Councillors' Code of Conduct

That the Parliament notes with concern the recent admission by the Housing Convener of Angus Council, Councillor Frank Ellis, that he broke the Councillors’ Code of Conduct when he failed to declare an interest at a committee meeting during which a contract worth £183,000 was awarded to a building firm of which he knew his nephew was a director; notes his subsequent apology but calls upon the Scottish Executive to initiate an independent inquiry into the circumstances of the award of the contract, and further calls for Councillor Ellis to be suspended pending the results of the inquiry and in order to restore public confidence in the impartiality of Angus Council.