Members' Code of Conduct

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• Members' Code of Conduct

All Councillors are required to sign up to the Council's Code of Conduct within 90 days of being elected. People who are appointed to committees as independent and co-opted members are also required to agree to the Code of Conduct.

General Principles

The Code of Conduct is derived from ten general principles which articulate the fundamental values of public service and lays down a set of enforceable minimum standards for the way members should conduct themselves. These principles are:

1. Selflessness - Members should serve only the public interest and should never improperly confer an advantage or disadvantage on any person.

2. Honesty and Integrity - Members should not place themselves in situations where their honesty and integrity may be questioned, should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.

3. Objectivity - Members should make decisions on merit, including when making appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards or benefits.

4. Accountability - Members should be accountable to the public for their actions and the manner in which they carry out their responsibilities, and should co-operate fully and honestly with any scrutiny appropriate to their particular office.

5. Openness - Members should be as open as possible about their actions and those of their authority, and should be prepared to give reasons for those actions.

6. Personal Judgement - Members may take account of the views of others, including their political groups, but should reach their own conclusions on the issues before them and act in accordance with those conclusions.

7. Respect for Others - Members should promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. They should respect the impartiality and integrity of the authority’s statutory officers, and its other employees.

8. Duty to Uphold the Law - Members should uphold the law and, on all occasions, act in accordance with the trust that the public is entitled to place in them.

9. Stewardship - Members should do whatever they are able to do to ensure that their authorities use their resources prudently and in accordance with the law.

10. Leadership - Members should promote and support these principles by leadership, and by example, and should act in a way that secures or preserves public confidence.

The Code of Conduct and adopted Protocols can be viewed via the link at the bottom of the page.

Register of Interests

As part of the Code of Conduct, all councillors are required to record their financial interests in a register. Information on the type of information which must be registered is set out in the Members’ Code of Conduct.

You can view copies of individual Councillors' Register of Interests via the links at the bottom of this page.

Declarations of Interest at Meetings

To ensure transparency in decision-making, Councillors are required to declare registered interests at meetings where those interests may be affected. In addition to their registered interests, Councillors may also be required to declare other interests which are pertinent to the matter be discussed. Depending on the nature of the interests, the Councillor concerned might be required to leave the meeting whilst the matter is discussed. Declarations of interest are recorded in the minutes of the meeting and are available to view via the link at the bottom of this page.

Full details of what is considered an interest, types of interest and the actions that a councillor is required to take in declaring them are set out in the Code of Conduct.