Can a councillor be barred from chairing a committee when his/her partner takes the minute?

Question

I have been a Town Councillor for 9 years and my partner is the Deputy Town Clerk. I am in fact the longest serving councillor on our Council.

There is a move afoot to change Standing Orders to bar councillors from chairing committees where their partner takes the minutes. Is this legal?

Also the council is again trying to bar me from being a member of the Personnel Committee because of my partner (They have tried before) The advice I received from Paul Clayden a few years back was that provided I declared my interest on my declaration form and left the room when discussing remuneration about my partner, that I could still be a member. Can you confirm that this is correct?

Is in fact, the content of both these questions in breach of the Equality Act 2010?

Answer 1

I’m sensing there’s an ulterior motive here by the council.

There is absolutely nothing that states you can’t chair a meeting because your partner is the Deputy Clerk and/or taking minutes. Minutes are signed off as being accurate by the whole council so what are they hoping to achieve by barring you from such activity? very bizarre.

In regards to the personnel meeting it is again absolutely fine as the committee is a group of people and not just you. You were correctly informed the first time, so long as you declare an interest then everything is fine. However it would be sensible for you to personally consider your position on that panel as it could be messy if either you or your partner face future issues.

But to be absolutely clear, there is nothing wrong with your chairing the meetings that your partner takes minutes or being on the personnel meeting.