PART 2
INTERESTS
Personal
Interests
8 (1) A member must regard
himself as having a personal interest in any matter if the matter
relates to an interest in respect of which notification must be
given under paragraphs 14 and 15 below, or if a decision upon it
might reasonably be regarded as affecting to a greater extent than
other council tax payers, ratepayers or inhabitants of the
authority's area, the well-being or financial position of himself,
a relative or friend or:
(a) any employment or business
carried on by such persons;
(b) any person 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 corporate body in which
such persons have a beneficial interest in a class of securities
exceeding the nominal value of £5,000; or
(d) any body listed in
sub-paragraphs (a) to (e) of paragraph 15 below in which such
persons hold a position of general control or management.
(2) In this paragraph:
(a) "relative" means a spouse,
partner, parent, parent-in-law, son, daughter, step-son,
step-daughter, child of a partner, brother, sister, grandparent,
grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or the spouse or partner of
any of the preceding persons; and
(b) "partner" in sub-paragraph
(2)(a) above means a member of a couple who live together.
Disclosure of
Personal Interests
9 (1) A member with a personal
interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at
which the matter is considered 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) Subject to paragraph
12(1)(b) below, a member with a personal interest in any matter who
has made an executive decision in relation to that matter must
ensure that any written statement of that decision records the
existence and nature of that interest.
Prejudicial
Interests
10 (1) Subject to sub-paragraph
(2) below, a member with a personal interest in a matter also has a
prejudicial interest in that matter if 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
the member's judgement of the public interest.
(2) A member may regard
himself as not having a prejudicial interest in a matter if that
matter relates to:
(a) another relevant authority of
which he is a member;
(b) another public authority in
which he holds a position of general control or management;
(c) a body to which he has been
appointed or nominated by the authority as its
representative;
(d) the housing functions of the
authority where the member holds a tenancy or lease with a relevant
authority, provided that he does not have arrears of rent with that
relevant authority of more than two months, and provided that those
functions do not relate particularly to the member's tenancy or
lease;
(e) the functions of the
authority in respect of school meals, transport and travelling
expenses, where the member is a guardian or parent of a child in
full time education, unless it relates particularly to the school
which the child attends;
(f) the functions of the
authority in respect of statutory sick pay under Part XI of the
Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, where the
member is in receipt of, or is entitled to the receipt of such pay
from a relevant authority; and
(g) the functions of the
authority in respect of an allowance or payment made under Sections
173 to 176 of the Local Government Act 1972 or Section 18 of the
Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Overview and Scrutiny
Committees
11 (1) For the purposes of this
Part, a member must if he is involved in the consideration of a
matter at a meeting of an overview and scrutiny committee of the
authority or a sub-committee of such a committee, regard himself as
having a personal and prejudicial interest if that consideration
relates to a decision made, or action taken, by another of the
authority's:
(a) committees or sub-committees;
or
(b) joint committees or joint
sub-committees of which he may also be a member.
(2) But
sub-paragraph (1) above shall not apply if that member attends that
meeting for the purpose of answering questions or otherwise giving
evidence relating to that decision or action.
Participation in
Relation to Disclosed Interests
12 (1) Subject to sub-paragraph
(2) below, a member with a prejudicial interest in any matter
must:
(a) withdraw from the room or
chamber where a meeting is being held whenever it becomes apparent
that the matter is being considered at that meeting, unless he has
obtained a dispensation from the authority's standards
committee;
(b) not exercise executive
functions in relation to that matter; and
(c) not seek improperly to
influence a decision about that matter.
(2) A member with a
prejudicial interest may, unless that interest is of a financial
nature, and unless it is an interest of the type described in
paragraph 11 above, participate at a meeting of the
authority's:
(a) overview and scrutiny
committees; and
(b) joint or area
committees
to the extent that such
committees are not exercising functions of the authority or its
executive.
13 For the purposes of this Part,
"meeting" means any meeting of:
(a) the authority;
(b) the executive of the
authority; or
(c) any of the authority's or its
executive's committees, sub-committees, joint committees, joint
sub-committees or area committees.