STANDING ORDERS Appendix J - Member-Officer Relations Protocol

PROTOCOL FOR MEMBER/OFFICER RELATIONS  

Underlying principles The principles underlying this protocol are as follows:

1       There shall be mutual courtesy and respect between Members and officers with regard to their respective roles set out below.

2       Members and officers shall each carry out their respective duties in the best interests of the Council

3       This Protocol applies to all dealings between Members and officers and not just in formal meetings.

4       Compliance with the Council’s organisationally agreed behaviour framework, for example, codes of conduct and related policies, should be demonstrated at all times by both Officers and Members in their dealings with each other.   The role of Members 5          These include the following:

5.1    Develop and set policies in accordance with strategic objectives that will then be implemented by the officers.

5.2    Monitor how those policies are being implemented.

5.3    Provide guidance to the officers on how those policies are to be implemented either if Members wish to do so or if officers ask for guidance.

5.4    Represent the views of their communities and ward constituents, and deal with individual casework.

5.5    Understand the statutory roles of the Chief Executive as Head of Paid Service, the Section 151 Officer, the Monitoring Officer, and the roles of the Director of Children's Services, the Director of Adult Social Services, the Director of Public Health and the Senior Officer Planning and Development, and of the significance attached to their advice.

5.6    Consult, where possible, with the communities they represent on the development of policy, community planning and other local initiatives.

5.7    Consult with the Monitoring Officer and the Section 151 Officer about vires, maladministration, financial impropriety and probity or where they have any doubt as to whether the particular decisions were, or are likely to be, contrary to the policy framework, or contrary to, or not wholly in accordance with the budget.

5.8    Respect officers’ political impartiality.

5.9    Promote the highest standards of conduct and ethics by leadership and example.

5.10  Act within any agreed Councillor protocol.   6          Members must not insist that any officer:

6.1    Change his or her professional advice, but in relation to specific matters should draw all relevant matters to the officer’s attention as referred to in paragraph 7.7.

6.2    Take any action, or not take action that the officer considers unlawful or illegal, or which would be likely to amount to maladministration.

  The role of officers 7          Officers:

7.1    Should implement the policies set by Members.

7.2    Will ask for guidance on implementation of the policies set by Members if they are unclear about any aspect of those policies.

7.3    Give such professional advice to Members as may be required of them from time to time.

7.4    Carry out their delegated functions to the best of their ability and in the interests of the Council.

7.5    Must remember that s/he is employed by the Council as a whole and not by any particular Councillor.

7.6    Are under a duty to help all Councillors/Co-optees and all parts of the Authority equally.

7.7    Should take all relevant matters into account when formulating advice to Members.

7.8    Act in accordance with the Employee Code of Conduct

7.9    Should brief members as appropriate to ensure that there are no surprises in relation to any action that is being undertaken by officers.   8          Officers must not:

8.1    Set policy other than for the smooth running of office procedures and processes and as may have been delegated under the Council’s constitutional documents and Scheme of Delegation.

8.2    Take any action, or not take action, which would be unlawful or illegal or which would be likely to amount to maladministration.

 

 

 

 

Relationship between Members and officers

9       The relationship between officers and Members should be characterised by mutual respect which is essential to good local government and underpinned by the Council’s agreed behaviours framework.

10     Individual Members and officers must not use improper and/or inappropriate language to each other and, in particular, offensive and/or abusive words must not be used.

11     Close personal familiarity between individual Members and officers can damage professional relationships and prove embarrassing to other Members and officers. Situations should be avoided that could give rise to suspicion and any appearance of improper conduct, or the perception that a Member and officer treat each other differently than others due to the nature of the personal relationship between them. This includes excessive socialising between Members and officers.

12     Any close personal or family relationships (eg. parent/child; spouse/partner) between officers and Members should be disclosed to the Chief Executive who will then decide how far this needs to be disclosed to others.

13     Members should not raise matters relating to the conduct or capability of Council staff either individually or collectively at meetings held in public or in the Press. Staff have no means of responding to criticism like this in public. If Members feel they have not been treated with proper respect, courtesy or have any concern about the conduct or capability of a member of staff they should raise the matter with the Chief Executive or relevant Senior Manager of the department concerned, if they fail to resolve it through direct discussion with the member of staff.  

