1
The general principles of good Member/Officer
relations is based on mutual trust and respect and consideration for others.
Good working relationships between Members and Officers leads to good decision
making, enhanced performance, confidence and community leadership.
2
This Protocol provides guidance for Members,
co-opted Members and Officers in their working relationship with each
other.
3
Members are bound by the Code of Conduct and
Nolan Principles and are expected to maintain the highest standard of ethical
behaviour when acting in their capacity as a Member and, in certain
circumstances, at all times.
4
Officers are bound by the Code of Conduct
(Qualifying Local Government Employees)(Wales) Order 2001 which provides that
the public is entitled to expect the highest standards of conduct from
Officers. When performing their duties Officers must act with integrity,
honesty, impartiality and objectivity.
5
Mutual respect between Officers and Members is
essential to good local government and working relationships should be kept on
a professional basis and conducted in a positive and constructive way. It is
important that any dealings between Members and Officers should observe
standards of courtesy.
6
To support high performance within the Authority
it is essential that both Members and Officers know and respect their different
roles and perspectives.
Members
undertake many different roles. Broadly these are:
7
Members are responsible to the electorate. Members
undertake important community work within their ward and act as community
advocates. They also deal with individual casework within their wards.
8
Members also have responsibility as members of
full council to make important decisions on behalf of residents of Swansea
which will include approving the budget and policy framework.
9
Some Members are also involved in quasi-judicial
decisions when sitting on regulatory committees such as planning and
licensing. Other Members will have
responsibility for holding the Cabinet to account and scrutinising the
performance of the council. Those Members who form part of the Cabinet will
undertake the majority of the Council’s functions and will decide policy and
make policy decisions.
10
Some Members will also sit on partnerships and
outside bodies ie charities, Fire Authority and will
need to be familiar with their own rules of conduct and procedure.
11
Members help develop and review policy and
strategy and review policy implementation.
Officers
have the following main roles:
12
Officers are responsible to the Council. Their
role is to give impartial advice to all Members and to implement decisions,
agreed policy and corporate priorities. Officers have operational
responsibilities as set out in the scheme of delegation and Constitution and
are responsible for day to day management and being accountable for the
efficiency and effectiveness of their services.
13
The Member Code of Conduct provides that Members
must reach decisions having regard to any relevant advice from Officers. In
providing advice Officers are free to give their professional advice wherever
appropriate. Such advice should be clear, impartial and timely.
14
Responsibility for drafting reports to
committees, providing advice and, where appropriate, setting out options for
decision making.
15
Ensuring that the Council always acts in a
lawful manner.
16
Members should not raise matters relating to the
conduct or capability of an Officer in a public forum. This will include all
meetings at which the public are present whether in person or via remote means.
An Officer has no means of responding to such criticism in public.
17
If a Member feels that he/she has not been
treated with respect, courtesy or has a concern about the conduct or capability
of an Officer then the Member should raise it with the relevant Head of
Service. There will be an expectation that the Member will also raise with
their Group Leader any concerns about Officer conduct. The Head of Service will
look into the matter and report back to the Member. If the Member remains
dissatisfied with the response he/she should raise the issue with the relevant
Director who will look into the matter afresh. Where it is felt that there is a
breakdown in the relationship between both the Officer and the Member then with
the consent of all parties the Chief Executive and Group Leader may resolve to
consider mediation as a way forward. Any action taken against an Officer will
be in accordance with the Council’s relevant HR policies and upon advice of HR
Officers.
18
An Officer should not raise with a Member
matters relating to the conduct or capability of another Officer or the internal
management of their section in a manner which is incompatible with the overall
objectives of this Protocol.
19
If an Officer feels that he/she has not been
properly treated with respect and courtesy by a Member he/she should raise the
matter with his/her Head of Service who will notify the relevant Director.
Depending on the nature of the complaint, the relevant Head of Service or
Director
will speak to the Member with a view
to facilitating resolution of any issues that have arisen between the Member
and OfficerIf the Member has a Group Leader the Head
of Service/Director will also notify the Group Leader that a complaint has been
made.
20
There will be an expectation that both parties
will, in the spirit of this Protocol, engage in meaningful discussions to
resolve any issues amicably. If the matter cannot be resolved at the initial
stage by the Head of Service or Director then the relevant Political Group
Leaders and the Chief Executive will seek to resolve by mediation and
conciliation any unresolved problem or breakdown in working relationships
between Members and Officers. Both parties will be expected to agree to and
engage with mediation with a view to resolving the matter. Mediation will be
arranged and facilitated by HR officers.
