The Croydon Ethics Committee met on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, to address a number of new ethics complaints. The committee's proceedings are guided by the most recent version of the Code of Conduct, adopted by the Council in October 2021, and specific Assessment Criteria for complaints.

During the meeting, an update was provided on ethics complaints lodged in the first and second quarters of 2026, up to June 30. Gina Clarke reported that four complaints had been received. Two of these, submitted before the local elections, were paused whilst the outcome of the election was awaited . These paused complaints were subsequently assessed, with the outcome being no further action . The report indicates that the Monitoring Officer has the authority to undertake an initial assessment of complaints using adopted Assessment Criteria , which consider factors such as seriousness, malice, and political motivation. In these cases, the Monitoring Officer consulted with an Independent Person before reaching a decision, and the outcomes aligned with the Independent Person's views.

The remaining two complaints, which include allegations of disrespect and harassment, are currently undergoing assessment. One of these ongoing complaints includes allegations of disrepute, promoting and valuing equality and diversity, not discriminating, improper use of position, misuse of resources, and making decisions on merit without bias. The other ongoing complaint is also at the assessment stage.

The meeting was chaired by Councillor Catherine Wilson, with Councillor John Wentworth serving as Vice Chair. Other attendees included Councillors Jack Barwell, Esther Sutton, Paul Srinivasan, and Helen Redfern, alongside Independent Persons Joanne Middlewick and Ashok Kumar. The role of the Independent Persons is to provide consultation to the Monitoring Officer during the complaint assessment process, and in this instance, their views were sought and followed for all initial assessment decisions.

Further details regarding the committee's discussions and decisions can be found in the Printed minutes of the meeting. The agenda for the meeting was available as an Agenda frontsheet, and a comprehensive Public reports pack was also provided. The Minutes of the previous meeting were also available.