Introduction
All councils are required to adopt a local
Councillor Code of Conduct. Brighton & Hove City Council
(‘BHCC’) has chosen to adopt a Code which is based on
the Local Government Association’s Model Councillor Code of
Conduct, developed in association with key partners and after
extensive consultation with the sector.
BHCC’s Code of Conduct covers all elected
Members and co-opted Members (together referred to in this Code as
‘Member’ or ‘Members’ as appropriate) of
Brighton & Hove City Council whenever they are acting as a
member or representative of the council or when they are behaving
in a way which meets the description described in the paragraph
entitled Application of the Code of Conduct below. The Code is
reviewed regularly and in any event at least once every three
years. The Independent Persons who are appointed to the
Council’s Audit and Standards Committee are also expected to
abide by this Code in terms of the standards of behaviour they
observe and by voluntarily declaring any interests they have in any
matter under discussion at any meeting.
The requirements outlined in this Code regarding
the Declaration of Interests at Meetings apply to formal meetings
of the Council, its Committees and Sub-Committees and its joint
Committees and Sub-Committees. Members are however encouraged to
voluntarily declare at all meetings, both formal and informal, any
facts which they consider may be relevant to the perception of
their decision-making, this although they are not required to do
so. The Code does not apply when Members are acting or appearing in
the perception of a reasonable person to be acting in a purely
private capacity.
This Code of Conduct should be read alongside the
Council’s corporate values: respect, collaboration,
efficiency, openness, creativity, and customer focus, which are
appended hereto.
All Members are bound by the requirements of the
Equality Act 2010, which amongst other things prohibits
discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, gender
reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and
maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. In
addition, Members are expected to promote equality in their actions
and behaviours.
When applying and interpreting this Code of
Conduct, Members should have regard to the following policies and
documents (as amended from time to time):
(a) Council Procedure Rules
(b) Arrangements regarding the Register of
Members’ Interests
(c) Practice Note – Use of Council
Facilities
(d) Protocol for Members regarding planning
applications
(e) Code of Conduct for Member/Officer
Relations
(f) Guidance for Members on
Correspondence
(g) Guidance on confidentiality
(h) Anti-fraud and Corruption Strategy
(i) Whistleblowing Policy
Definitions
For
the purposes of this Code of Conduct, a “Councillor” means a member or co-opted member of a local authority. A “co-opted member” isdefined in the Localism Act 2011 Section 27(4). It is a person who is not an elected member of the authority, but has both been co-opted onto one of its
committees or subcommittees, or who sits on any joint committee or joint sub-committee of the authority and is entitled to vote on any question that falls to be decided at any meeting of that committee or sub-committee.
The requirement to appoint at least one
“Independent Person” and a description of that role is
in Section 28(7) of the Localism Act 2011.
For
the purposes of this Code of Conduct, “local authority” includes county councils, district councils, London borough councils, parish councils, town councils, fire and rescue authorities, police authorities, joint authorities, economic prosperity boards, combined authorities and National Park authorities.
Purpose
of the Code of Conduct
The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to assist you, as aCouncillor, in modelling the behaviour that is expected of you, to provide a personal check and balance, and to set out the type of conduct that could lead to action being taken against you. It is also toprotect you, the public, fellow Councillors, local authority officers andthe reputation of local government. It sets out the general principles of conduct expected of all Councillors and your specific obligations in relation to standards of conduct. The fundamental aim of theCode is to create and maintain public confidence in the role of Councillor andlocal government.
General principles of Councillor conduct
Everyone in public office at all levels; all whoserve the public or deliver public services, including ministers, civil servants, Councillors and local authority officers; should uphold the Seven
Principles of Public Life,
also
known as the Nolan Principles.
Building on these principles, the following general principles have been developed specifically for the role of Councillor.
In accordance with the public trust placed in me, on all occasions:
• I act
with integrity and honesty
• I act
lawfully
• I treat allpersons fairly and with respect; and
• I lead by example and act in a way that secures
public confidence in the role of Councillor.
In undertaking my role:
• I impartially exercise my responsibilities in the interests of the local community
• I do not improperly seek to confer an advantage, or disadvantage, on any person
• I avoid
conflicts of interest
• I exercise reasonable care and diligence; and
• I ensure
that public resources are used prudently in accordance with my local authority’s requirements and in the public interest.
