INTRODUCTION
This Protocol forms part of the council's Constitution and is designed to contribute to the council's corporate governance arrangements. In particular, its purpose is to guide the relationship between members and officers and to emphasise that the success with which the council is able to carry out its work is based, to a very large extent, on an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect without which the reputation of the council will be damaged in the eyes of the communities and people it serves.
Given the variety and complexity of the relationships between members and officers, it is impossible for any Protocol to be comprehensive. It therefore seeks to provide guidance on some of the issues that most commonly arise.
The Protocol also supplements the Codes of Conduct that apply to members and officers including the council's Code of Conduct on Harassment at Work.
GENERAL
1. There are many issues faced by the Council that, in the interests of the District Council, should not be determined by a political whip.
2. Periodic discussions between Group Leaders will be held at the instigation of Leaders and convened by the Chief Executive at their request.
ROLES OF COUNCILLORS AND OFFICERS
3. Both councillors and officers serve the public. Officers respond to external initiatives and look for service improvements; councillors make political decisions. Whilst they each have distinct responsibilities, they depend upon each other. Whilst accepting that it is an over-simplification, the role of members is to create and approve policy and monitor its implementation and effectiveness. It is the duty of officers to present policy options and advice, implement policies adopted by the Council, maintain partnerships and manage day to day administration and delivery of services.
4. It is the council's intention that meetings and hearings of the Policy Development and Performance Monitoring Panels will at all times be conducted in a constructive and non-confrontational atmosphere in which views, opinions, advice and guidance will be mutually respected by all those participating in such meetings in order to further strengthen the strong sense of teamwork between councillors and officers that is a feature of the work of the council.
5. Officers are responsible to the whole Council but a special relationship must exist between the Chief Executive and Directors and members of the Cabinet and the Controlling Group. Such a special relationship will exist with any controlling group, regardless of its political complexion.
6. The practice of holding meetings between the Senior Management Team and senior members will continue, albeit that such meetings have no executive powers.
7. Mutual respect between councillors and officers is essential to good local government. Officers must respect the fact that (in most if not all cases) councillors have been elected to represent the views of their community. Members must respect the political impartiality of officers and understand that officers may, on occasion, need to give advice that may not support political objectives. Close personal familiarity and the perception of it between individual councillors and officers can damage this relationship and prove embarrassing to other councillors and officers. Proper standards of courtesy must be observed in all contacts between councillors and officers regardless of whether such contact is in a public forum.
8. Officers and members should, particularly in the public forum, be mutually supportive in order to minimise any potential embarrassment to the Council. Criticism of officers should, normally, be handled beyond the glare of public and media scrutiny. Similarly, officers should never publicly criticise decisions taken by the Council or any of its decision-making bodies.
9. The Monitoring Officer shall, where appropriate, report any instance of personal abuse or inappropriate criticism of officers by councillors, individually or collectively, and any breach of the council's Code of Conduct on Harassment at Work, to the Standards Committee for consideration. Any alleged inappropriate conduct of an officer towards a councillor or councillors will be investigated by the Chief Executive or a Director as appropriate and in accordance with the officer's contract of employment.
10. Officers, particularly the Chief Executive, Directors and Heads of Service, should always aim to keep the appropriate cabinet members briefed in all matters of a sensitive nature in an effort to avoid members of the cabinet being "caught on the hop" by a member of an opposition group, the press or the public.
11. Subject to items 4 and 6 above, strict confidentiality in respect of discussions between members and chief officers will be maintained and only breached with the consent of the member involved.
12. The Chief Executive and Directors are expected to assist members of the controlling group in framing questions that might be raised at a meeting of the Council or Panel but, in the case of Opposition groups, should provide answers only. As an example, an officer might assist a member of a controlling group to draft a question under Rules 10.2 or 10.3 of the Council Procedural Rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution. Such a facility would not be available to a member of an Opposition group.
MEMBERS' ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND COUNCIL DOCUMENTS
13. The council believes in open and transparent government. Information will generally be freely available to councillors. However, this approach has to be qualified in relation to certain confidential information and the statutory data protection requirements. Moreover, devoting a significant amount of staff resources to identify information which may be of marginal benefit will not normally be possible.
14. Where, in the view of any officer to whom a request for information has been made, such request will require a significant amount of staff resources to be devoted to the provision of information and which s/he feels unable to commit, s/he should seek guidance from his/her Head of Service or Director in an effort to identify a satisfactory solution. In the event that a solution cannot be agreed, the request should be referred to the Chief Executive who will make a decision after consulting the Leader of the Council.
15. Officers are expected to accede to the reasonable demands for information by all members and will make every attempt to be as helpful as possible. However, in providing information to members of opposition groups, the same information will, where appropriate, also be provided, at the same time, to the appropriate Cabinet member.
16. Councillors have a statutory right to inspect any document that contains material information in relation to any business, which is to be transacted at a Council, Cabinet, Panel, Committee or Working Party meeting. This right applies regardless of whether the councillor is a member of the Cabinet, Panel, Committee or Working Party concerned and extends, not only to reports which are to be submitted to the meeting, but also to any relevant background papers.
17. In addition to inspection of reports and background documents which are available to the public and subject to the limitations imposed by data protection legislation, the common law right of councillors is based on the principle that any councillor has a right to inspect council documents so far as his/her access to the documents is reasonably necessary to enable the councillor to perform his/her duties as an elected member.
18. The propriety of a request for information must initially be determined by the officer to whom the request is made. In the event of doubt, the officer should raise the issue with his/her Head of Service or Director who may seek the views of the Monitoring Officer. In the event of a dispute, a decision on the issue will be made by the Monitoring Officer following consultation with the Chairman of the Standards Committee. A report on such disputes will be submitted to the Standards Committee for information if the Chairman of that Committee deems it appropriate.
19. Any information provided to a councillor under these provisions must only be used by the councillor for the purpose for which it was provided - that is, in connection with the proper performance of a councillor's duties as a member of the council. Councillors should not inspect documents on a matter in which they have a declarable interest. A councillor should never disclose or use confidential information for his/her personal advantage or of anyone known to him/her, or to the disadvantage of the council or anyone else.
BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY
20. Any unauthorised disclosure of confidential information constitutes a breach of the Code of Conduct for Councillors. The Monitoring Officer shall refer any breach of confidentiality to the Standards Committee.
OFFICER ADVICE
21. It is essential that advice given by officers to councillors and any meeting of the Council, Cabinet, Panels, Committees and Working Parties is impartial and to the highest professional standards. The Chief Executive, Directors and Heads of Service will decide which officers will attend meetings.
22. With very few exceptions, for example where the decision to be taken is clearly a matter for political judgement, officers should include firm recommendations in every report submitted to a decision-making body.
23. There is now statutory recognition for political groups and it is common practice for such Groups to give preliminary consideration to many matters of council business in advance of such matters being considered by the relevant decision making bodies. Officer support is available to all political groups and individual members. However:
(1) Officer support must not go beyond the provision of advice and information in relation to matters of council business. Officers must not be involved in advising on matters of political group business and should not be in attendance at group meetings when matters of political group business are discussed.
(2) Where officers provide information and advice to a political group meeting in relation to a matter of council business, this does not and cannot act as a substitute for providing all necessary information and advice to the relevant council decision making body.
24. Special care needs to be exercised whenever officers are involved in providing information and advice at a political group meeting that includes persons who are not members of the council. Such persons are not bound by the council's codes of conduct and officers may not, in these circumstances, be able to provide the same level of information and advice as they would at a councillors only meeting.
MEDIA RELATIONS
25. Officers should confine comments to the media to matters of fact or of interpretation. The Chief Executive, Directors and Heads of Service may comment on matters which are the subject of delegation but will need to exercise judgement and integrity in making any such comment. Representatives of the media must be requested to seek political comment from members of the Council.
EXERCISE OF DELEGATED POWERS
26. The council gives delegated authority to certain officers to act on the council's behalf. The terms of that authority frequently require the officer to consult certain councillors before making a decision. In these circumstances, the officer must take account of the views expressed by the councillor(s) consulted but the decision reached on the matter is that of the officer who may be called upon to explain the reasons for his/her decision.
INTERPRETATION
Any questions of interpretation of this Protocol, or other queries on it, shall be referred to the Monitoring Officer who shall determine the matter following consultation with the Chairman of the Standards Committee. A report on such questions shall be submitted to the Standards Committee for information if the Chairman of that Committee deems it appropriate.
September 2002
