As clerk and director of a website-business, council wants to use my business to replace their website. Is that allowed?

Question

The council's website is terrible and so is the company running it. My company could provide a cheaper and better service. I, as the clerk, would inevitably stand to gain from this financially, as one of two directors of the business. The sums involved are minute (less than £150 per annum), but I still wonder whether this is a conflict of interests.

Interests can of course be declared at the start of any council meeting and therefore become public record, but I wonder whether there are certain situations where something is truly prohibited, such as the council assigning a business contract to any members / employees of the council.

Answer 1

Whilst there is no legal requirement for the clerk to declare an interest at a meeting, I do believe there should be and would recommend that for your own protection (from the trolls!) that you distance yourself from the process of awarding any contract.  If you have an assistant, pass everything over to him/her and ensure every stage of the process, from agreeing a specification for the contract, getting comparative quotes and presenting those quotes to council for a decision is done at arms length and preferably with you not in the room during the discussion.

Comments

This answer is somewhat ambiguous and so, at best, ambiguous, at worst, misleading.

Answer 2

s117 LGA 1972 (1):

"...If it comes to the knowledge of an officer employed, whether under this Act or any other enactment, by a local authority that a contract in which he has any pecuniary interest, whether direct or indirect (not being a contract to which he is himself a party), has been, or is proposed to be, entered into by the authority or any committee thereof, he shall as soon as practicable give notice in writing to the authority of the fact that he is interested therein..."

He shall as soon as practicable give notice in writing - that absolutely 'could' be a legal requirement to declare an interest at a meeting - or at any other time AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE.

Nothing to prevent a company in which you have a interest submitting a tender for the business of a council in which you are an officer, its just that you must declare the interest and have no part in the tender selection process. 

Answer 3

I believe even with the best will in the world staff or for that matter councillors receiving money or having contracts with their councils is a bad idea and should be avoided at all costs

I know of a nearby council that awarded a large and continuing contract to a councillor in dubious circumstances the councillor failed to declare it and absolutely nothing happened
We’re the contract to be withdrawn at short notice they would be in trouble

Comments

I know of an individual who was awarded an enduring contract without any of the prerequisite qualifications or insurance who then went on to become a Cllr (encouraged by the clerk that had been involved in contracting him) and who failed to declare either the contract or land interests which were subject to planning application in the parish on his declaration.  Reported to police and MO for criminal investigation of a strict liability offence.  The police ducked all responsibility stating it was a LA prosecution and MO ruled that, once the deficiency had been highlighted and remedied by amending the declaration of interests form, the matter was closed.  No consideration of the tens of £1000s of pounds per year which were siphoned off PC funds nor of the 4 fold increase in land value after the planning application was approved....  And they wonder why MOs are held in such low regard...