limited powers in relation to town and parish councils.
The monitoring officer for each unitary authority has a statutory duty to investigate formal complaints of a breach of the code of conduct.
But the sanctions available to the standards and governance committee are also limited, in effect, to making a recommendation of training.
Cumberland Council said complaints were generally closed by the monitoring officer at the initial stage, with a recommendation that training was provided to the particular council.
It added that this was done rather than proceeding to a full investigation which it said would in all likelihood reach the same recommendation.
Recommendations for apologies where needed and training were made by the monitoring officer.
Training is carried out through Cumbria Association of Local Councils.
In 2025 to 2026, a programme of training sessions for Cumberland councillors on the code of conduct and declarations of interest was carried out.
It said the sessions were made available to parish and town councils.
Mary Bradley, who is chair of CALC, said it is a membership organisation that acts as an advice and information service to the county’s parish and town councils.
It assists with day-to-day council work, represents interests and provides training and advice to councils dealing with complaints.
Around 95 per cent of Cumbria’s councils are members.
Mary said: “CALC helps with all sorts of queries and basically keeps governance on track. We’ll be the liaison between the sector and the local unitary councils.
“It also links in with the National Association of Local Councils which engages with government, so it has a pivotal role.
“Part of its advice and information service has quite a strong training arm and provides training for clerks, councillors and on general things.
“It also consults on behalf of the unitary authorities and basically, we’ll support the sector in any way it can.”
Mary said that while Cumbria’s councils do not generate huge amounts of complaints – the county does have problems with long-standing ones.
She added that these long-standing complaints are also representative of a much larger, national problem.
Mary said: “We don’t get a lot of complaints in Cumbria, but when we get them it tends to be the same places and the same issues.
“Some are just not resolvable, because if you’ve got someone behaving really badly, unless they do something criminal or go bankrupt, you can’t actually get rid of them.
“Really, it’s often personality rather than being serious issues. A lot of issues come from just individuals.
“Sometimes it’s also councillors who have been there a long time and don’t like change.
“But you just cannot get rid of a naughty councillor, you can get rid of a naughty clerk because they’re an employee.
“But a naughty councillor is almost impossible to get rid of.
“They’ve really got to have a criminal offence or go bankrupt to be removed under the code of conduct.”
Currently, when a council has an issue, it is referred to one of the CALC staff who will try and resolve the problem.
Issues can be referred to the monitoring officer for review into the right course of action, which CALC often supports.
Mary added: “Quite often it’s misunderstandings or inappropriate behaviour or people feeling something is not right and we can support investigation into that.
“It’s often about mediation to try and sort out the direction of travel for that council or sometimes it can be just explaining something that needs to happen differently.
“CALC can’t tell a council what to do because they’re autonomous, but we can provide the information and advice to support them and the monitoring officer.
“Quite often the monitoring officer will ask us for advice if it’s a nitty gritty structural or governance issue.
“They will ask us as we have access to legal and national advice and CALC can sort that out.”
Mary said complaints can also be generated by local communities and through misunderstandings.
She added: “Quite often it can be vocal people in the community who think the council isn’t doing what it should be done.
“A good example is that people will yell at parish councils over potholes, but parishes have no real power over potholes.
“So, it’s very difficult and not all parish councils use all their ability to do things and that causes issues.
“But the majority of councils run very smoothly, have a good clerk and get on and do the work and we do the training.
“It’s often a personality issue rather than something really sinister and even when they’re referred to the external auditor, it usually comes back clean.
“But if we could do something about the standards so poor councillors could be removed, life would be a lot easier.”
Mary added that it can also be unresolvable clashes of personality that result in long-term complaint issues.
She said: “With the personality stuff it can be one person accuses another and it just escalates up to something that it needn’t be.
“Looking at the numbers, you’ll find persistent offenders.
“Some actions taken by certain councils can also upset other councils, so then you can get that gripe going on.
“Sometimes people also get frustrated by lack of power and the unitary perhaps not acting faster to resolve things in parishes that parishes have no control over, which can also result in complaints.”
On a national level, the Local Government Association and the National Association of Local Councils have lobbied government for a strengthened code of conduct standards regime.
NALC has called for amendments to be made to the Localism Act 2011 to allow standards committees across the country the power to sanction a member for poor behaviour.
It also called for stronger powers to investigate poor behaviour and introduce sanctions.
While the lobbying has been successful and the Government did commit to tougher standards being introduced this year – the plans have had some setbacks.
Mary said: “NALC and the LGA have lobbied government very hard over the last two years to have a better standards policy in place.
“It should have been in the King’s Speech but it wasn’t, and they’re lobbying quite hard for it to be put back in.
“It was going to be part of the devolution bill and while we have a code of conduct for councillors, at the moment it is virtually unenforceable.
“This applies to unitary and mayoral authorities too, if you have got someone who is just being obnoxious or vexatious you can’t really do anything about it under the code of conduct.
“The proposed stronger standards were trying to do something about vexatious and continuously poor behaviour so you can address it.
“That would have meant strengthening the monitoring officer’s role and putting more resource into their office.”
Mary said that without urgent reform, the current system can pose issues with maintaining democracy.
