Registration and Declaration of Interests

All Councillors and co-opted members of Wiltshire Council must register their disclosable pecuniary interests for public view.

Registration of personal interests should be guided by the duty to act in conformity with the Principles of Public Life (Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty, Leadership).

The rules on registering and declaring interests are intended to promote openness and transparency to give the public confidence that councillors are putting the public interest first and are not benefiting their own financial affairs from being a councillor. Councillors should consider their obligations in respect of registering and declaring interests within this context. As a general rule, if there is any doubt about their situation it would be advisable to register or declare an interest. This provides openness and transparency, protects the public interest, the local authority’s decision and the councillor’s own position.

The register of interests is a public document available on the Council’s web site under the details for each councillor on this page.

It should contain sufficient details to ensure that the nature of the interests is clear to members of the public. In the case of an interest in land this should include a sufficient description of the land to enable it to be identified.

Definition of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

If you have any of the following pecuniary interests, they are your disclosable pecuniary interests under the new national rules. Any reference to spouse or civil partner includes any person with whom you are living as husband or wife, or as if they were your civil partner.

Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain, which you, or your spouse or civil partner, undertakes.

Any payment or provision of any other financial benefit (other than from your council or authority) made or provided within the relevant period in respect of any expenses incurred by you in carrying out duties as a member, or towards your election expenses. This includes any payment or financial benefit from a trade union within the meaning of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The relevant period is the 12 months ending on the day when you tell the monitoring officer about your disclosable pecuniary interests following your election or re-election, or when you became aware you had a disclosable pecuniary interest relating to a matter on which you were acting alone.

Any contract which is made between you, or your spouse or your civil partner (or a body in which you, or your spouse or your civil partner, has a beneficial interest) and your council or authority: under which goods or services are to be provided or works are to be executed; and which has not been fully discharged.

Any beneficial interest in land which you, or your spouse or your civil partner, have and which is within the area of your council or authority.

Any licence (alone or jointly with others) which you, or your spouse or your civil partner, holds to occupy land in the area of your council or authority for a month or longer.

Any tenancy where (to your knowledge): the landlord is your council or authority; and the tenant is a body in which you, or your spouse or your civil partner, has a beneficial interest.

Any beneficial interest which you, or your spouse or your civil partner has in securities of a body where:(a) that body (to your knowledge) has a place of business or land in the area of your council or authority; and(b) either - the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body; or if the share capital of that body is of more than one class, the total nominal value of the shares of any one class in which you, or your spouse or your civil partner, has a beneficial interest exceeds one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class.

Code of Conduct Requirements

Under paragraphs 8-13 of the Code of Conduct, Wiltshire Councillors MUST:

within 28 days of taking office as a member or co-opted member, notify the monitoring officer of any disclosable pecuniary interest as defined by regulations made by the Secretary of State, where the pecuniary interest is yours, your spouse’s or civil partner’s, or is the pecuniary interest of somebody with whom you are living as a husband of wife, or as if you were civil partners.

within 28 days of taking office as a member or co-opted member, notify your authority’s monitoring officer of any disclosable pecuniary or non- pecuniary interests which your authority has decided should be included in the register.

If an interest has not been entered onto the authority’s register you must disclose the interest to any meeting of authority at which you are present, where you have a disclosable interest in any matter being considered and where the matter is not a sensitive interest.

Following any disclosure of an interest which is not on the authority’s register or the subject of pending notification, you must notify the monitoring officer of the interest within 28 days beginning with the date of disclosure.

Unless dispensation has been granted, you may not participate in any discussion of, vote on, or discharge any function related to any matter in which you have a pecuniary interest as defined by regulations made by the Secretary of State. You must observe the restrictions your authority places on your involvement in matters where you have a pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest as defined by your authority.

For Wiltshire Council, this means you must withdraw from the meeting in your capacity as a councillor. Government guidance advises that you should additionally leave the room if you consider your continued presence is incompatible with the council’s Code of Conduct or the Seven Principles of Public Life (which are defined in the Code of Conduct)

Advised Registrations

Guidance to the Code of Conduct adopted by Wiltshire Council states that to ensure openness and transparency, in addition to the interests councillors are required to register by law councillors are strongly encouraged to include details of the following on their register of interests, though this is not mandatory:

Any body of which you are a member or in a position of general control or management and to which you are appointed or nominated by the Council;
Any body exercising functions of a public nature of which you are a member or in a position of general control or management;
Any body directed to charitable purposes of which you are in a position of general control or management;
Any body whose principal purposes include the influence of public opinion or policy (including any political party or trade union) of which you are a member or in a position of general control or management.
Details of any gift, benefit or hospitality with a value in excess of £ 50 which you have accepted as a member from any person or body other than the Council.