Application of the Code of Conduct
This
Code of Conduct applies to you as soon as you sign your declaration of acceptance of the office of Councillor or attend your first meeting as a co-opted member and continues to apply to you until you cease to be a Councillor.
This
Code of Conduct applies to you when you are acting in your capacity as a Councillor. It may include when:
• you misuse your position as a Councillor, or
• your actions may or could give the impression to a reasonable member of the public with knowledge of all the facts that you are acting as a Councillor, or are such as to create the
risk that such an impression could be generated.
The Code applies to all forms of communication and interaction, including:
• at
face-to-face meetings
• at online or telephone meetings
• in written communication
• in verbal
communication
• in non-verbal
communication
• in electronic and social media communication, posts, statements and comments.
You are also expected to uphold high standards of conduct and to show leadership at all times when acting as a Councillor.
Your
Monitoring Officer has statutory responsibility for theimplementation of the Code of Conduct, and you are encouraged to seek advice from your Monitoring Officer on any matters that may relate tothe Code of Conduct. Town and parish Councillors are encouraged to seek advice from their Clerk, who may refer matters to the Monitoring Officer.
Standards of Councillor conduct
This
section sets out in bold type your obligations, which are the minimum standards of conduct required of you as a Councillor. Should your conduct fall short of these standards, a complaint may be made against you, which may result in action being taken.
Guidance is included in ordinary font to help explain the reasons for theobligations andhow they should be followed.
General Conduct
1. Respect
As a Councillor:
1.1 I treat other Councillors and members of the public with respect.
1.2 I treat local authority employees, employees and representatives of partner organisations and those volunteering for the local authority with respect and respect the role they play.
Respect
means politeness and courtesy in behaviour, speech, and in the written word. Debate and having different views are all part ofa healthy democracy. As a Councillor, you can express, challenge, criticise and disagree with views, ideas, opinions and policies in a robust but civil manner. You should not, however, subject individuals, groups of people or organisations to personalised attack.
In your contact with the public, you should treat them politely and courteously. Rude and offensive behaviour lowers the public’s expectations andits confidence in Councillors.
In return, you have a right to expect respectful behaviour from the public. If members of the public are being abusive, intimidatory orthreatening you are entitled to stop any conversation or interaction in person or online and report them to the local authority, the relevant social media provider or thepolice. This also applies to fellow Councillors, where action could then be taken under the Councillor Code of Conduct, andlocal authority employees, where concerns should be raised in line with the Code of Conduct for Member/Officer
Relations.
2. Bullying, harassment and discrimination
As a Councillor:
2.1 I do
not bully anyperson.
2.2 I do
not harass any person.
2.3 I promote equalities and do not discriminate unlawfully against any person, nor do I cause the Council to
breach any of its equality duties
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) characterises bullying as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient. Bullying might be a regular pattern of behaviour or a one-off incident, happen face-to-face, on social media, in emails or phone calls, happen in the workplace or at work social events and may not always be obvious or noticed by others.
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 defines harassment as conduct that causes alarm or distress or puts people in fear of violence and must involve such conduct onat least two occasions. It can include repeated attempts to impose unwanted communications and contact upon a person in a manner that could be expected to cause distress or fear in any reasonable person.
Unlawful discrimination is where someone is treated unfairly because of a protected characteristic. Protected characteristics are specific aspects of a person's identity defined by the Equality Act 2010. They are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
The Equality Act 2010 places specific duties on local authorities. Councillors have a central role to play in ensuring that equality issues are integral to the local authority’s performance and
strategic aims, and that there is a strong vision and public commitment to equality acrosspublic services.
3. Officers of the council: impartiality and having regard
to advice
As a Councillor:
3.1 I do
not compromise, or attempt tocompromise, the impartiality of anyone who works for, or on behalf of, the local authority.
Officers work for the local authority as a whole and must be politically neutral (unless they are political assistants). They should not be coerced or persuaded to act in a way that would undermine their neutrality. You can question officers in order to understand, for example, their reasons for proposing to act ina particular way, or the content of a report that they have written. However, you must nottry and force them to act differently, change their advice, or alter the content of that report, if doing so would prejudice their professional integrity.
3.2 When reaching decisions on any matter, I have
regard to any relevant
advice provided to me by any Council officer
discharging the Council’s functions, including the
Council’s–
(i) chief
finance officer;
(ii)
monitoring officer; or
(iii) chief
executive and head of paid service
where that officer is acting pursuant to their
statutory duties.
