PLANS to spend £45,000 on an investigation into alleged breaches of the members’ code of conduct at a council meeting in which police were called, is set to be voted upon.

The request was made at last week’s cabinet meeting, and a decision to release the money will be considered at next Wednesday's full council meeting, (January 20).

Last August, a ‘who sits where’ row turned the vital meeting into a farce. Six Labour councillors, including Labour group leader Peter McDonald, claimed the front row of seats in the chamber traditionally occupied by the largest opposition party.

However Councillor Jean Luck was recognised as opposition leader, with the support of a larger group of independents. When Labour councillors failed to move, they were considered to be acting ‘deliberately obstructive’.

The row escalated with five police officers and an inspector summoned to the Council House.

The urgent business of sharing services with Redditch was the main item on the agenda that evening, many councillors calling the meeting one of the most important of recent years.

The role of ‘leader of the opposition’ was later abolished, and a new seating arrangement introduced.

In the aftermath 87 complaints were made to the standards committee, with 73 referred for investigation.

A council spokesman explained that as legislation requires complaints are properly investigated, the sheer volume and nature of complaints meant it was “impossible” to do in-house. The £45,000 is to be used to support the district council’s legal team.

Mrs Luck said the money need not be spent as it could be dealt with in-house, had complaints been put into ‘generic groups’.

“I think it is regrettable to spend this amount of money on such a matter. The money could have been better spent elsewhere.”

Mr McDonald, said: “Over the years the council’s legal team has increased by 20 per cent, to deal with these investigations.

“It is madness, the complaints are one of the same thing. It is a waste of people’s hard earned money, paid in council tax.”

Council leader, Roger Hollingworth, said the spending had been trivialised as an argument over seating, but wanted to emphasise it was not.

“The action which followed in July was an attempt to stop the democratic process happening at a meeting where an important decision was being made.

“I feel it is disgraceful to have to spend this money, but the law of the land says councillors must behave in a proper manner and where they haven’t, to an extent which could result in sanctions, an investigation needs to be made.“