Local
Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2007 No.1159
THE MODEL
CODE OF CONDUCT
FOR HARTSHORNE
PARISH
This document was re-approved
by the Parish Council at the meeting held on Monday 11th July 2022 (Minute Number )
Part 1
General
provisions
Introduction
and interpretation
1.—(1)(1) This Code applies to you as a member of
an authority.
(2) You should read this
Code together with the general principles prescribed by the Secretary of State
(see Annexure to this Code).
(3) It is your
responsibility to comply with the provisions of this Code.
(4) In this Code—
“meeting”
means any meeting of—
(a)
the
authority;
(b)
any
of the authority’s committees or sub-committees, joint committees or joint
sub-committees;
“member”
includes a co-opted member and an appointed member.
(5) References to an
authority’s monitoring officer and an authority’s standards committee shall be
read, respectively, as references to the monitoring officer and the standards
committee of the district council or unitary county council which has functions
in relation to the parish council for which it is responsible under section
55(12) of the Local Government Act 2000.
Scope
2.—(1)(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) to (5), you must comply
with this Code whenever you—
(a)
conduct
the business of your authority (which, in this Code, includes the business of
the office to which you are elected or appointed); or
(b)
act,
claim to act or give the impression you are acting as a representative of your
authority,
and
references to your official capacity are construed accordingly.
(2) Subject to
sub-paragraphs (3) and (4), this Code does not have effect in relation to your
conduct other than where it is in your official capacity.
(3) In addition to having
effect in relation to conduct in your official capacity, paragraphs 3(2)(c), 5
and 6(a) also have effect, at any other time, where that conduct constitutes a
criminal offence for which you have been convicted.
(4) Conduct to which this
Code applies (whether that is conduct in your official capacity or conduct
mentioned in sub-paragraph (3)) includes a criminal offence for which you are
convicted (including an offence you committed before the date you took office,
but for which you are convicted after that date).
(5) Where you act as a
representative of your authority—
(a)
on
another relevant authority, you must, when acting for that other authority,
comply with that other authority’s code of conduct; or
(b)
on
any other body, you must, when acting for that other body, comply with your
authority’s code of conduct, except and insofar as it conflicts with any other
lawful obligations to which that other body may be subject.
General
obligations
3.—(1)(1) You must
treat others with respect.
(2) You must not—
(a)
do
anything which may cause your authority to breach any of the equality
enactments (as defined in section 33 of the Equality Act 2006([a]));
(b)
bully
any person;
(c)
intimidate
or attempt to intimidate any person who is or is likely to be—
(i) a complainant,
(ii) a witness, or
(iii) involved in the
administration of any investigation or proceedings,
in
relation to an allegation that a member (including yourself) has failed to
comply with his or her authority’s code of conduct; or
(d)
do
anything which compromises or is likely to compromise the impartiality of those
who work for, or on behalf of, your authority.
(a)
disclose
information given to you in confidence by anyone, or information acquired by
you which you believe, or ought reasonably to be aware, is of a confidential
nature, except where—
(i) you have the consent of
a person authorised to give it;
(ii) you are required by law
to do so;
(iii) the disclosure is made
to a third party for the purpose of obtaining professional advice provided that
the third party agrees not to disclose the information to any other person; or
(iv) the disclosure is—
(aa)
reasonable
and in the public interest; and
(bb)
made
in good faith and in compliance with the reasonable requirements of the
authority; or
(b)
prevent
another person from gaining access to information to which that person is
entitled by law.
5. You must not
conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing
your office or authority into disrepute.
6. You—
(a)
must
not use or attempt to use your position as a member improperly to confer on or
secure for yourself or any other person, an advantage or disadvantage; and
(b)
must,
when using or authorising the use by others of the resources of your authority—
(i) act in accordance with
your authority’s reasonable requirements; and
(ii) ensure that such
resources are not used improperly for political purposes (including party
political purposes).
(c)
must
have regard to any applicable Local Authority Code of Publicity made under the
Local Government Act 1986.