The Councils’ officers play a key role in
ensuring that the Council discharges its functions lawfully. For
this reason, Members are required to have regard to any advice
provided to them by officers discharging the Council’s
functions, particularly where the advice is given by officers
appointed to any of the roles listed in (i), (ii) and/or (iii)
above.
4. Confidentiality and access to information
As a Councillor:
4.1 I do not disclose information:
a. given
to me in confidence by anyone
b. acquired by me which I believe, or ought reasonably to be aware, is of a confidential nature, unless
i. I
have received the consent of a person authorised to give it;
ii. I
am required by law to do so;
iii. the disclosure is made to a third party for the purpose of obtaining professional legal advice provided that the third party agrees not to disclose the information to any other person; or
iv. the disclosure is:
1. reasonable and in the public interest; and
2. made in good faith and in compliance with the reasonable requirements of the local authority.
4.2 I do
not improperly use knowledge gained solely as a result of my role as a Councillor for the advancement of myself, myfriends, my family members, my employer or my business interests.
4.3 I do
not interfere with anyone seeking to obtain
information which they are entitled to by law.
Local
authorities must work openly and transparently, and their proceedings and printed materials are open to the public, except in certain legally defined circumstances. You should work on this basis, but there will be times when it is required by law that discussions, documents and other information relating to or held by the local authority must be treated in a confidential manner. Examples include personal data relating to individuals orinformation relating to ongoing negotiations.
5. Disrepute
As a Councillor:
5.1 I do
not bring my role or local authority into disrepute.
As a Councillor, you are trusted to make decisions onbehalf of your community and your actions and behaviour are subject to greater scrutiny than that of ordinary members of the public. You should be aware that your actions might have an adverse impact on you, other Councillors and/or your local authority and may lower the public’s confidence in your or your local authority’s ability todischarge your/it’s functions. For example, behaviour that is considered dishonest and/or deceitful can bring your local authority into disrepute.
You are able to hold the local authority and fellow Councillors toaccount and are able to constructively challenge and express concern about decisions and processes undertaken by the Council whilst continuing to adhere to other aspects of this Code of Conduct.
6. Use of position
As a Councillor:
6.1 I do
not use, or attempt touse, my position or influence improperly to the advantage or disadvantage of myself or anyone else.
Your
position and influence as a member of the local authority provides you with certain opportunities, responsibilities and privileges, and you make choices allthe time that willimpact others. However, you should not take advantage of these opportunities to further your own or others’ private interests or to disadvantage anyone unfairly.
7. Use of local authority resources andfacilities
As a Councillor:
7.1 I do
not misuse council resources.
7.2 I will, when using the resources of thelocal or authorising their use by others:
a. act inaccordance with the local authority's requirements; and
b.
ensure that such resources are not used for political purposes unless that use could reasonably be regarded as likely to facilitate, or be conducive to, the discharge of the functions of the local authority or of the office to which I have been elected or appointed.
You may
be provided with resources and facilities by the local authority to assist youin carrying out your duties as a Councillor.
Examples include:
• office support
• stationery
• equipment such as phones, and computers
• transport
• access
and use of local authority buildings and rooms.
These
are given to you to help you carry out your role as a Councillor more effectively and arenot to be used for business or personal gain. They should be usedin accordance with the purpose for which they have been provided and the local authority’s own policies regarding their use.
8. Complying with the Code of Conduct
As a Councillor:
8.1 I undertake Code of Conduct training provided by my local authority.
8.2 I cooperate with anyCode of Conduct investigation and/or determination.
8.3 I do
not attempt to interfere in any aspect of
the investigation, administration or hearing of any complaint or matter.
8.4 I comply with any sanction imposed on me following a finding that I have breached the Code of Conduct.
It is
extremely important for you as a Councillor to demonstrate high standards, for you to have your actions open to scrutiny andfor you not to undermine public trust in the local authority or its governance. If youdo not understand or are concerned about the local authority’s processes in handling a complaint you should raise this with your Monitoring Officer.
Protecting your reputation and the reputation of the local authority
9. Interests
As a Councillor:
9.1 I register and disclose my interests.
Section
29 of the Localism Act 2011 requires the Monitoring Officer toestablish and maintain a register of interests of members of theauthority.
