Former councillor whose tone was 'inappropriate' in row over gate is censured

In May, the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority met to consider a complaint by the member of the public made to the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales.

It alleged that former Powys County Councillor Colonel Timothy Van-Rees acting in his capacity as a member of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority breached the members’ Code of Conduct by stating the gate should be removed as it posed a fire risk.

For many years former army officer Mr Van-Rees represented the town of Llanwrtyd Wells on Powys County Council. He stood down at the election in May 2022.

After hearing from Mr Van-Rees’s representative, and the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales’s representative, the Standards Committee found that Mr Van-Rees had failed to comply with paragraphs 4(a), 4(b), 6(1)(a) and 7(a) of the members code of conduct in that he had not treated the member of the public equitably or with respect.

The committee also said that Mr Van-Rees had conducted himself in a manner that was likely to bring the authority or the member into disrepute and had attempted to use his position improperly to secure an advantage or create a disadvantage for himself, and/or others.

The report said: “Notwithstanding former Councillor Van-Rees’s long and distinguished record of public service, that in view of the seriousness of the conduct in question, former Councillor Van-Rees should be censured for his actions in failing to comply with the members’ Code of Conduct, particularly as he was still an active member of Llanwrtyd Wells Town Council.”

The decision was welcomed by Michelle Morris, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales who had referred the complaint on to the Fire Authority’s Standards Committee.

During the investigation, the ombudsman found that former Councillor Van-Rees had relied on his position as a member of the authority and had written to the complainant to require removal of a gate that he said posed a fire risk.

The evidence suggested that the member had no authority to determine whether the gate posed a fire risk and that such functions were for the fire service, not for the authority or its members.

Due to this the ombudsman concluded that the member may have breached the Code of Conduct and used his position as a member of the authority improperly to secure an advantage for his clients in a private civil dispute.

The ombudsman also found the “tone” of Mr Van-Rees’ correspondence to the complaint to be “inappropriate.”

The ombudsman said: “During the course of the investigation, the member made a number of comments about the complainant’s mental health, which the ombudsman considered to be disrespectful and discriminatory in respect of a potential disability.”