ASSESSMENT DECISION NOTICE
NO BREACH OF THE CODE
Reference:
CCN038/13
Complainant:
Mr Dave Sleeman
Subject Member:
Councillor Andrew Hannan, Newquay Town Council
Person conducting
the Assessment:
Simon Mansell – Principal Legal Officer, Corporate
Governance
Date of Assessment:
28 October 2013
Complaint
On 28 October 2013 the Monitoring Officer considered a complaint from Mr Sleeman
concerning the alleged conduct of Councillor Hannan of Newquay Town Council. A
general summary of the complaint is set out below:
The Complainant has alleged that when a matter relating to Newquay in Bloom was
discussed by the Footpaths, Bridleways and Open Spaces Committee of Newquay
Town Council on 17 July 2013; Councillor Hannan, whose wife is a senior committee
member of Newquay in Bloom, should have declared an interest and left the room,
and what was said by Councillor Hannan at this meeting had an influence on the
matter when it was next discussed by the Town Council at its meeting on
18 September 2013. Councillor Sleeman has also stated that Councillor Hannan is a
board member of the Newquay Voice newspaper and has failed to register this
interest.
Potential breaches of the Code of Conduct are;
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using your position to gain an advantage or disadvantage
conducting yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as
bringing your office or authority into disrepute
participating, or participating further, in any discussions, participating in any
vote, or further vote failing to remove yourself from the meeting while any
discussion or vote takes place on a matter in which you have a disclosable
pecuniary or non registerable interest.
failing to notify the Council’s Monitoring Officer within 28 days of becoming a
Member of any disclosable pecuniary interest that the Member may have at
the time of giving the notification.
Decision
I find that there is a no breach of the Code of Conduct in relation to all elements of
the allegation, as follows:
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using your position to gain an advantage or disadvantage
conducting yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as
bringing your office or authority into disrepute
participating, or participating further, in any discussions, participating in any
vote, or further vote failing to remove yourself from the meeting while any
discussion or vote takes place on a matter in which you have a disclosable
pecuniary or non registerable interest.
failing to notify the Council’s Monitoring Officer within 28 days of becoming a
Member of any disclosable pecuniary interest that the Member may have at
the time of giving the notification.
Reasons for the Decision
Sufficient information has been obtained to enable this complaint to be assessed and
determined without the need to refer the complaint for investigation and the
undertaking of interviews. In assessing this complaint I have had regard to;
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the complaint as submitted by the Complainant;
the response to the complaint submitted by Councillor Hannan;
the minutes of the meetings of Footpaths, Bridleways and Open Spaces
Committee dated 17 July 2013 and 18 September 2013;
telecom note between Cornwall Council and the Newquay voice; and
the views of the Independent Person assigned to this matter.
In assessing this matter it first needs to be considered whether Councillor Hannan has
a disclosable pecuniary interest as is set out in paragraph 5A of the Code of Conduct,
or a non-registerable interest as is found at paragraph 5B.
The Complainant has alleged that Councillor Hannan is a board member for the
Newquay Voice newspaper; and in considering if this is a disclosable pecuniary
interest, the Code of Conduct makes it clear that any matter which is likely to directly
affect a Councillor’s employment which is defined in paragraph 5A b(i) of the Code of
Conduct as;
‘Employment, office, trade, profession or vocation: Any employment, office, trade,
profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain’;
will create a discloable pecuniary interest.
As such, should Councillor Hannan be remunerated for his role as a board member on
the newspaper, this would require registering as a disclosable pecuniary interest; if it
is voluntary, this would not required registration.
If such an interest exists the Councillor is then required to both register the interest in
accordance with paragraph 3.2 of the Code and to declare it at a meeting and not
take part in any discussion or vote in accordance with paragraph 3.5 of the Code of
Conduct which states;
‘If you are present at a meeting and you are aware that you have a non-registerable
interest or a disclosable pecuniary interest in any matter being considered or to be
considered at the meeting you must disclose that interest to the meeting if that
interest is not already entered in the register and, unless you have the benefit of a
current and relevant dispensation in relation to that matter,’
In order to ascertain if Councillor Hannan is a board member of the Newquay Voice; a
call was made to the paper and it was stated that the Newquay voice is a private
limited company which has two directors, and Councillor Hannan is not listed as a
director. As a result of this Councillor Hannan does not have a disclosable pecuniary
interest that would require registration.