You need
to register your interests so that the public, local authority employees and fellow Councillors know which of your interests might give rise to a conflict of interest. The register is a public document that can be consulted when (or before) an issue arises. The register also protects youby allowing you to demonstrate openness and a willingness to be held accountable. You are personally responsible for deciding whether or not you should disclose an interest in a meeting, but it canbe helpful for you to know early on if others think that a potential conflict might arise. It is also important that thepublic know about any interest that might have tobe disclosed by you or other Councillors when making or taking
part indecisions, so that decision-making is seen by the public as open and honest. This helps to ensure that public confidence in the integrity of local governance is maintained.
You should note that failure to register or disclose a disclosable pecuniary interest as set out inTable 1, is a criminal offence under the Localism Act 2011.
If in
doubt about how to apply the
Code’s detailed provisions on registering and disclosing interests, you should always seek advice from your Monitoring Officer.
10. Gifts and hospitality
As a Councillor:
10.1 I do not accept gifts or hospitality, irrespective of estimated value, which could give rise to real orsubstantive personal gain or a reasonable suspicion of influence on my part toshow favour from persons seeking to acquire, develop or do businesswith the local authority or from persons who may apply to the local authority for any permission, licence or other significant advantage.
10.2 I register with the Monitoring Officer within 28 days of receipt any gift or hospitality accepted by virtue of my office
which constitutes either a) a single instance of a gift or
hospitality worth more than an estimated value of £50 or
alternatively constitutes b) two or more instances of gifts or
hospitality received in from a single source in any given year
which taken together have a total estimated value in excess of
£100.
10.3 I register with the Monitoring Officer anysignificant gift or hospitality that I have been offered but have refused to accept.
In order toprotect your position and the reputation of the local authority, you should exercise caution in accepting any gifts or hospitality which are (or which you reasonably believe to be) offered to you because you are a Councillor. The presumption should always benot to accept significant gifts or hospitality. However, there may be times when such a refusal may be difficult if itis seen as rudeness in which case you could accept it butmust ensure it is publicly registered. However, you do not need to register gifts and hospitality which are not related to your role as a Councillor, such as Christmas gifts from your friends and family. It is also important to note that itis appropriate toaccept normal expenses and hospitality associated with your duties as a Councillor. If you are unsure, do contact your Monitoring Officer for guidance.
Appendix B - Registering interests
Within 28
days of becoming a member or your re-election or re-appointment to office you must register with the Monitoring Officer the interests which fall within the categories set out in Table 1 (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) which are as described in The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012.You should also register details of your other personal interests which fall within the categories set out in Table 2 (Other Registerable Interests).
You must ensure that your register of interests is kept up-to-date and within 28 days of becoming aware of anynew interest, or of any change to a registered interest, notify the Monitoring Officer.
Disclosable pecuniary interests
These are an interest of yourself, or of your partner if you are aware of your partner's interest, within the descriptions setout in Table 1 below. In this context, "Partner" means a spouse or civil partner, a person with whom you are living as husband or wife, or a person with whom you are living as if you are civil partners.
Non participation in case of a Disclosable PecuniaryInterest
Where a matter arises at a meeting of the Council,
one of its committees or sub committees (or at a joint committee or
sub committee) which directly relates to one of your Disclosable
Pecuniary Interests as set out in Table 1, you must
·
disclose the
interest
·
not
participate in any discussion or vote on the matter
and
·
leave
the room (in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 25.4) while any
discussion or voting takes place.
Note: if your interest is a ‘sensitive
interest’, you do not have to disclose the nature of the
interest, just that you have an interest.
Dispensation may be granted in limited
circumstances to enable you to participate and vote on a matter in
which you have a disclosable pecuniary interest.
Nb It is a criminal offence to fail to notify the
Monitoring Officer of a disclosable pecuniary interest (as defined
in Table 1), to take part in discussion or votes at meetings
or to take a decision, where you have a Disclosable Pecuniary
Interest, without reasonable excuse. It is also an offence to
knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information to
the Monitoring Officer in connection with the registration and/or
declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.
Other Registerable Interests
Members may have an interest in a matter under
consideration even where they do not have a Disclosable Pecuniary
Interest. You must register Other Registrable Interests
which are defined as follows (also duplicated in Table 2
below):
·
Any
body of which you are in a position of general control or
management
·
Any
gift or hospitality which you have accepted by virtue of your
office and which constitutes either a) a single instance of a gift
or hospitality worth more than an estimated value of £50 or
alternatively constitutes b) two or more instances of gifts or
hospitality received in from a single source in any given year
which taken together have a total estimated value in excess of
£100.
