Introductions
This guide is intended to give a general overview of the issues which affect Elected Members and Officers who are appointed to outside organisations and other bodies (see also Part 7 of the Council’s Constitution). The Council’s Monitoring Officer will be able to provide further advice to expand upon any of the issues raised.
Elected Members are appointed by Council to a range of outside bodies. In addition, Elected Members may be appointed directly by the outside body itself to serve in a private capacity (for instance as a member of the community) rather than as an Elected Member of the Council, or they may be a serving member of that body before being elected as a Member of the Borough Council.
The roles of Elected Members or Officers on outside bodies will depend upon the legal nature of that organisation and the capacity in which they are appointed to act. It may, for example, involve acting as a company director, the trustee of a charity, or a member on a management committee.
In participating in outside bodies, Elected Members and Officers may take account of the Council’s wishes but they must ultimately make independent judgements in line with their duty of care to the outside body. They must also act according to the framework set by the outside body and take an active and informed role in the management of the outside body’s affairs. This involves attending meetings on a regular basis and carrying out their duties to the best of their abilities. In addition, they must follow as far as applicable the Council’s Code of Conduct and such other codes and protocols that might apply.
Elected Members should be aware that they will have to disclose membership of the outside body in their dealings with the Council and where a conflict of interest arises it is likely (see Council Procedure Rule 21) that they will have to withdraw from any consideration by the Council of any matter affecting the outside body. Elected Members should bear this in mind when deciding whether or not to accept a particular nomination. In the case of Officers, arrangements should be made to refer the matter to another officer to deal with whenever a conflict of interest arises.
1.1 The most common types of outside bodies in which Elected Members or Officers may become involved are considered in more detail below and include:
- a) Limited Liability Companies
- b) Charities
- c) Unincorporated Associations
Indemnities and Insurance
The primary responsibility for providing proper indemnities and insurance cover to protect Elected Members and Officers when acting for outside bodies lies with those bodies. However, a form of indemnity from the Council may exist to provide protection to the Council’s appointee or nominee.
An indemnity will only be provided by the Council to those Officers or Elected Members whom the Council has appointed or nominated to an outside body. Where an Elected Member or Officer is serving on an outside body having been nominated by the body itself, or where the Elected Member/Officer was already serving on the body when elected an Elected Member of the Council/employed by the Council, an indemnity would apply only where that Elected Member or Officer was acting at the request of, or with the approval of, the Council.