While it has been shown that Councillor Hannan does not have a disclosable pecuniary
interest as he is not a board member of the Newquay Voice newspaper, it still has to
be considered if he has a non-registerable interest in any discussion which may
involved Newquay in Bloom, as is alleged by the Complainant.
A non-registerable interest is defined in paragraph 5B of the Code of Conduct as
something that;
(i)
might reasonably be regarded as affecting the financial position or well being of
you; a member of your family or any person with whom you have a close
association; or any body or group which you are a member of more than it
might affect the majority of council tax payers, rate payers or inhabitants in
your electoral division or area; and
(ii)
the interest is such that a reasonable person with knowledge of all the relevant
facts would consider your interest so significant that it is likely to prejudice your
judgement of the public interest
This requires that a Councillor declares an interest in any matter in which they have a
non-registerable interest; and the operation of paragraph 3.5 prevents the Councillor
from participating, or participating further in any discussions, participating in any
vote, or further vote and requires that the Councillor should to remove themselves
from the meeting while any discussion or vote takes place on a matter in which a
Councillor has a non registerable interest, unless they have a valid dispensation or
their interest is such they can request to speak under paragraph 3.5A.
Councillor Hannan has confirmed that his wife is Vice Chairman of Newquay in Bloom.
As a result of this; it is considered that Councillor Hannan has a non-registerable
interest in any matters specifically relating to Newquay in Bloom, as discussions
relating to this subject are likely to affect the well being of someone with whom he
has a close association. The Code of Conduct then requires that an interest needs to
be declared where a decision in relation to a matter being considered or to be
considered will affect this interest.
At the meeting of the Footpaths, Bridleways and Open Spaces Committee on 17 July
2013 agenda item Fp149/13 states ‘To discuss and make any decisions on the
Hanging Basket provisions’. As such Councillor Hannan was not required to declare an
interest at the outset of the meeting as the subject matter was not directly related to
Newquay in Bloom.
In reading the discussion that then took place, and while Newquay in Bloom is
referenced in the discussion, no determination was made on the matter which related
to Newquay in Bloom; therefore there would be no need for Councillor Hannan to
leave the chamber. Additionally the operation of 3.5A of the Code of Conduct, does
allow a Councillor with a non-registerable interest to speak on a matter and then to
leave if a vote was to be taken. While this was not exercised in these circumstances
as there was no interest to declare; it is referenced as even if the matter to be
considered related directly to Newquay in Bloom, Councillor Hannan would have been
able to speak on the matter and represent the views of Newquay in Bloom.
In taking an objective view of the facts of the Footpaths, Bridleways and Open Spaces
Committee on 17 July 2013 I consider that there was no requirement for Councillor
Hannan to have declared an interest and leave the chamber relation to agenda item
Fp149/13.
In relation to the meeting of the footpaths, Bridleways and Open Spaces Committee
held on 18 September 2013 it is noted that Councillor Hannan correctly declared an
interest in relation to Fp178/13 and therefore there is no further consideration of
Councillor Hannan’s involvement in this meeting.
It should be noted however that since the change to the ethical standards regime in
July 2013 interests should no longer be declared, or recorded, as personal or financial
interests and should be shown as either a disclosable pecuniary interest or a nonregisterable interest.
What happens now?
This decision notice is sent to the complainant, the member against whom the
allegation has been made and the Clerk to Newquay Town Council.
Right of review
At the written request of the complainant, the Monitoring Officer can review and is
able to change a decision not to refer an allegation for investigation or other action.
To ensure impartiality in the conduct of the review different officers to those involved
in the original decision will undertake the review.
We must receive a written request from the complainant to review this decision within
28 days from the date of this notice, explaining in detail on what grounds the decision
should be reviewed.
If we receive a request for a review, we will write to all the parties mentioned above,
notifying them of the request to review the decision.
Additional help
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Discrimination Act 2000.
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SJR Mansell MBE
Principal Legal Officer
On behalf of the Monitoring Officer
Date: 28 October 2013