Motion #07
Lead author: Robin Brabham
Abbreviations
AGM: Annual General Meeting
DC: Disciplinary Committee
SOPD: Standing Orders for Party Discipline
As a significant change compared to the previous AGM, membership of DC has benefitted from several individuals who have served for longer than one year, with the average length of service having increased from under 12 months to over 16 months. Their experience and confidence are strongly reflected in their contributions to committee business, which has also included guiding newer members through their DC membership, whether in hearings, on investigations, or for questions on the complaints system.
However, DC membership remains somewhat volatile. We reached 18 members this year, its largest ever, but now has returned to the 2023 AGM size of 14 members. We encourage regions with vacant positions on DC to engage with their members and hold elections for these positions. One DC member is on a no-fault suspension and another member has been expelled, but neither sanction was imposed due to decisions made by these individuals in their capacities as investigators or hearing panel members. DC members will continue to set a good example of following the Code of Conduct.
DC would like to thank former members for their work: Frank Earp, Scott Robinson and Jenny Vernon. All three have handled complex cases with compassion, integrity and understanding, and whose contributions will be missed. We particularly thank Scott Robinson for his extensive work as Deputy Chair and Chair, and for the significant efforts he has made to reform the complaints system. We also express our gratitude to the staff members who support DC and who perform some often undervalued, thankless and gruelling tasks on our behalf, particularly Complaints Manager Rositta Priestley and Head of Governance Sarah Santos.
Reflecting on the report to the previous AGM, some of the previous challenges remain in place. Litigation has significantly hindered the handling of complaints, costing the party significant quantities of time and money on legal services while delaying the hearing of complaints with extra back-and-forth. The validity of such legal involvement by members is not questioned by this report, but members should be mindful of these consequences if they choose to engage in litigation during the disciplinary process. Members should not misleadingly blame delays arising from their choice of litigation upon shortcomings of DC.
The administration of DC has become more effective as Rachel and I have grown in our leadership roles, becoming better versed in the imperfect systems we work with and having fostered healthy relationships with staff and other party bodies which support the work of this committee. This has led to improved resourcing of DC, including some investigations being handled by external providers in serious cases beyond the fair expectations of volunteers. We are grateful for this support, and we encourage the party to continue to invest in the disciplinary process as the party expands.
An additional challenge this year has been the General Election. DC members proudly contributed to the electoral success we achieved. However, this meant that we did not have the volunteer capacity to work as normal from April to July. All hearings and investigations were put on hold, both due to lack of DC availability and as many complainants and respondents were also busy campaigning. We are aware of the delays this has caused, and we are now back to a standard working pattern and will continue to tackle the backlog.
Misinformation around the party’s disciplinary processes was a minor but growing problem at the last AGM. Regrettably, this problem is now one of the most significant facing DC. We do not comment on individual cases, but individuals do comment on their own cases; often in a way which omits crucial information or which misattributes decisions to the wrong lines of reasoning. It is shameful that some former members are brazenly lying about the disciplinary process and sanctions applied to them, and dismaying that some current members are choosing to believe and amplify them without having sight of the evidence. DC has handled appalling cases of racism, harassment, bullying, voter fraud, corruption, and sexual assault, all behaviours that are unequivocally un-Green and unwelcome in this party. We do so while observing strict confidentiality and following our processes in SOPD. We stand by our decisions. We do not shy away from removing from the party those who commit these un-Green acts. We will not be intimidated by former members in denial over their un-Green behaviour.
As the party membership grows, so must our party infrastructure. The current SOPD contain significant shortcomings that are reflective of how much the party has changed, and unfortunately these shortcomings worsen the complaints backlog instead of easing it. DC has worked with other party bodies to develop a new SOPD with improvements including:
We encourage members to engage with these proposals and to support them at the next Conference.
Despite these challenges, DC continues to handle cases with integrity, due diligence, and a commitment to Green values. A trial of using external investigators this year has shown that for every complaint investigated by DC volunteers, or where DC considers no investigation to be necessary, this could be the equivalent of saving the party around £5000 per complaint (as compared to referring externally). We are making progress into the complaints backlog, with the number of open complaints having decreased by roughly one fifth since the start of 2024. We will continue this process, working within our current SOPD while doing our bit to improving the party’s governance, and we welcome volunteers wishing to stand for election to DC.
Lead author: Sarah Santos
Disciplinary Committee statistics
SOPD require the Complaints Manager to report to Conference all decisions of censure, suspension and expulsion taken by DC.
DC has held seven business meetings between 1st July 2023 and 30th June 2024, on the following dates:
In the period 1st July 2023 to 30th June 2024, DC heard 10 complaints, of which:
Of these upheld complaints:
Of these complaints resulting in sanction:*
*More than one sanction may have been applied, so the numbers here add to up to more than total cases heard.
Appeals Subcommittee statistics
The Complaints Manager is also required to report all Appeal decisions to Conference.
The Green Party Regional Council Appeals Sub Committee has considered three appeals from 1st July 2023 to 30th June 2024:
We wish to record our thanks to all involved in the disciplinary and disputes process, including those working in the Referral Group, at a regional level and in appeals, and to the ongoing work of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. In particular, we’d like to acknowledge the commitment all volunteers make to the process, even when working under difficult conditions.
SOC Note: (SOC note: because of the number of amendments proposed SOC is publishing the version helpfully provided by the proposer which includes the amendments in the text, as well as the amendments).
Amendments proposed: 2. Amended report:Last updated on 2024-11-02 at 12:44