Who adjudicates on pecuniary, non-pecuniary or special interests of a councillor?

Question

We have a parish council that is wholly responsible for the administration of their allotments - income, expediture, policy etc.

One councillor rents one of the allotment plots to grow his own veg but has been told by the clerk that this excludes him from participating in any discussion/vote on any allotment matters. As the allotments are a significant drain on financial resources this seems unfair.

So let us say that another 3 councillors decide to live the good life and take on plots. Then 4 out of 7 councillors would be excluded. Presumably now no administration of the allotments could take place. No decisions of any type could be made - even down to the formation of a management committee which would need council approval to manage funds.

So if a councillor disagrees that he has any interests that exclude him from debate, where does he stand?

Answer 1

Each councillor must make their own decision about whether they have a personal interest in a council decision. They can ask for advice from the clerk, or from the Standards Officer (or anybody else). They should also consider how the matter would be seen by an impartial citizen. Nobody has to power to do more than advise a councillor on whether they should participate in a decision.

However, each councillor is subject to the law, and in extreme cases could be liable to criminal prosecution. In less extreme cases, they can be reported to the Standards Officer, although there are no sanctions available.

If the council is subsidising the allotments (rather than simply balancing income and expenditure), then it would certainly appear that an allotment holding councillor would have a personal interest in decisions about the level of subsidy. They would not necessarily have a personal interest in every decision concerning allotments.

In the event that a council cannot make a decision because there is no quorum of disinterested councillors, the District Council has reserve powers so that the matter can be resolved. The District Council's legal officer should be consulted.

Comments

So if the councillor's opinion differs from that of the Clerk/Chairman and he decides to participate in discussions/votes, can he be excluded from the meeting and/or his vote discounted? From your advice it would seem not.

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No, neither the clerk nor the chairman have jurisdiction over such matters. It is up to the councillor, who then has to bear the consequences of any improper action, but even then the clerk and chairman are only bystanders and perhaps witnesses.