Agenda item

Report by the Monitoring Officer

The Head of Governance introduced the report and outlined the progress that had been made in implementing the new requirements in Wiltshire, particularly in respect of the Code of Conduct and the Register of Interests.

The Monitoring Officer then referred to paragraphs 21-24 of the report, which asked members to consider whether it was appropriate to require any additional pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests to be declared and registered under the Council’s Code of Conduct in accordance with its discretion under section 28(3) Localism Act 2011, and whether councillors with disclosable pecuniary interests should be required by standing orders to withdraw from meetings.   The Council had, at its meeting on 26 June 2012, asked the Standards Committee to look into this, in consultation with parish, town and city councils and to report back with proposals at the earliest opportunity.

The Monitoring Officer also referred to the notes of the meeting of the Member Support in the Locality Task Group where further clarification had been requested on the new rules, particularly in relation to ‘dual-hatted’ members and whether member allowances were a disclosable pecuniary interest.  It was recommended that guidanceonthiswouldbeofparticular assistanceto parish, town and citycouncillorsandshouldreflect the environment in whichthey work.

Following discussion it was

RESOLVED:

To recommend the Council toadopt the following as an interim position, pending consultation with parish, town and city councils, and to report back to the Council at its meeting in February 2013 on the outcome of the consultation and any final recommendations for adoption by the Council.

To amend Wiltshire Council’s Code of Conduct to require Councillors  to:

a.  register details of any interest in the following:

·       any body of which the councillor is a member or in a position of general control or management and to which the councillor is appointed or nominated by the Council;

·       any body exercising functions of a public nature of which the councillor is a member or in a position of general control or management;

·       any body directed to charitable purposes of which the councillor is a member or in a position of general control or management;

·       any body one of whose principal purposes includes the influence of public opinion or policy (including any political party or trade union) of which the councillor is a member or in a position of general control or management;

b. declare the existence and nature of any such interest at any meeting
               of the Council where business relating to the interest is being
              conducted.
 
    Having declared such interest Councillors may then speak and vote on the matter, unless the Councillor decides this would not be appropriate due to other special circumstances.