A COMMUNITY councillor should be suspended after he failed to declare an interest or leave a meeting held to determine whether his partner would receive an £8,900 pay rise, a tribunal ruled.

Magor with Undy Community Council’s Cllr Paul Cawley failed to declare an interest at a meeting on April 7, 2014. At the time he was in a relationship with the council’s clerk, Beverly Cawley. They are now married.

An Adjudication Panel for Wales hearing held in Newport on March 11 unanimously found Cllr Cawley had failed to comply with his council’s code of conduct. The panel recommended he is suspended for three months.

They said he should have left the room when the pay rise was being discussed.

The notice of decision from the panel, chaired by Emma Boothroyd, said: “The case tribunal found that Cllr Cawley remaining in the meeting may have given the impression of impropriety to the public regardless of any complaints made. The tribunal considered the Ombudsman’s guidance and the code is clear that councillors must leave meetings to ensure that there can be no suggestion of influence or impropriety.

“The test is not whether Cllr Cawley would take the decision without prejudice but whether he would be seen as doing so. The fact that there was a complaint reinforces the fact that Cllr Cawley’s actions had an adverse impact on the reputation of the authority and its probity in decision-making.”

Mill ward councillor for Monmouthshire County Council and Magor with Undy Community Council Frances Taylor complained to the Ombudsman over Cllr Cawley’s conduct.

At the time of the meeting she was just a county councillor but joined the community council after winning a by-election on June 19, 2014.

She told the Argus: “Paul Cawley appeared to be involved to give his partner a very significant pay rise and I think this potentially undermines public confidence in the decision-making of Magor with Undy Community Council.”

The panel recommended Cllr Cawley is given the opportunity to take additional training on the code of conduct. He can also seek the leave of the High Court to appeal the decision.