21
If the alleged misconduct is of a serious nature
the matter should be reported to the Monitoring Officer who will discuss
initially with the Chief Executive and then, if appropriate, with the Corporate
Management Team as to whether it is appropriate for referral to the Public
Service Ombudsman for Wales.
22
For the effective conduct of Council business there
must be mutual respect, trust and courtesy in all meetings and contacts, both
formal and informal, between Members and Officers. This plays a very important
part in the Council’s reputation and how it is seen in public. It is very
important that both
Members and Officers remember their
respective obligations to enhance the Council’s reputation and do what they can
to avoid criticism of other Members, or other Officers in public places.
23
Undue Pressure
(a) It
is important in any dealings between Members and Officers that neither should
seek to take unfair advantage of their position.
(b) A
Member should not apply undue pressure on an Officer either to do anything
which he is not empowered to do or to undertake work outside normal duties or
outside normal hours. Particular care needs to be taken in connection with the
use of Council property and services.
(c) Similarly,
an Officer must neither seek to use undue influence on an individual Member to
make a decision in his favour nor raise personal matters to do with their job
nor make claims or allegations about other Officers. (The Council has formal
procedures for consultation, grievance and discipline, and Officers have the
right to report possible wrongdoing under the Council’s confidential reporting
procedures).
24
Familiarity
(a) Close
personal familiarity between individual Members and Officers can damage the
principle of mutual respect. It could also, intentionally or accidentally, lead
to the passing of confidential information or information which should not
properly be passed between them, such as personal details. Members and Officers will not therefore allow
their working relationship to become so close or appear to be so close as to
bring into question the Officers ability to deal impartially with Members,
Political Groups and other Officers.
(b) Such
familiarity could also cause embarrassment to other Members and / or other
Officers and even give rise to suspicions of favouritism.
(c) For
these reasons close personal familiarity must be avoided.
25
In discharging their duties and
responsibilities, Officers serve the Council as a whole and not any political
group, combination of groups or any individual Member of the Council. Members
should respect the political neutrality and integrity of Officers.
26
There is now statutory recognition for party
groups and it is common practice for such groups to give preliminary consideration
to matters of Council business in advance of such matters being considered by
the relevant Council decision making body.
Officers may properly be called upon to support and contribute to such
deliberations by party groups but must at all times maintain political
neutrality. All Officers must, in their
dealings with political groups and individual Members, treat them in a fair and
evenhanded manner.
27
The support provided by Officers can take many
forms. Whilst in practice such Officer
support is likely to be in most demand from whichever party group is for the
time being in control of the Council, such support is available to all party
groups.
28
Certain points must, however, be clearly
understood by all those participating in this type of process, Members and
Officers alike. In particular:
a)
Officer support must not extend beyond providing
information and advice in relation to matters of Council business. Officers must not be involved in advising on
matters of party business. The observance
of this distinction will be assisted if Officers are not present at meetings or
parts of meetings, when matters of party business are to be discussed;
b)
party group meetings, whilst they form part of
the preliminaries to Council decision making, are not empowered to make
decisions on behalf of the Council.
Conclusions reached at such meetings do not therefore rank as Council
decisions and it is essential that they are not interpreted or acted upon as
such; and
c)
similarly, where Officers provide information
and advice to a party group meeting in relation to a matter of Council
business, this cannot act as a substitute for providing all necessary
information and advice
to the relevant Committee or
Sub-Committee when the matter in question is considered.
29
Officers shall exercise special care when
attending and/or giving advice to Party Group Meetings. Party Group Meetings may include persons who
are not Members of the Council. Such
persons are unlikely to be bound by the Code of Conduct (in particular the
rules around declarations of interests and confidentiality).
30
Officers must respect the confidentiality of any
party group discussions at which they are present in the sense that they should
not relay the content of any such discussion to another party group.
31
Whilst any Member may ask a relevant Head of
Service, Corporate Director or the Chief Executive for written factual
information about a Directorate or service, such requests must be reasonable
and not seek information relating, for instance, to case work of a similar
nature, e.g. Social Services, employment etc.
Requests will be met subject to any overriding legal considerations
(which will be determined by the Chief Legal Officer), or if the recipient of
any request considers the cost of providing the information requested or the
nature of the request to be unreasonable.
If a Member requesting such information is dissatisfied by such a
response s/he should raise the matter in the first place with the relevant
Corporate Director, and if still dissatisfied should raise the matter with the
Chief Executive who will discuss the issue with the relevant Group Leader(s).
