§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Phil Hope)The Standards Board for England's annual report and accounts for 2003–04 have been placed in the Library of the House together with an annual review of the board's activities during the year.
The report and accounts cover the second year of significant operations by the standards board for England. During the year ended 31 March 2004, 3566 allegations of misconduct had been referred to the Standards Board, an increase of about 20 per cent. compared with the previous year.
The annual report highlights that the board is continuing to work in partnership with local government to promote and sustain the high standards of conduct, which are essential to public confidence in our local democracy.
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