Declarations of Interest - March/April 2023 Edition

Following on from the article above, when, and how should a councillor declare their interests in meetings, and what happens if they fail to do so?

Typically, a council will have a standing item on the agenda “To receive declarations of interest relating to business on the agenda”. This is the first opportunity for councillors to make their declaration. Prior to the meeting a councillor should be looking at the agenda to see what business will be transacted and whether they may need to declare an interest in any item. If a councillor only

discovers, or remembers, during the debate on an item that they have an interest they should have declared, then they should do so at that point and not take part further in the debate. The council’s Code of Conduct will specify what the councillor is required to do in terms of voting and whether they should leave the room during the debate and vote.

The responsibility for declaring interests rests solely with the councillor. No other person – not the chair, nor the clerk – can insist that a councillor declares an interest. If a chair thinks or knows that a councillor has an interest that should be declared, they could and should give the councillor several prompts in the meeting, but ultimately if the councillor declines to declare anything, that is up to

them. Obviously, the councillor is putting themselves at risk of being complained about under the Code of Conduct if they fail to declare an interest they have, and if it relates to their Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) then it could be a criminal matter.

All councillors should read their council’s Code of Conduct and familiarise themselves with the rules and regulations and what the Code requires them to do. The Code should be published on the council’s web site and should be easily accessible.

If your council’s Code has not been reviewed or updated since January 2021 then it could be out of date. Contact Northants CALC (info@northantscalc.com) for the latest template.

99.9% of councillors will do the right thing and will be completely open and honest in their interests. Be in that 99.9%.