7. Paragraph 7 does not
apply to your authority.
Part
2
Interests
Personal
interests
8.—(1)(1) You have a personal interest in any business of your
authority where either—
(a)
it
relates to or is likely to affect—
(i) 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 your authority;
(ii) any
body—
(aa)
exercising
functions of a public nature;
(bb)
directed
to charitable purposes; or
(cc)
one
of whose principal purposes includes 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;
(iii) any employment or
business carried on by you;
(iv) any person or body who
employs or has appointed you;
(v) any person or body,
other than a relevant authority, who has made a payment to you in respect of
your election or any expenses incurred by you in carrying out your duties;
(vi) any person or body who
has a place of business or land in your authority’s area, and in whom you have
a beneficial interest in a class of securities of that person or body that
exceeds the nominal value of £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share
capital (whichever is the lower);
(vii) any contract for goods,
services or works made between your authority and you or a firm in which you
are a partner, a company of which you are a remunerated director, or a person
or body of the description specified in paragraph (vi);
(viii) the interests of any
person from whom you have received a gift or hospitality with an estimated
value of at least £25;
(ix) any land in your
authority’s area in which you have a beneficial interest;
(x) any land where the
landlord is your authority and you are, or a firm in which you are a partner, a
company of which you are a remunerated director, or a person or body of the
description specified in paragraph (vi) is, the tenant;
(xi) any land in the
authority’s area for which you have a licence (alone or jointly with others) to
occupy for 28 days or longer; or
(b)
a
decision in relation to that business might reasonably be regarded as affecting
your well-being or financial position or the well-being or financial position
of a relevant person to a greater extent than the majority of—
(i) (in the case of
authorities with electoral divisions or wards) other council tax payers,
ratepayers or inhabitants of the electoral division or ward,
as the case may be, affected by the decision; or
(ii) (in all other cases)
other council tax payers, ratepayers or inhabitants of your authority’s area.
(2) In sub-paragraph
(1)(b), a relevant person is—
(a)
a
member of your family or any person with whom you have a close association; or
(b)
any
person or body who employs or has appointed such persons, any firm in which
they are a partner, or any company of which they are directors;
(c)
any
person or body in whom such persons have a beneficial interest in a class of
securities exceeding the nominal value of £25,000; or
(d)
any
body of a type described in sub-paragraph (1)(a)(i)
or (ii).
Disclosure
of personal interests
9.—(1)(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) to (5), where you have
a personal interest in any business of your authority and you attend a meeting
of your authority at which the business is considered, you must disclose to
that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of
that consideration, or when the interest becomes apparent.
(2) Where you have a
personal interest in any business of your authority which relates to or is
likely to affect a person described in paragraph 8(1)(a)(i)
or 8(1)(a)(ii)(aa), you need only disclose to the meeting the existence and
nature of that interest when you address the meeting on that business.
(3) Where you have a
personal interest in any business of the authority of the type mentioned in
paragraph 8(1)(a)(viii), you need not disclose the nature or existence of that
interest to the meeting if the interest was registered more than three years
before the date of the meeting.
(4) Sub-paragraph (1) only
applies where you are aware or ought reasonably to be aware of the existence of
the personal interest.
(5) Where you have a
personal interest but, by virtue of paragraph 14, sensitive information
relating to it is not registered in your authority’s register of members’
interests, you must indicate to the meeting that you have a personal interest,
but need not disclose the sensitive information to the meeting.
Prejudicial
interest generally
10.—(1)(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), where you have a
personal interest in any business of your authority you also have a prejudicial
interest in that business where the interest is one which a member of the
public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so
significant that it is likely to prejudice your judgement of the public
interest.
