To present the Committee with an overview on the register of, and declarations of, interests made by Members from 01 April 2024 until 31 March 2025.

Members recalled that it had been agreed at the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 29 June 2016 that, as part of its annual work programme, the Committee would receive an annual report on declarations of interest and associated matters. The report now before the Committee covered the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 and provided statistics on:

• the number of declarations of interest made at meetings;
• the number of offers of gifts and hospitality that had been registered by Members during this period; and
• updates to the Members’ Register of Interests.

The data had been collated from the Committee system Modern.gov which the Council started using as of August 2016 and from Members’ submissions.

Register of Members’ Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

The Committee was aware that the Council was required to publish the ‘Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests’ on its website in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2021, which prescribed the categories of interests.

It was confirmed that the Council’s website included a Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Other Registerable Interests for all District Councillors and that this was updated when an individual Member provided details of an amendment directly to the Monitoring Officer. Any entry, which was relevant to a business item on an agenda, must be declared by the individual Member and they must subsequently remove themselves from the meeting, unless a prior dispensation had been granted by the Monitoring Officer.

The Committee was informed that there had been a dispensation for all District Members granted by the Monitoring Officer for the purpose of the report of the Director (Finance & IT) – Formal Confirmation of Council Tax Amounts for 2025/26 to Full Council and subsequently the Human Resources & Council Tax Committee in February 2025.

Declarations of Interest at meetings

Members were required to declare Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registerable Interests and Non-Registerable Interests at meetings and those recorded on the committee system, as declared by District Councillors for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 were set out in the Appendix A to the Monitoring Officer’s report. The minutes of the relevant meetings also recorded the declarations.

Use of blanket dispensations

The Committee was reminded that this Council’s former Members’ Code of Conduct at paragraph 7.3, as agreed by full Council in January 2018, had contained blanket dispensations for any business of the Authority where that business related to the Council functions in respect of:

i.              housing, where the Member is a tenant of the Authority provided that those functions do not relate particularly to their tenancy or lease;

ii.             school meals or school transport and travelling expenses, where the Member is a parent or guardian of a child in full time education, or are a parent governor of a school, unless it relates particularly to the school which the child attends;

iii.            statutory sick pay under Part XI of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, where the Member is in receipts of, are entitled to the receipt of, such pay;

iv.           an allowance, payment or indemnity given to Members;

v.             any ceremonial honour given to Members; and

vi.           setting Council Tax or a Precept under the Local Government Finance Act 1992

Since their introduction, only category iv and vi dispensations had been called upon at meetings of the Cabinet and full Council.

Members recalled that the current Code of Conduct which had taken effect in May 2023 did not include blanket dispensations and so, consequently, the Monitoring Officer gave a blanket dispensation for the purposes of setting Council Tax under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, at the District Council’s budget meeting held on 11 February 2025 (minute 105 referred).

“A recorded vote is mandatory on any decision relating to the budget or Council Tax. This includes not only on the substantive budget motions agreeing the budget and setting Council taxes, but also on any amendments proposed at the meeting.

For other types of Interests, which need to be considered, Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs), Other Registerable Interests (ORIs) or Non-Registerable Interests are defined in the Code of Conduct and for DPIs & ORIs, these have been (or should have been) registered in advance, and with the exception of the Council Tax exemption for residing in the District, you should still consider if any other interests do apply. A blanket exemption/dispensation has not been applied for all.”

Declarations of offers/receipt of gifts and hospitality

Following the Standards Committee’s review of the Council’s Gift and Hospitality Policy for Members, guidance and a notification form had been produced for all District Councillors in May 2016. Reference to declarations of offers/receipt of gifts and hospitality had been included within the mandatory Members’ Code of Conduct training delivered by the Monitoring Officer in June and July 2023. There had been one recorded declaration of offers/receipt of gifts and hospitality made by a District Councillor in the time period of this report.

Members’ Register of Interests

The Committee was aware that, pursuant to the Localism Act 2011, within 28 days of becoming a Member or re-election or-appointment to office, Members must register with the Monitoring Officer the interests which fell within the categories set out in Table 1 of the Members’ Code of Conduct, namely, Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) which were as described in “The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012”. Members should also register details of other personal interests which fell within the categories set out in Table 2 (Other Registerable Interests).

It was reported that, at the conclusion of the May 2023 District, Town and Parish Council elections, all Members had received the relevant Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Other Registerable Interests form as part of their induction procedure, to complete and return to the Monitoring Officer, for inclusion on the Council’s website within a central register. Registration and the obligations to disclose DPIs, Other Registerable Interests and Non-Registerable Interests and the effect on participation had been covered within the mandatory Members’ Code of Conduct training delivered by the Monitoring Officer in June and July 2023. In line with the requirements of the Council’s External Auditors, an annual reminder had been sent to all District Members to ensure that all interests were up to date and that remained ongoing.

The Monitoring Officer clarified to Members that it did take several reminders to Members to keep the register up to date and that there were Members that had not yet responded.

It was moved by Councillor Talbot, seconded by Councillor J Henderson and unanimously:-

RESOLVED that the Committee notes the contents of the report (A.1) and supports Officers in that Members should be responding to requests to keep their Members’ Register of Interest entries up to date.