If a councillor has a pecuniary interest can he write a motion concerning it?

Question

A councillor here has a pecuniary interest as some land is proposed to be leased to a charity. He is a trustee of the charity and wrote the motion for a sub lease but then recused himself at the meeting, leaving others to vote. Can you even write the motion if you have a pecuniary interest?

Answer 1

Firstly, if he is a trustee of the charity, unless he receives payments from the charity, he has no pecuniary interest. On the broader issue, there is no specific legislation to prevent him from submitting a motion. The legislation is contained in the Localism Act 2011 sections 29 onwards and relates solely to conduct at a meeting at which a matter is under consideration.

Comments

If the councillor owns the land proposed to be leased to the charity they would have a pecuniary interest, but as Dave notes, if they are just a trustee then they do not have a pecuniary interest.  I would have thought the councillor would be best placed to write the motion, but the clerk would review and agree to it prior to going to council IMHO.  The councillor should get a dispensation as its not much use to the council if the person with the most knowledge on the subject (in all probability) leaves the room for the debate.  They can abstain when its put to the vote.