Agenda item

Joint report of the Town Clerk and the Comptroller and City Solicitor.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and the Comptroller and City Solicitor providing Members with an update on the registration of interests by Co-opted Members as well as further details about the complement of Co-opted Members on City Corporation Committees and Sub-Committees.

The Comptroller and City Solicitor reminded the Committee that they had previously taken a decision to treat all Members and Co-opted Members the same in terms of requirements under the Code of Conduct. If still content with that decision, the Committee now needed to consider what further actions were required to ensure that all Co-opted Members comply with the registration requirements. If the Committee were minded to review that previous decision, and to omit some Co-opted Members from the registration requirements, the report contained additional information on all of the Co-opted Members and their respective Committees, Sub Committees or Boards. The Comptroller added that omitting any group of Co-opted Members would at least require a further report for information to both the Policy and Resources Committee and the Court of Common Council, detailing the change of approach, and would probably also require a change to the existing Code of Conduct.

The Comptroller and City Solicitor reported that those Co-opted Members involved in Local/Police Authority functions and who also had a vote on any decision to be taken at a meeting were caught by the statutory arrangements regarding the registration of interests. There was therefore no discretion around the approach in relation to these Co-opted Members. The Comptroller and City Solicitor went on to highlight that the current response rate from Co-opted Members involved in such areas was good and it was therefore hoped that a 100% response rate could be achieved relatively quickly. The Chairman underlined that the same standard applied to these Co-opted Members as was applicable to directly elected Members and he noted that the Comptroller had advised that it was an offence for such Members to fail to comply and to disclose their interests. For all other Co-opted Members the requirement for them to register their interests was a matter of City Corporation policy.

The Chairman went on to report that the majority of Co-opted Members were not forewarned of the requirements around the registration of interests before being appointed to a City Corporation body. It was recognised that this needed to be addressed going forward.

The Committee requested that a further letter be sent to all Co-opted Members reminding them of the requirement to submit their register of interests forms. Members suggested that the letter emphasise those for whom it was an offence not to comply. The letter would also refer to the publication of all Co-opted Members’ interests later in the year – an exercise which would draw public attention to those for whom no response had been received. A Member also suggested that it should be made clear that the future appointment or re-appointment of all Co-opted Members on all bodies should be conditional on them satisfactorily declaring their interests.

RESOLVED – That, the Town Clerk write to all Co-opted Members as a final reminder regarding the completion of their Declaration of Interest forms before publishing all information received by the end of the calendar year.