I need assistance with the "working alone" rule please

Question

we are constantly being accused by our clerk that we are working alone, to such an extent we feel the need to ask permission to have a coffee, if any 2 Cllrs meet we are being told it is a secret meeting, if we request quotes from people we know in the correct trade we are "working alone" we cannot respond to the local community on social media because we are working alone, please can someone tell me the relevant lwas/rules and where to find them to enable me to give them as a reference.

mnay thanks

Answer 1

An individual councillor has no powers to act on behalf of the council.

If you employ a clerk/rfo then let them do their job. If you have a mate that you think will give a good price, pass that information onto the clerk/rfo and let them get the quote. A councillor getting quotes for work from their mates is not a good look, so it's in your best interests to do everything by the book and then no accusations can be made against you.

You can post what you like on social media if you make it clear you are acting as an individual. You can't purport to be making a statement from the council. It's easy for this to be come blurred. That's why it should normally be done through the clerk - you will probably have a social media policy that sets this out. Council will have signed off on this, so the clerk would just be following councils wishes.

Comments

I more or less agree with AngryResident.  I would just add that councillors meeting for coffee to talk things over is perfectly legitimate and to be encouraged.  I am speaking as a former clerk.