The Council of Newham is holding an extraordinary meeting. The agenda includes receiving apologies for absence, declarations of interest, and considering nominations for Honorary Alderperson and Honorary Freedom of the Borough Awards.

Honorary Freedom of the Borough

The council will be asked to consider nominations for The Honorary Freedom of the London Borough of Newham. The report pack states that the report is to follow, so no further details are currently available. The Honorary Freedom of the Borough is the highest award the council can give.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are invited to declare any disclosable, pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests they may have in relation to any matter being considered at the meeting, with reference to the guidance attached to the agenda.

The guidance within the MembersDPIAgendaGuidance2022updateforCouncil document details the types of interests that should be declared.

Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) are covered in detail in the Localism Act 2011¹. The guidance states:

If you have a DPI in any matter on the agenda you must not participate in any discussion or vote on that matter. If you do so without a prior Dispensation (see below) you may be committing a criminal offence, as well as a Breach of the Code of Conduct. The guidance also covers Non-Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Non-Pecuniary Interests, and states that councillors should declare any interests where a decision might reasonably be regarded as affecting their well-being or financial standing, or that of a family member or close associate, to a greater extent than it would affect the majority of Newham's residents.

The MembersDPIAgendaGuidance2022updateforCouncil document also notes that under Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972², councillors must attend a meeting of the authority at least once every six months.