She added: “There aren’t that many difficult people in local councils, but when you do get these people and the community knows about them, it causes issues.
“People don’t want to stand to be parish councillors or a clerk because of it and that is a big issue.
“It’s really important we sort out these problems as it doesn’t allow democracy to take place.
“Parish and town councils do so much good work, in Cumbria we have around 200 and each has around seven or eight councillors.
“That’s an awful lot of people giving up their time and energy and then you have a few people who make life a little difficult.”
Mary said CALC’s training in response to complaints comes in several different formats.
Some is done via evidence-based learning where councils learn the rules, provide evidence to show understand them and get a qualification.
It also provides forums and ongoing training for chairs and clerks.
For councils experiencing long-term issues, ongoing training and support can be provided.
Mary added: “It depends on what the council needs. We can do dedicated training plans for a council.
“That can cover anything from what should a parish council be doing to helping a well-established one that wants to do more.
“We have a council at the moment who I would say have lost their way. They have a very good chair and clerk, but the council isn’t gelling well together.
“We were asked to put in mediation, but when we went there, it wasn’t what they needed.
“They needed a strategic plan for that parish area. So the training we are doing there is on that.”
CALC also created a civility pact that councils can sign up to.
Mary said: “It looks at respect for one another and at wider issues with how you fit into civil society and a little bit about how you keep yourself and others safe and acting properly.”
CALC can also provide mediation services for councils struggling with complaints.
Mary added: “Mediation can be between two people or the council as a whole.
“Often, it’s not what is needed. Sometimes it’s just explaining what the role of the parish council is if they’ve lost sight of that and getting a new strategic plan in place.
“But mediation might be used to deal with a historic issue that just keeps coming back and causing lots of problems. Some people just won’t let go of an issue and it’s about bottoming it out.
“Mediation is often not as you’d expect. It’s often what is the problem, let’s resolve it. Another council we’re working with there’s a misunderstanding about financial procedures.
“For them it’s about doing training and getting everyone on the same page about it.”
Mary said after the unitary switch and with devolution in mind, parish councils are more important than before.
She added: “Parish councils are increasingly important because when we used to have district authorities, we were third tier and now we’re second tier.
“You have the unitary and then the parish and town councils.
“The role they have has changed significantly over the years and the work going on nationally with devolution will look at the parish councils.”
Mary added that the introduction of tougher standards is urgently needed in Cumbria and the wider country.
She said: “I’m not sure it would bring the complaint numbers down in Cumbria, but it would mean there was some point in complaining.
“Local democracy is terribly important, and individuals should not mess that up.
“To be honest, the more proactive a council is, the more likely you are to have issues, so it’s not always a bad thing in a way.
“But where there is a problem, it tends to really be a problem.”
Parish and town councils in the Cumberland area
The latest statistics revealed by Cumberland Council have shown 43 complaints lodged from 2025 to 2026.
Of those complaints, nine related to Cumberland Councillors and 34 related to town and parish councillors.
The 34 complaints were also generated by only 15 of the 123 councils in the Cumberland area, which is around 12 per cent overall.
None of the councils have been identified.
One council alone accounted for 11 complaints that remain under consideration, with options to address the situation including mediation, training, or potential investigation.
Aside from these 11 complaints, the 23 remaining outcomes were:
- 18 were closed at an early-stage following preliminary assessment, with advice provided and informal resolutions being reached where considered appropriate
- One complaint was referred for formal investigation, which concluded that a breach of the code of conduct had occurred
- Four remain open pending further information/assessment
- CALC has also provided advice, support and assistance to several councils in response to complaints.
Recurring themes in the complaints included disrespectful conduct between councillors which were often linked to breakdowns in relationships and factional behaviour, misunderstanding or misapplication of governance procedures and conduct towards clerks.
In response to the figures, the standards committee requested more detailed information on the nature of complaints, the parish or town councils concerned, and the outcomes, including any standards hearings.
The council said the names of parish and town councils could only be provided in private session due to confidentiality considerations.
But it said the extra information would be provided to the committee in a private meeting, with relevant themes and patterns set out in generic terms.
Outcomes included:
- A programme of training sessions on code of conduct and declarations of interest for Cumberland Councillors – the materials of which were shared with town and parish councils
- Support and training provided by Cumbria Association of Local Councils to the parish and town councils
- Town and parish councils were also encouraged to sign up to a civility and respect pledge – which was created by CALC with the aim of encouraging good behaviour, respect and positive working relationships between councillors, staff and the public.
A similar pattern of one council accounting for multiple complaints was also recorded last year.
In the 2024 to 2025 period, one Cumbrian parish council had 14 misconduct complaints raised in 12 months – nine of which were lodged by the same person.
Cumberland Council said in total, 41 complaints were progressed during this period for town and parish councils – and 29 related to six councils alone.
The council said the volume of complaints and matters arising at that one council had had a significant impact on officer time and resources, with legal assistance being sought multiple times.
A further 15 complaints were also lodged against just five other councils.
Twenty-nine of the 41 complaints – 70 per cent – related to six councils, which represents around 4.9 per cent of the 123 parish and town councils in the Cumberland area.