Relationship between the Chairman and Members of the Scrutiny Committee and officers

14     The Chairman and members of the Council’s Scrutiny Committee and related bodies shall:

14.1  Seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer where they consider there is doubt about the vires for a decision, or where they consider a decision might be contrary to the policy framework.

14.2  When considering calling officers to give evidence the Committee shall not normally, without the consent of the relevant Senior Manager, request the attendance of a junior officer, to ensure that more junior officers are not put under undue pressure.

14.3  When asking officers to give evidence confine questions, so far as possible, to questions of fact and explanation relating to policies and decisions. Officers may be asked to give a professional opinion, but officers must not be expected to give a political view.

14.4  Where they consider it appropriate, ask officers to explain and justify advice given to Members prior to decisions being taken and justify decisions they themselves have taken under the Council’s constitutional documents and their responses to consultations under the Scheme of Delegations.

14.5  Not to question officers in such a way as to be in breach of the Council’s policy on harassment nor deal with matters which are of a disciplinary nature.   15        Officers shall:

15.1  Maintain political impartiality at all times when commenting on the Council’s policies and actions.

15.2  Be prepared to explain and justify advice given to Members of the Council prior to decisions being taken and justify decisions they themselves have taken under the Council’s Constitution and Scheme of Delegations.

15.3  Ensure that an officer of sufficient seniority appears before the relevant Committee.

15.4  Treat with strictest confidence any request for advice to a Member and that advice will not be accessible to any other member. Factual information upon which any advice is based will, if requested, be available to all members.  

Relationship between the Chairman and Members of other Committees and officers

16     This shall apply to all the Council’s Committees and Sub-Committees, and the Chair and members of those Council bodies shall:

·         Be bound by the same provisions set out in this Protocol when sitting as a Committee/Council body; and

·         Give officers the opportunity to present any report and give any advice they wish to present or give.  

Member access to documents and information

17     Save as provided below every Member of Full Council, a Committee and / or Subcommittee of the Council has a right to inspect documents about the business of that Committee.

18     A Member who is not a member of a specific Committee or Subcommittee may have access to any documents of that part of the Council if:

·         S/he can demonstrate a reasonable need to see the documents to perform his or her duties (the ‘need to know’); and

·         The document or papers or information do not contain ‘confidential’ or ‘exempt information’.

19     An officer should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer in any case of doubt in relation to the reasonableness of a Member’s request to have access to documentation and a Member should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer in circumstances where he or she wishes to inspect any document or have access to any information about a matter:

·         In which he or she has a personal or prejudicial interest; or

·         Where to do so would be in breach of the Data Protection Act.

 

20     A Member must seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before disclosing information given in confidence, in order that the Member can be advised as to whether such disclosure is reasonable and in the public interest, and whether such disclosure would be made in good faith and in compliance with the reasonable requirements of the Council.  

Non-Council Members on Council Bodies

21     This Protocol also applies to all those people who are not elected members of the Council but who are members of or attend any of the Council’s Committees or any other Council bodies.  

Press Releases

22        All Council press releases should be issued through the Council’s Communications Officer and should be factual.

23        Regard must be given to the relevant legislation concerning publicity issued by Councils, especially around election time.  

Correspondence

24     All correspondence written on behalf of the Council must be written on the relevant headed paper.

25     When Members are writing in their capacity as a Member they must make it clear whether they are writing on behalf of the Council or as an individual councillor.

26     Correspondence between individual Members and officers should not be copied to other Members or officers unless the Member or officer concerned indicates otherwise.

27     All correspondence should normally be open to the inspection of the public in accordance with the Council’s adopted policies. This does not apply to correspondence written in connection with legal proceedings, contractual matters or any other matter where papers can remain ‘exempt’ within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, or if this would be in conflict with the data protection legislation.  

 

Breach of this Protocol

28     If the Protocol is breached by a Member, then a complaint may be made to the Monitoring Officer who shall consult with the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee under its Standards functions and if appropriate refer the complaint to the Scrutiny Committee to be considered further.

29     Breaches by officers will be considered in the context of the Council’s complaints and disciplinary framework, as applicable.  

Further Advice

30     Any particular cases of difficulty or uncertainty under this protocol should be raised with the Monitoring Officer who will advise how to proceed.     July 2020