PAPER B

Purpose : for Information

Committee :    DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE

Date :              25 JUNE 2002

Title :              DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AT MEETINGS OF THE DEVELOPMENT

                       CONTROL COMMITTEE

REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AND ENVIRONMENT SERVICES

SUMMARY/PURPOSE

This report has been prepared at the request of the Committee to give further advice on declarations of interest in relation to items appearing on the Committee’s agenda.

BACKGROUND

All Members of the Council are subject to the new Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council in April 2002. All Members are also subject to the Planning Code of Practice which was adopted last year. Training on the National Code has been provided for the majority of Members of the Council and the Development Control Manager is in the process of convening a further training session for all Members of this Committee to develop these principles within the Council’s planning framework.

I have been asked to bring this report specifically in view of some concerns which have been raised in relation to the recent application concerning St Cross. The question which has been posed is whether Elected Members are required to declare an interest through association with an agent who is a leading member of the same political party on the Island. Advice on this point was taken from an external trainer, Dr Skelcher, when giving advice on the interpretation of the National Code and as his reply at that stage appears to have led to some confusion, it does seem a good opportunity to restate principles to assist all Members of the Committee.

All Members will know that there has now been introduced a new concept of personal and prejudicial interests. A Member must regard themselves as having a personal interest in any matter if that matter has been covered in their Declaration of Interests or if a decision upon it may reasonably be regarded as affecting to a greater extent than other Council Tax payers, Rate payers or inhabitants of the authority’s area, the well-being or financial position of himself, a relative or a friend. The definition also extends to any employment or business carried on by such people or other associated organisations. A full definition appears in the Code itself which is included in the Members’ Handbook.

The Code requires that a personal interest should be declared by an Elected Member whenever such an item is considered by the relevant Committee. The declaration of that interest does not mean that the Councillor must then leave the room unless the personal interest is also a prejudicial interest. A prejudicial interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of all the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the Member’s judgement of the public interest. In those circumstances, a Member should leave the room and take no further part in the discussion of the item.

In assessing whether a Member has a declarable interest where a political colleague is acting as agent for an application, a number of questions can be posed:-

a)        was the Member aware of the involvement of the agent in the application? If the Member was not, then clearly no issue arises as the Member is only required to declare an interest that they are reasonably aware of ;

b)        if the Member was aware, was the agent a friend or relative? It is a matter of fact and judgement whether membership of the same political party constitutes friendship but this does not automatically follow. Members are also advised to declare as a personal interest any ‘relationship’ of, say, tension between the Member and the agent if that might be seen to colour the judgement of the Member;

c)        if the Member believes and declares that they have a personal interest, then they do need to also go on and decide whether that is prejudicial. As indicated above, only if it is prejudicial is there a requirement to withdraw from the meeting. Whether it is prejudicial will again depend very much on all the circumstances but my advice to Members is that they should focus on the perception of how the member of the public would view the situation knowing all the relevant facts.

The Planning Code of Practice also deals specifically with lobbying of Councillors. The Code of Practice is clear that when being lobbied, Councillors should take care about expressing an opinion which might be taken as indicating that they had already made up their mind on the issue before hearing professional advice. If a Member does express an opinion, then they should make it clear that they would only be in a position to take a final decision when they have heard that advice. Individual Councillors should reach their own conclusions on a planning matter rather than follow the lead of another Councillor.

Failure to comply with these principles will lead the Council into disrepute and may also expose the Member concerned to reference to the Standards Committee (which is responsible for complaints in respect of the Planning code) or to the Standards Board if the complaint relates to a breach of the National Code. Such actions may also expose the Council to references to the Local Government Ombudsman for maladministration. If any Member is aware of any evidence which supports claims about lobbying then they are asked to bring them to the attention of the Monitoring Officer.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Members are invited to note this report.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

National Code of Conduct

Planning Protocol

Contact Point :Mike Fisher , ☎  823102

MIKE FISHER

Strategic Director

Corporate and Environment Services