Issue - items at meetings - Dispensations

Issue - meetings

Dispensations

Meeting: 10/10/2016 - Councillor Conduct Committee (Item 182)

182 Dispensations - Annual Review 2015/16 pdf icon PDF 238 KB

To receive a report from the Monitoring Officer reviewing the dispensations granted in 2015/16.  (Report No: 18). 

Minutes:

The Committee received a report from Asmat Hussain, Monitoring Officer and Assistant Director Legal and Governance, setting out details of dispensations granted during 2015/16.  (Report No:  118)

 

NOTED

 

1.               Details of the dispensations were set out in pages 2 and 3 of the report.

 

2.               It was good practice to report all dispensations up to the Committee.

 

3.               Dispensations had been granted in relation to four issues. 

 

4.               Not declaring a disclosable pecuniary interest was a serious offence which could result in a criminal prosecution, therefore the Monitoring Officer’s advice would always be to err on the side of caution and if in doubt to declare an interest. 

 

5.               No more than the usual number of blanket dispensations had been granted in the last year.

 

6.               Some members were concerned that councillors were not aware of the potential seriousness of not declaring when necessary.

 

7.               A refresher training session on all aspects of councillor conduct was being planned. This would emphasise the importance of declaring disclosable pecuniary interests. 

 

8.               The whips would try and make sure that members attended. 

 

AGREED to note that the Monitoring Officer and the Councillor Conduct Committee had granted the dispensations during 2015/16, listed in section 3 of the report.