Hearings

• (i) The Monitoring Officer will be the adviser to the meeting. During the meeting all questions and other proceedings shall be addressed through the chair.

• (ii) Representations from the Ethical Standards Officer (ESO) and the Member as to reasons why the Sub Committee should exclude the press and public and determination by the Sub Committee as to whether to exclude the press and public. If the Sub Committee decides that it will not exclude press and public, the Monitoring Officer shall at this point provide copies of the agenda and reports to any members of the press and public who are present.

• (iii) Presentation by the ESO of his/her report to the Sub Committee.

• (iv) The Member to ask questions of the ESO.

• (v) Members of the Sub Committee may ask questions of the ESO.

• (vi) The ESO will call any witnesses to give evidence to the Sub Committee.

• (vii) The Member may ask questions of the ESO's witnesses.

• (viii) Members of the Sub Committee may ask questions of the ESO's witnesses.

• (ix) The ESO may ask questions of their witness.

• (x) The Member concerned will present his or her case

• (xi) The ESO may ask questions of the Member.

• (xii) Members of the Sub Committee may ask questions of the Member.

• (xiii) The Member will call any witnesses to give evidence.
• (xiv) The ESO may ask questions of the Member's witnesses.

• (xv) Members of the Sub Committee may ask questions of the Member's witnesses.

• (xvi) The Member may ask questions of their witness.
• (xvii) The ESO may sum up.

• (xviii) The Member may sum up.

• (xix) The ESO and member will then leave (if the Sub Committee agreed at the start to exclude the press and public)

• (xx) If the hearing has been held in public, the Sub Committee will decide whether there are grounds to deliberate in private and if so the member and the ESO will be asked to leave.

• (xxi) The Sub Committee will then reach its decision on the facts and on whether there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct.

• (xxii) If the Sub Committee conclude that the Member has acted in breach of the Code of Conduct, the Sub Committee will then hear representations from the ESO and then the Member as to whether the Sub Committee should take any action against the Member and what form any action should take. Members of the Sub Committee may ask questions of the ESO and the Member.

• (xxiii) The ESO and member will then leave (if the Sub Committee agreed at the start to exclude the press and public)

• (xxiv) If the hearing has been held in public, the Sub Committee will decide whether there are grounds to deliberate in private and if so the member and the ESO will be asked to leave

• (xxv) The Sub Committee will then consider whether to take any action against the Member and what form such action should take. In its considerations it will consider the advice of the Standards Board on "Deciding a Penalty" as set out in Appendix B. Once it has made its decision the Sub Committee will then advise the ESO and the Member of their decision and the reasons for those decisions.

• (xxvi) The Sub Committee may consider whether there are any general recommendations which the Sub Committee should make arising from their consideration of the allegation.