The six councils which received 29 complaints were also brought to the attention of the Cumbria Association of Local Councils.
Town and parish councils were again encouraged to sign up for a civility and respect pledge.
In 2023 and 2024, it was parish councils specifically that generated the majority of complaints.
Cumberland council said 42 complaints were lodged for this period, of which 34 were against parish and town councils.
A total of 25 complaints were made against parish councils while eight were against town councils.
Disrespect and abuse of position were the most common themes raised.
Other themes included bullying and harassment, bringing a council into disrepute and failure to declare interests.
The monitoring officer also noted a distinct trend of tit for tat complaints that it said arose from a particular council meeting.
Of the 34 complaints lodged:
- 19 closed at an early stage with advice given or informal resolution – including apology and training recommendations and being reminded of their responsibilities by the MO
- 18 remained open pending assessment or further information
- Three were formally investigated, one found no breach.
- One was partially upheld, involving disrespect, and brought the role of a council into disrepute. The councillor involved resigned before the final report.
- A separate self-referral to the monitoring officer also took place, but after investigation, no breach was found.
Parish and town councils in the Westmorland & Furness area
Westmorland and Furness Council provided Cumbria Crack with yearly code of conduct complaint figures running from each January to December.
In the latest figures from 2025, the figures showed nine complaints were made against Westmorland and Furness councillors, while nine were also made against parish councillors and three were made against town councillors.
A total of 14 complaints were lodged by members of the public, three by members of staff and four by councillors.
Meanwhile, the annual report, which runs from April 2025 to March 2026, revealed the monitoring officer had processed 47 complaints in total.
A total of 27 related to parish and town councillors and 20 complaints related to Westmorland and Furness Councillors.
Two matters were resolved by way of informal resolution and withdrawn.
The remainder did not proceed as they were not a code of conduct matter or did not meet the threshold to proceed through the Council’s investigation process.
One complaint was also referred to the police but was closed with no further action.
There are now 19 matters progressing through the council’s complaints process.
Seven complaints have been forwarded for formal investigation by the monitoring officer.
While Westmorland and Furness do not publicly reveal themes in its complaints, it does provide some information on the outcomes of the complaints and overall numbers.
The council said complaints are recorded where they are considered by the complainant to fall within the scope of the code of conduct.
The independent person and chair of standards and governance committee was consulted for all except four complaints in this period with one also listed as involvement to be confirmed.
In 2024, the yearly figures showed that 16 complaints were made against parish councillors – but no complaints were lodged against town councillors or Westmorland and Furness councillors.
Two complaints from 2022 against parish councillors were also listed as having had their file closed and no further action taken.
All of the complaints were lodged by members of the public except for two, that were lodged by parish councillors.
All but one of the complaints were made by members of the public – with the remaining complaint made by a parish councillor.
According to the Standards and Governance committee meeting minutes from March 2025, a number of cases in the 2024 figures related to the same complainant.
Multiple complaints were being dealt with as a group which had inflated the number of open cases.
A number of the cases dated from April 2024 were also noted as nearing completion and had been prioritised as they were longstanding complaints.
A need for training for parish and town councillors was also established.
The group lawyer corporate and governance explained that training was provided by the monitoring officer and that the parish clerks were contacted about training.
The chair added that in some cases the understanding of an appropriate complaint was missed, but that training for members of the public was out of the scope of the council.
In the annual report running from April 2024 to March 2025, the council did not publish single annual figures – but said the monitoring office had processed ‘a number’ of complaints.
It added a high number had been closed with no further action, while others were closed informally or withdrawn.
It added that a number of code of conduct complaint forms were received which did not meet the threshold for a complaint.
No complaints were forwarded for formal investigation by the Monitoring Officer.
In 2023, the yearly figures showed that nine complaints were lodged against parish councillors and 14 against town councillors, while three were lodged against Westmorland and Furness councillors.
One complaint against a Westmorland and Furness councillor was listed as not requiring a formal investigation and was resolved via mediation.
Six complaints were also withdrawn – one of which was due to improved behaviour, another after advice was given to the complainant.
In total, 11 complaints were lodged by members of the public, while 10 were lodged by town councillors and two by parish councillors and one by a parish council clerk.
In the annual report from April 2023 to March 2024, the monitoring officer processed 33 complaints in total.
In total, 31 related to parish councillors and two complaints related to a Westmorland and Furness Councillor.
One matter was resolved by way of informal resolution, six were withdrawn, one did not proceed as it was not a code of conduct matter and the remainder received decisions of no further action.
There were also other matters where it was considered that either the alleged conduct/complaint did not meet the threshold for a code of conduct complaint, or where no formal complaint was submitted and so the matters did not proceed.
None of the matters resulted in any action being taken. No complaints were forwarded for formal investigation by the monitoring officer.
Members were informed of a number of cases that had been closed and it was noted that there had been a significant reduction in the number of open cases.
Discussion also took place regarding the amount of time it took to investigate each case and the potential of a filter that would reduce the number of ‘frivolous’ complaints received.
Members raised the need for wider consultation and training for town and parish councils and noted that this would also help to reduce the number of complaints.
