• (i)  The Assessment Sub-Committee is established to receive allegations that a member of the Fire Authority has failed, or may have failed, to comply with the Code of Conduct.

• (ii)  Upon receipt of each allegation and any accompanying report by the Monitoring Officer, the Sub-Committee shall make an initial assessment of the allegation and shall then do one of  the following:

(a)  refer the allegation to the Monitoring Officer, with an instruction that he/she arrange a formal investigation of the allegation, or direct that he/she takes other action such as arrange training, conciliation or such appropriate alternative steps as permitted by Regulations (this includes deferring a decision to refer the matter for formal investigation whilst there is an assessment by the Monitoring Officer of the likely outcome of any alternative action)

(b)  refer the allegation to the Standards Board for England

(c)  decide that no action should be taken in respect of the allegation; or

(d)  where the allegation is in respect of a person who is no longer a member of the authority, but is a member of another relevant authority (as defined in Section 49 of the Local Government Act 2000), refer the allegation to the Monitoring Officer of that other relevant authority;

and shall instruct the Monitoring Officer to take reasonable steps to notify the person making the allegation and the member concerned of that decision. 

• (iii)      The Sub-Committee shall state its reasons for its decision.        

• (iv)         Where a direction has been given to the Monitoring Officer to take steps other than an investigation, to receive the report back from the Monitoring Officer (under Regulation 13 of the Standards Committee (England) Regulations 2008) and either: