Supplementary memorandum by the National
Association of Local Councils (NALC) (STA 27(a))
Appendix A
COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE—TENTH
ENQUIRY
GETTING THE
BALANCE RIGHT
The response of the National Association of
Local Councils to the paper "Implementing Standards of Conduct
in Public Life".
1. Introduction
The National Association (NALC) is grateful
for the opportunity to provide a written submission on the parts
of the consultation paper, which are relevant to our Association
and membership.
NALC is a membership organisation, speaking
for some 8,500 Parish and Town Councils in England. NALC is committed
to making this primary level of local government more effective,
and to continue to take a leadership role in local communities.
NALC has established five key commitments to
local communities:
— Working with Government to develop
real community involvement in local government.
— Responding to community needs.
— Providing a strong voice for local
communities.
— Best Value in service delivery.
— Working in partnership with the voluntary
and business sectors.
NALC is the only body in the country specialising
full-time in the work of parish and town councils. The Association's
advice and guidance to member councils is based on more than 50
years experience acting solely in the interests of its member
councils.
There has been a tendency for parish and town
councils to be misrepresented as anachronistic and parochial.
With the advent of the Government's "Modernising Local Government"
agenda parish and town councils have the opportunity to re-assert
the important role they play in community life in England and
demonstrate their suitability an ideal model for community governance.
2. Q.10 Should the Local Government Model
Code of Conduct apply to all tiers of local government?
2.1 The code should apply to all tiers of
local government, as indeed did the code that predated the current
one.
2.2 To one degree or other, parish and town
councils spend public money on the provision of local services
and have quite extensive powers to do so. They make decisions
on behalf of the local population whom they serve. Parish and
town councils have the power to make a difference in their local
community and as part of that process, those who represent them
should be accountable to the local people. The code of conduct
affords that opportunity.
2.3 It is not sufficient to say that accountability
can be brought to bear upon elected members via the ballot box
every four years. The process needs to be on going throughout
a term.
2.4 The size of a council does not always
reflect its operational success. The amount of money spent by
a council may sometimes be small but where the population is also
small, the amount being spent per elector may be quite substantial.
There would thus be a problem if we were to say that the code
should only apply to a council with expenditure exceeding, for
example, £50,000 or indeed where the number of electors exceeded
a certain figure.
2.5 Given the difficulties of ensuring that
people understood the new code, NALC was more than happy to see
that the vast majority of councils dealt with the introduction
with the minimum of fuss and great deal of common sense. Parish
and town councils are not subject to the investigative powers
of the local government ombudsman on matters of maladministration.
This is of course a separate issue from that before the committee.
However, to have a section of local government that neither individually
nor collectively was subject to either the code of conduct or
the ombudsman would be highly unsatisfactory.
2.6 Previous codes of conduct did not distinguish
between tiers and the proposals to introduce a more transparent
process were not based on a need to exclude a class of councillor
but rather to introduce a system that was understandable by the
community.
2.7 There may be some merit in adopting
a different process of investigation for "smaller" parish
councils and NALC would welcome any investigation into whether
or not such a process is viable but this should not detract from
the councillors needing to abide by the same code of conduct.
3. Q.11 Should there be a general requirement
in Codes of Conduct to register membership of any society which
though not a charity or directed to charitable purposes might
be perceived to constitute a conflict of interest?
3.1 One of the declared intentions of the
code of conduct when it was first introduced was that people in
communities were not to be put off from involving themselves in
one or more local groups and that information and knowledge of
such people was a valuable resource to many organisations. This
is an area where perhaps people have struggled with the code because
it can appear to put hurdles in the way of people serving on one
or more bodies. There is a perception among parish and town councils
that the code actually works to restrict their involvement and
working with other bodies in the community. The perception may
well be wide of the mark as far as the actual operation of the
code is concerned, but it remains there nonetheless.
3.2 Initially, paragraph 9(2) of the parish
code of conduct appeared to confirm this intention by allowing
a member to regard him or herself as not having a prejudicial
interest in certain circumstances. However, the use of the word
"may" in paragraph 9(2) is actually quite restrictive
and more importantly has led to many councillors being confused
as to when they may actually have a prejudicial interest. The
Standards Board has provided much valuable guidance to our sector
on this and other issues but the confusion does not help transparency.
3.3 By the same token, if we are to expect councillors
to almost second guess when they should or shouldn't be expected
to register membership of a society, this may simply serve to
muddy the waters further.
4. Q.12 Are the requirements of the various
Codes of Conduct proportionate or a disincentive to public service?
4.1 There was, as mentioned, an overplayed
fear that our sector would suffer because of mass resignations
and a blanket refusal to accept the introduction of the new code.
It is fair to say that whilst this may have been the case in certain
areas, the fear was generally unfounded and the code is viewed
as being proportionate to the requirements of public service.
4.2 The problem areas are more to do with
understanding some of the more technical areas of the code and
the provision of training to parish and town councillors where
resources are sometimes limited. Standards committees have a duty
to provide this training but the degree of training available
varies hugely around the country, ranging from the very supportive
to the non-existent.
5. Q.14 What good practice exists to embed
the Seven Principles of Public Life into the culture of public
bodies? For example, good practice in (a) training and development;
(b) encouraging the challenge of inappropriate behaviour at all
levels in the organisation; and (c) attempts to measure changes
in the culture of public bodies?
5.1 For the first time there is a benchmark
qualification known as Quality Status that can be awarded to parish
and town councils. It is available to all councils regardless
of size of expenditure and is based on the council proving that
they meet certain areas of competence, primarily in the way that
that interact with and provide services and information to the
local community.
5.2 Part of the process involves the council
having a qualified clerk and there is a recognised qualification
and tailor made courses.
5.3 It is recognised that as well as officers,
councillors should be subject to a form of training as part of
their public office and NALC is looking at suitable ways of introducing
such a scheme.
5.4 There have been a number of issues recently
where alleged bullying and harassment of clerks by members has
been identified. The Society of Local Clerks is the body that
will usually provide advice and assistance to the clerk at such
times but clearly the use by individuals of such behaviour is
wholly unacceptable. The code may provide an avenue for complaint
but it is quite a step for a clerk to complain to a national body
against an individual who is in close proximity for obvious reasons.
There may be protection afforded by employment legislation, which
may be more appropriate. Often the key to such problems is the
provision of training, for example to members on how they should
interact with officers and the level of professionalism expected
in dealing with them.
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