The Standards Board for England has sent a circular to all local authorities reminding members that their private conduct will soon be covered by the sector's ethical code. It follows town hall confusion over the scope of the Standard Board's 2007 Code of conduct, after former London mayor, Ken Livingstone, was suspended from office for four weeks following an adjudication panel ruling in 2006. Mr Livingstone was alleged to have made insulting remarks to a reporter after a private party, but the panel ruled his private conduct was not covered by any code of conduct. However, the CLG's Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 recently blurred the distinction between public and private roles by allowing the ethical code to cover some conduct in a private capacity. But, at present, only Wales has enforced the clause in the Government's legislation. ‘So, in England, the code still does not cover members at any time in their private capacity,' the new circular makes clear. The CLG expects its change to come into force in England at the same time as the revised code of conduct.
