d. Interests

The Localism Act 2011 (use this link to access the legislation) introduced arrangements to regulate the conduct of members of local authorities, including town and parish councils, the registration and disclosure of certain interests and how complaints about their conduct are handled.  It also created new criminal offences in respect of a member's failure to register and disclose certain interests and his/her participation in discussions and voting at meetings on matters where he/she holds such interests.

Pursuant to s.29 of the 2011 Act, the Monitoring Officer of the principal authority must establish and maintain a register of interests of members of the parish and town councils in its area and ensure that the register is available for inspection at all reasonable hours at a place in the principal authority's area including publishing the same on their website.   Parish and town councils with a website must also publish the register of interests of its members and the Monitoring Officer must provide the local council with any data that they need to comply with its duty to publish the register on its website, if it has one.

 Within 28 days of becoming a town or parish councillor the individual must notify the Monitoring Officer of any 'disclosable pecuniary interests'.  This includes any who are re-elected or, as the case may be, upon the reappointment of a co-opted member, he/she must also within 28 days notify the Monitoring Officer of 'disclosable pecuniary interests' not already included in his or her register of interests.

Disclosable pecuniary interests (DPI) relate to certain interests of:

• the member

• the member's spouse or civil partner

• the person with whom the member lives as if they were a spouse or civil partner

Interests relate to their employment, office, trade, profession or vocation for profit or gain, sponsorship, contracts, beneficial interests in land, licences to occupy land, corporate tenancies and securities.  The Suffolk Code of Conduct includes members' statutory obligations in relation to disclosable pecuniary interests.  A member may ask the Monitoring Officer to exclude from his/her register of interests 'sensitive interests' whether or not they are disclosable, the details of which if disclosed, might lead to a threat of violence or intimidation to the member or to a person connected with him or her.

Although not required by the 2011 Act, a council's standing orders will usually require a member with a DPI in a matter being considered to withdraw from the meeting room whilst any discussion or vote on it takes place. If a member fails to withdraw, a council may rely on its standing orders to vote to exclude the member from the meeting.

Section 33 of the 2011 Act provides that a parish or town council may grant a dispensation to a member, not exceeding a period of four years, in respect of restrictions which apply to him/her at a meeting which is considering a matter in which he/she holds a disclosable pecuniary interest.    There are some important considerations to consider and it is advisable to seek some guidance on this in advance of the meeting.

It is a criminal offence for a member to participate and vote at a meeting on a matter in which he/she is deemed to have a disclosable pecuniary interest.  If a member is unsure if he/she holds a disclosable pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at a meeting and he/she wishes to participate in a discussion and vote n the matter, the safest course of action would be for him/her to seek a dispensation.  A dispensation will ensure that the member is not at risk of prosecution.

See also Code of Conduct and Standards