Conservatives to Scrap Discredited Standards Board Quango

As part of their plans to scale back central government red-tape and bureaucracy, Conservatives pledged today to scrap the unpopular Standards Board of England, the local government watchdog that rules on complaints made against councillors. The Board has been deluged with malicious and frivolous allegations since its creation, with some cases taking up to two years to process.

Its effect on rural England has been the most visible, with 55% of all complaints being made against parish councillors. The whole regime has caused a large number of parish councillors to resign or stand down, and fuelled a shortage of volunteers in rural areas.

Eric Pickles, MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government, explained, "The Standards Board has become the problem not the solution. It is damaging the reputation and standing of local government, and wasting taxpayers' money on frivolous and malicious complaints. It has undermined public confidence in coumcillors and local coumcils. The impact on rural life has been the harshest, stigmatising and undermining the role of parish councillors, who now constantly face the threat of petty and unfounded complaints and must act as informants on their colleagues.

"Conservatives are committed to reducing expensive and unnecessary red-tape and rolling back growing central interference in local councils. As part of this process, we will abolish the discredited and unpopular Standards Board, whose draconian conduct is wholly disproportionate to the risk.

"We will keep the role of respected bodies like District Auditors, the Local Government Ombudsman and the police authorities, to tackle financial impropriety and administrative incompetence. We see no need for this ineffective and discredited quango."

[Released 12th November 2004]