Issue - meetings

To consider options for publication of the Register on the Council’s website

Consider the findings contained in the report.

The report was presented by the Propriety and Elections Manager.

It was stated that the Register was regularly reported to this Committee. Reference was made to a previous discussion about the fact that the Register was not currently published on the Council's website.

It was noted that the Code of Conduct for Councillors required members to provide written notice to the Monitoring Officer of any offer of hospitality, material benefit or advantage valued at more than £25. They went on to discuss the Protocol on Members' Donations and Hospitality which had been adopted by the Council, which provided guidance to Members on how to deal with proposals. The Committee's previous discussion about the appropriateness of publishing the Register of Gifts and Hospitality on the Council's website was mentioned, and it was confirmed that it was now a statutory requirement to publish the Register of Members' Interests on the website. Reference was made to the Protocol stating that the public could come in to view the Register of Gifts and Hospitality, and some of the Principles contained in the Code of Conduct were highlighted.

The need to be aware of any implications in terms of data protection was emphasised, recognising that there may be some special cases where it would not be appropriate to release the information. It was concluded that there was no reason as to why the Members' Donations and Hospitality Register should not be published on the website, stating that it gave Members protection and contributed to the desire to be transparent and open. It was recognised that this was positive.

A question was asked about the procedure in going forward, should the matter be approved at this meeting. In response, it was confirmed that the principle of the Register being public had already been established in the Protocol. It was therefore noted that the Members would be informed of the change. It was added that the form used to note any gifts and hospitality was also being adapted, to highlight the fact that it was published on the website. It was noted that the Register had been included in the Council's Publication Plan, which was a plan to note which documents were publicly available from the Council. It was added that the Council tried to make any information public, although it had to be made public under the Freedom of Information Act. It was stated that this avoided the need for some freedom of information requests.

It was asked what the benefit was of making it public and what difference this made to the report received when the Committee previously discussed this matter. In response, it was highlighted that putting the Register on the website would mean that the names of the members in question would also be published. It was confirmed that the document was already  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11