A new date has been set for a hearing into a Forest councillor’s alleged behaviour.

The standards panel at the Forest of Dean District Council was due to consider allegations against an elected member of the authority on October 2.

The hearing, which would ascertain whether or not they had failed to comply with the code of conduct, was postponed due to circumstances beyond the panel’s control, according to the council.

The standards panel is now scheduled to go ahead next week.

But the identity of the councillor and details about the case remain a secret – the reason given by the council is that the confidential report contains information relating to an individual.

This sparked some concern among councillors as a motion was agreed that meetings should be held in public.

Councillors have been calling for the hearing to be held in public and the council has previously held standards meetings in public.

According to the redacted meeting report, the independent members, who are not councillors, will test the robustness of an investigator’s report.

At the hearing, the investigating officer is expected to present their report, call witnesses they consider necessary and make representations to substantiate their conclusion that the member has failed to comply with the code of conduct.

The investigator may ask the complainant to attend and give evidence to the panel, according to the meeting’s agenda.

The councillor will then have an opportunity to give their evidence, to call witnesses and to make representations.

If the councillor is found to be in breach of the code of conduct they will then make a recommendation to the full council who will agree to sanctions.

The decision on whether to exclude the press and public at the meeting on November 4 will be down to the panel which is made up of independent persons.