(2) You do not have a
prejudicial interest in any business of the authority where that business—
(a)
does
not affect your financial position or the financial position of a person or
body described in paragraph 8;
(b)
does
not relate to the determining of any approval, consent, licence, permission or
registration in relation to you or any person or body described in paragraph 8;
or
(c)
relates
to the functions of your authority in respect of—
(i) this sub-paragraph does
not apply to your authority;
(ii) this sub-paragraph does
not apply to your authority;
(iii) statutory sick pay
under Part XI of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, where
you are in receipt of, or are entitled to the receipt of, such pay;
(iv) an allowance, payment
or indemnity given to members;
(v) any ceremonial honour
given to members; and
(vi) setting council tax or
a precept under the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
11. Paragraph 11 does
not apply to your authority.
Effect
of prejudicial interests on participation
12.—(1)(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), where you have a
prejudicial interest in any business of your authority—
(a)
you
must withdraw from the room or chamber where a meeting considering the business
is being held—
(i) in a case where
sub-paragraph (2) applies, immediately after making representations, answering
questions or giving evidence;
(ii) in any other case,
whenever it becomes apparent that the business is being considered at that
meeting;
unless
you have obtained a dispensation from your authority’s standards committee; and
(b)
you
must not seek improperly to influence a decision about that business.
(2) Where you have a
prejudicial interest in any business of your authority, you may attend a
meeting but only for the purpose of making representations, answering questions
or giving evidence relating to the business, provided that the public are also
allowed to attend the meeting for the same purpose, whether under a statutory
right or otherwise.
Part
3
Registration
of Members’ Interests
Registration
of members’ interests
13.—(1)(1) Subject to paragraph 14, you must, within 28 days of—
(a)
this
Code being adopted by or applied to your authority; or
(b)
your
election or appointment to office (where that is later),
register
in your authority’s register of members’ interests (maintained under section
81(1) of the Local Government Act 2000) details of your personal interests where
they fall within a category mentioned in paragraph 8(1)(a), by providing written notification to your authority’s
monitoring officer.
(2)
Subject
to paragraph 14, you must, within 28 days of becoming aware of any new personal
interest or change to any personal interest registered under paragraph (1),
register details of that new personal interest or change by providing written
notification to your authority’s monitoring officer.
Sensitive
information
14.—(1)(1) Where you consider that the information relating to
any of your personal interests is sensitive information, and your authority’s
monitoring officer agrees, you need not include that information when
registering that interest, or, as the case may be, a change to that interest
under paragraph 13.
(2) You must, within 28
days of becoming aware of any change of circumstances which means that
information excluded under paragraph (1) is no longer sensitive information,
notify your authority’s monitoring officer asking that the information be included
in your authority’s register of members’ interests.
(3) In this Code,
“sensitive information” means information whose availability for inspection by
the public creates, or is likely to create, a serious risk that you or a person
who lives with you may be subjected to violence or intimidation.
Annexure - The Ten General Principles
The general principles governing your conduct under
the Relevant Authorities (General Principles) Order 2001 are set out
below:
1. Members should serve only the public interest and
should never improperly confer an advantage or disadvantage on any person.
Honesty and Integrity
2. Members should not place themselves in situations where their honesty
and integrity may be questioned, should not behave improperly and should on all
occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.
Objectivity
3. Members should make decisions on merit, including
when making appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for
rewards or benefits.
Accountability
4. Members should be accountable to the public for
their actions and the manner in which they carry out their responsibilities,
and should co-operate fully and honestly with any scrutiny appropriate to their
particular office.
Openness
5. Members should be as open as possible about their
actions and those of their authority, and should be prepared to give reasons
for those actions.
Personal Judgement
6. Members may take account of the views of others, including their
political groups, but should reach their own conclusions on the issues before
them and act in accordance with those conclusions.
Respect for Others
7. Members should promote equality by not
discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with
respect, regardless of their race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or
disability. They should respect the impartiality and integrity of the
authority's statutory officers, and its other employees.
Duty to Uphold the Law
8. Members should uphold the law and, on all
occasions, act in accordance with the trust that the public is entitled to
place in them.
Stewardship
9. Members should do whatever they are able to do to
ensure that their authorities use their resources prudently and in accordance
with the law.
Leadership
10.Members should promote and support these principles by leadership, and
by example, and should act in a way that
secures or preserves public confidence.