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Post by gwynthegriff on Mar 25, 2013 20:50:19 GMT
I would argue that MPs have a more relaxed regime on this than councillors (was certainly the case when I was a Borough Councillor) - which is daft!
I would also point out to Ian, who seems to be on his own in his position, that there are two important distinctions to make here:
1. There is a significant difference between:
a) having to declare an interest (e.g. membership of the local Church when they apply for a grant to help with cutting the grass; or part-ownership of a piece of land which lies next to the site of a planning application) WHEN A RELEVANT MATTER COMES BEFORE THE COUNCIL.
and b) having to rack your brains to think of every possible interest which might be relevant to any future matter which might come before the Council in advance and under the threat of criminal sanction if you miss one out.
2. Mrs Harris - a Parish Councillor - might be quite willing to put all her relevant details on public record. Mr Harris may not want his every business interest, land and property ownership etc etc announced to the public.
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Crimson King
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Post by Crimson King on Mar 25, 2013 20:52:46 GMT
so in that case you would withdraw the register of members interests then ? That is all that happens at local and national, if it goes further at Parish Level then that is different and wrong. I believe ( but am open to stand corrected ) that the register of member's interests does not require financial details of partner's/spouses . I refer to the handout from my standards training of about 2 hous ago. A disclosable pecuniary interest is one of the list decribed in the 2012 regulations and is is either an interest of your self or of a spouse or civil partner or someone uou areliving with as a spouse or civil partner. Interestingly you are required to disclose theinterest in the register, but not to name the spouse etc.so for example under land you could just list all land owned by you or your spouse (or both) but don't have to say who owns what |
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Post by erlend on Mar 25, 2013 21:50:59 GMT
If as a spouse I decline to give my other half any details of my financial affairs am I committing an offence or does that disbar them from the council? Or should they guess?
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andrea
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Post by andrea on Mar 25, 2013 22:06:53 GMT
If as a spouse I decline to give my other half any details of my financial affairs am I committing an offence or does that disbar them from the council? Or should they guess? they should divorce you |
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Post by erlend on Mar 25, 2013 22:11:02 GMT
And if they did at what point in the separation are they covered?
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andrea
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Post by andrea on Mar 25, 2013 22:12:20 GMT
And if they did at what point in the separation are they covered? close of the nominations is the deadline to divorce |
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Crimson King
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Post by Crimson King on Mar 25, 2013 23:08:37 GMT
the serious answer is 'insofar as they are known to you' ie he or she doesn't have to tell you anything she or he doesn't want to. However you would be on sticky ground if you tried to claim you didn't know what your spouses job was, or that you didn't know they owned property
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Post by erlend on Mar 26, 2013 13:21:32 GMT
But their shares portfolio could be obscure and if they owned lots of properties you might be vague. But glad to hear that there is some sense in the law.
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Post by gwynthegriff on Mar 26, 2013 18:29:40 GMT
I believe ( but am open to stand corrected ) that the register of member's interests does not require financial details of partner's/spouses . I refer to the handout from my standards training of about 2 hous ago. A disclosable pecuniary interest is one of the list decribed in the 2012 regulations and is is either an interest of your self or of a spouse or civil partner or someone uou areliving with as a spouse or civil partner. Interestingly you are required to disclose theinterest in the register, but not to name the spouse etc.so for example under land you could just list all land owned by you or your spouse (or both) but don't have to say who owns what On the forms round here there are separate boxes for self and spouse so a bit difficult to list them collectively. |
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Crimson King
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Post by Crimson King on Mar 26, 2013 20:11:45 GMT
Tricky - agreed. Of course if you didn't know something (and can convincingly argue it) you could notbhave influenced in your decision by it.
Gwyn - interesting - our forms just have a space under each heading and our monitoring officer was quite clear that is was not neccesary to specify self or spouse.
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Mar 26, 2013 20:50:31 GMT
Gwyn - interesting - our forms just have a space under each heading and our monitoring officer was quite clear that is was not neccesary to specify self or spouse. The same point was made in the most recent meeting of Westminster's Standards committee. The monitoring officer noted that, in effect, the disclosable pecuniary interests of the spouse or partner were those of the member. I have seen many registers of interest which show two columns, one for the member and the other for their spouse or partner. I have also seen many which don't separate them at all. |
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Crimson King
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Post by Crimson King on Mar 26, 2013 20:57:13 GMT
I think I prefer the latter system, which would, if universally adopted, go at least some way to assuaging the anxieties of some here (and apparently elswhere)
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