> Members’ Code of Conduct

This Code applies to elected Members and voting co-opted Members of Wetherby Town City Council in all aspects of their public life. This means that the Council expects Members to follow this Code when they are conducting the work of the Council, representing the Council on any external organisation, and otherwise acting in their official capacity. The Code of Conduct does not apply to what Members do in their purely private and personal lives¹.

You must have regard to, and act in accordance with, the following standards of conduct²:

1. Selflessness
   You should serve only in the public interest, and should never improperly confer an advantage or disadvantage on any person, organisation or group, or any other third party.³
2. Honesty and Integrity
   You should not place yourself in situations where your honesty and integrity may be questioned, you should not behave improperly and should avoid the appearance of such behaviour.
3. Objectivity
   You must make decisions based on the information before you, having had regard to any professional advice provided to you and in accordance with your view of the public interest. You should make decisions on merit, this includes when making appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for awards or other recognition.
4. Accountability
   You are accountable to the public for your decisions and actions and the manner in which you carry out your duties. You must co-operate fully and honestly with any scrutiny appropriate to your office. You should not undertake any action which would bring the Council, your position, or the position of Members generally, into disrepute.
5. Openness
   You must be as open as possible about your actions and those of the authority, and should be prepared to give reasons for those actions.
6. Leadership
   You must promote and maintain high standards of conduct by supporting these principles by leadership and by example, and should act in a way that secures or preserves the confidence of others. You must have due regard to the impartiality and integrity of the authority’s statutory officers and its other employees⁴.

1. Within 28 days of your election or co-option, you must notify the Town Clerk of any ‘disclosable pecuniary interests’ which you have at that time⁵.
2. Where you are re-elected or re-appointed, notification is only required of any new disclosable pecuniary interests within 28 days of your election or co-option.
3. You must keep your Register of Interests entry up to date by notifying the Town Clerk of any changes to your disclosable pecuniary interests within 28 days of the change occurring, or of you becoming aware of the change.
4. A pecuniary interest is a ‘disclosable pecuniary interest’ in relation to you if it is of a type described in Appendix 1, and either:
   
   1. it is an interest of yourself, or
   2. it is an interest of -
      1. your spouse or civil partner,
      2. a person with whom you are living as husband and wife, or
      3. a person with whom you are living as if you are civil partners, and you are aware that that other person has the interest.
5. You are also required to notify the Town Clerk of any gifts or hospitality with an estimated value of at least £50⁶ which you receive in your role as a Wetherby Town Councillor⁷. You must inform the Town Clerk of any such gifts or hospitality within 28 days of receiving them so that the details can be entered into the Register of Interests.⁸

1. If the nature of an interest is such that you and the Monitoring Officer consider that disclosure of the details of the interest could lead to you, or a person connected with you, being subject to violence or intimidation, the interest must not be included in any published version of the Register of Interests, or be entered into any copy of the register that is made available for public inspection.^{9 10}

1. The following provisions apply if you are present at a meeting of the authority or of any committee, sub-committee, joint committee or joint sub-committee of the authority, and you are aware that you have a disclosable pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered, or being considered, at the meeting.
2. If the interest is not entered in the authority’s Register of Interests, you must disclose the interest to the meeting (unless the interest is a sensitive interest).
3. If the interest is not entered in the authority’s Register of Interests and is not the subject of a pending notification, you must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest before the end of 28 days beginning with the date of the disclosure.
4. Where the interest does appear in the Register of Interests, you must bring the interest to the attention of the meeting (unless the interest is a sensitive interest).
5. A pecuniary interest is a ‘disclosable pecuniary interest’ in relation to you if it is of a type described in Appendix 1, and either:
   
   1. participate, or participate further, in any discussion of the matter at the meeting,
   2. participate in any vote, or further vote, taken on the matter at the meeting (unless the Member has requested and been granted a relevant dispensation by the Standards and Conduct Committee), or
   3. remain in the room during the discussion or vote on the matter.
6. Where you have a disclosable pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered at a meeting, you may attend the meeting but only for the purposes of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the matter, provided that the public are also allowed to attend the meeting for the same purpose, whether under a statutory right or otherwise. Once you have finished, or the meeting decides you have finished, you must leave the room and may not remain in the room during the discussion or vote on the matter.

1. Where you are present at a meeting of the authority, or any committee, sub-committee, joint committee or joint sub-committee of the authority, and identify any other significant interests which you feel should be declared in the public interest, such interests may be declared to the meeting.
2. In such circumstances you must consider whether your continued participation in the matter relating to your interest would be reasonable in the circumstances, particularly if the interest may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests in the matter under discussion.

Members Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Other Interests

1. All complaints alleging a failure to comply with this Code will be considered in accordance with a procedure agreed by full Council.

25th June, 2012.

Procedure for considering complaints alleging a failure to comply with Members' Code of Conduct