Other Interests which need not be registered
There is a further category of ‘Other
Interests’ which do not need to be registered. These are as
follows:
·
Any
interest of a financial
nature which is
not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, whether of you, your
spouse or civil partner, a person with whom you are living as
husband or wife, or a person with whom you are living as if you are
civil partners
Non-participation in the case of an Other
Interest
Where a matter arises at a meeting which directly
relates to any Other Interest (whether Registrable or not), then
you must declare that interest at the meeting.
In order to determine whether – after
declaring your interest – you may remain in the
room and take
part in any discussion or vote on the matter then you must
consider:
whether a) your interest is affected by the matter under consideration more than the
interests of the majority of people in the area affected by the
matter, and if so,
whether b) a reasonable member of the public would think your judgement of the public
interest would be adversely affected by your interest.
If you consider that a) and b) apply, then you may speak on the
matter only if members of the public are allowed to speak at the
meeting, but otherwise must not take part in any discussion or vote
on the matter and must not remain in the room unless you have been
granted a dispensation.
Note: if, having appliedthe above test, you consider you may continue participating
in decision-making once you have declared your interest, then you
will have a declarable non-prejudicial interest. Where you
consider yourself unable to participate in decision-making then it
will be because your interest is deemed to be a prejudicial
interest.
Sensitive interests
A ‘sensitive interest’ is as an interest which, if disclosed, could lead to the
Councillor, or a person connected with the Councillor, being
subject to violence or intimidation. Where you believe you
have a ‘sensitive interest’ then you must notify the
Monitoring Officer, explaining the reasons why you believe it is a
sensitive interest. If the Monitoring Officer agrees they will
withhold the interest from the public register.
Where a matter arises at a meeting which relates to a
sensitive interest then you are not required to
disclose the nature of your interest, although you must nonetheless
declare the fact that you have an interest and must follow
the rules regarding participation.
Dispensations
On a written request made to the council’s
Monitoring Officer, preferably in advance of the meeting, the
Monitoring Officer may – following consultation, where
reasonably practicable, with either one of the Independent Persons or
the Chair of Audit & Standards Committee – grant a Member
a dispensation to participate in a discussion and/or vote on a
matter at a meeting where they would otherwise not be allowed to if
the Monitoring Officer believes 1) that the number of Members
otherwise prohibited from taking part in the meeting would be so
great a proportion of the relevant body as to impede the
transaction of the business; or 2) considers that without the
dispensation the representation of different political groups would
be so upset as to alter the likely outcome of any vote; or 3)
considers that it is in the interests of the inhabitants in the
council’s area to allow the Member to take part; or 4)
considers that it is otherwise appropriate to grant a
dispensation.
Members are not required to register or declare an
interest that is shared with ordinary members of the public living or working in the
area (such as the payment of, or liability to pay, council tax, or
having bins collected) or that arises simply from being a Member
(such as Members’ allowances); or where the interest is
otherwise de minimis.
Accordingly, no Member will need a dispensation to
take part in the business of setting the council tax or precept or
local arrangements for council tax reduction schemes, because it is
a decision affecting the generality of the public in the
council’s area, rather than one or more individual..
It is at all times the responsibility of each
individual member to monitor whether they have any
disclosed or as yet undisclosed interests in matters under
consideration and to declare and register these where
necessary.
Appendix C – the Committee on Standards in Public Life
Brighton & Hove City Council has adopted this
Code having considered the work carried out by the Local Government
Association while the Government continues to consider the recommendations made by the Committee on Standards inPublic Life (“the CSPL”) in their report on
Local Government Ethical Standards.
Should the Government choose to implement any of the recommendations, thenthis Code will be further updated as
necessary.
The CSPL
recommendations cover:
• Recommendations for changes to the Localism Act 2011 to clarify in law when the Code of Conduct applies
• The introduction of sanctions
• An appeals process through the Local Government Ombudsman
• Changes to the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012
• Updates to the Local Government Transparency Code
• Changes to the role and responsibilities of the Independent Person
• That the criminal offences in the Localism Act 2011 relating to Disclosable
Pecuniary Interests should be abolished
The Local
Government Ethical Standards report also includes Best Practice recommendations. These are:
Best
practice 1: Local authorities should include prohibitions on bullying and harassment in codes of conduct. These should include a definition of bullying and harassment, supplemented with a list of examples of the sort of behaviour covered bysuch a definition.
Best
practice 2: Councils should include provisions in their code of conduct requiring Councillors to comply with any formal standards investigation and prohibiting trivial or malicious allegations by Councillors.
Best
practice 3: Principal authorities should review their code of conduct each year and regularly seek, where possible, the views of the public, community organisations and neighbouring authorities.
Best
practice 4: An
authority’s code should be readily accessible to both Councillors and the public, in a prominent position on a council’s website and available in council premises.
Best
practice 5: Local authorities should update their gifts and hospitality register at least once per quarter, and publish it in an accessible format, such as CSV.
Best
practice 6: Councils should publish a clear and straightforward public interest test against which allegations are filtered.
Best practice 7: Local authorities should have access to at least two Independent
Persons.
Best
practice 8: An
Independent Person should be consulted as to whether to undertake a formal investigation on an allegation, and should be given the option to
review
and comment on allegations which the responsible officer is minded to dismiss as being without merit, vexatious, or trivial.
Best
practice 9: Where a local authority makes a decision on an allegation of misconduct following a formal investigation, a decision notice should be published as soon as possible on its website, including a brief statement of facts, the provisions of the code engaged by the allegations, the view of the Independent Person, the reasoning of the decision-maker, and any sanction applied.
Best
practice 10: A local authority should have straightforward and accessible guidance on its website on how to make a complaint under the code of conduct, the process for handling complaints, and estimated timescales for investigations and outcomes.
Best
practice 11: Formal standards complaints about the conduct of a parish Councillor towards a clerk should bemade by the chair or by the parish council, rather than the clerk in all but exceptional circumstances.
Best
practice 12: Monitoring Officers’ roles should include providing advice, support and management of investigations andadjudications on alleged breaches to parish councils within the remit of the principal authority. They should be provided with adequate training, corporate support andresources toundertake this work.
Best
practice 13: A local authority should have procedures in place to address any conflicts of interest when undertaking a standards investigation. Possible steps should include asking the Monitoring Officer from a different authority to undertake the investigation.
Best
practice 14: Councils should report on separate bodies they have setup or which they own as part of their annual governance statement and give a full picture of their relationship with those bodies. Separate bodies created by local authorities should abide by the Nolan principle of openness and publish their board agendas and minutes and annual reports in an accessible place.
Best
practice 15: Senior officers should meet regularly with political group leaders or group whips to discuss standards issues.
Appendix D - Brighton &
Hove City Council – corporate values.
Article 1 of the Council’s Constitution commits the Council
to exercising all its powers and duties in accordance with the law
and this Constitution, this in pursuit of the Council’s
purpose, ambition, priorities and values. Those are set out in the
Council’s Corporate Plan 2020 to 2023 and are summarised
below.
Our purpose is to provide strong
civic leadership to achieve our vision of a fairer city with a
sustainable future. The Council's Corporate Plan sets out
the overall direction for the Council. Our vision and priorities
are described in the Plan.
We will be successful if we deliver our
six priority outcomes, which are:
·
A city to call home
·
A city working for
all
·
A stronger city
·
A growing and learning
city
·
A sustainable city
·
A healthy and caring
city
Our values describe the principles
and professional behaviour required to modernise the
Council:
·
Collaboration
·
Respect
·
Openness
·
Efficiency
·
Customer focus
·
Creativity
Our service priorities are set out
in directorate and service plans which are published on our
website.
2.2 In the
achievement of its priorities, the Council will be guided by the
Sustainable Community Strategy developed in partnership with local
communities and the need to achieve best value in the delivery of
services. The Local Strategic Partnership is responsible for
developing the Sustainable Community Strategy and providing,
together with the Council, community leadership and
representation.
Table 1: Disclosable Pecuniary Interests
This
table sets out the explanation of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests as set out in the
Relevant
Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012.
|
Subject
|
Description
|
|
Employment, office, trade, profession or vocation
|
Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for
profit or gain.
[Any unpaid
directorship.]
|
|
Sponsorship
|
Any payment
or provision of any other financial benefit (other than from the
council) made to the Councillor during the
previous 12-month period for expenses incurred by him/her in carrying out
his/her duties as a Councillor, or towards
his/her 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.
|
|
Contracts
|
Any contract made between the Councillor or his/her spouse or civil
partner or the person with whom the
|
spouses/civil partners hasa beneficial interest exceeds one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class.