32
In relation to budget proposals:
a)
the Administration shall be entitled to confidential
discussions with Officers regarding options and proposals. These will remain confidential until
determined by the Administration or until published in advance of
Committee/Council meetings, whichever is the earlier; and
b)
the opposition groups shall also be entitled to
confidential discussions with Officers to enable them to formulate alternative
budget proposals. These will remain
confidential until determined by the respective opposition groups or until
published in advance of Committee/Council meetings, whichever is the earlier.
33
It must not be assumed by any party group or
Member that any Officer is supportive of any policy or strategy developed
because of that Officer’s assistance in the formulation of that policy or
strategy.
34
Any particular cases of difficulty or
uncertainty in this area of Officer advice to party groups should be raised
with the Chief Executive who will discuss them with the relevant group
leader(s).
35
It is clearly important that there should be a
close working relationship between Cabinet members and the Officers who support
and/or interact with them. However, such
relationships should never be allowed to become so close, or appear to be so close,
as to bring into question the Officer’s ability to deal impartially with other
Members and other party groups.
36
Whilst Cabinet Members will routinely be
consulted as part of the process of drawing up proposals for consideration or
the agenda for a forthcoming meeting, it must be recognised that in some
situations an Officer will be under a professional duty to submit a
report. Similarly, a Head of Service or
other senior Officer will always be fully responsible for the contents of any
report submitted in his/her name. This
means that any such report will be amended only where the amendment reflects
the professional judgement of the author of the report. This is to be distinguished from a situation
where there is a value judgement to be made.
Any issues arising between a Cabinet Member and a Head of Service in
this area should be referred to the Chief Executive for resolution in
conjunction with the Leader of the Council.
37
The Cabinet and its members have wide ranging
leadership roles. They will:
a)
lead on the preparation of the Policies and
Strategies including the budget;
b)
take in-year decisions on resources and
priorities, together with other stakeholders and partners in the local
community, to deliver and implement the budget and policies decided by the Full
Council; and
c)
be the focus for forming partnerships with other
local public, private, voluntary and community sector organisations to address
local needs.
38
Where functions which are the responsibility of the
Cabinet are delegated to Officers or other structures outside the Cabinet, the
Cabinet will nevertheless remain accountable to the Council, through the
Scrutiny Programme Committee and Scrutiny Panels, for the discharge of those
functions. That is to say, the Cabinet will be held to account for both its
decision to delegate a function and the way that the function is being carried
out.
39
Under the Constitution individual Cabinet
Members take decisions. The Cabinet and Cabinet members must satisfy themselves
that they are clear as to what exactly they can and cannot do under the
Constitution.
40
The Council has in place mechanisms/protocols
which ensure that (as with the Council, its Committees and Sub Committees, and
the Cabinet and its Committees) an individual Cabinet Member seeks advice from
relevant Officers before taking a decision within her or his delegated
authority. This includes taking legal
advice, financial advice and professional officer advice (particularly about
contractual matters) as well as consulting the Monitoring Officer where there
is doubt about vires.
41
Decisions taken by individual Cabinet Members
give rise to legal and financial obligations in the same way as decisions taken
collectively. Therefore, Cabinet Members
should always be aware of legal and financial liabilities (consulting the
Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer as appropriate) which will arise
from their decisions.
42 The Council Constitution Part 4
contains Rules of Procedure for Scrutiny. The Scrutiny Handbook contains
guidelines as to the Procedure at Evidence Meetings, and guidance for Members
and Officers.
43
The purpose of scrutiny is to review Council
policy and service delivery while taking into account the performance of the
authority. In doing so, it is expected that scrutiny members will make
constructive recommendations to Council that are based on factual findings and
to act as a critical friend.
44
Scrutiny is not about fostering a blame culture
or assigning unfair criticism. To be effective, it must have the ability to
work in an environment that supports the principles of service improvement. To
assist this approach, it is considered necessary that scrutiny members should:
a)
undertake their roles with due diligence and
satisfy themselves that all pertinent issues are covered;
b)
be able to consider themselves unfettered by
party political discipline;
c)
use the powers of scrutiny properly and behave
in a manner that reflects the trust placed in them by electors;
d)
not permit personal agendas or differences in
political complexion to obscure an effective scrutiny process;
e)
refrain from public and personal criticism of
other members or officers.
Cabinet Members and Officers should:
a)
ensure their availability to attend scrutiny
meetings as requested;
b)
co-operate with scrutiny in arriving at
conclusions to their investigations;
c)
provide all necessary information that will
assist in the effectiveness of the scrutiny process.
45 The only basis on which the Council
can lawfully provide support services (e.g. stationery, typing, printing,
photo-copying, transport etc) to Members is to assist them in discharging their
role as Members of the Council. Such support
services must therefore only be used on Council business. They should never be used in connection with
party political or campaigning activity or for private purposes.
46
Official letters on behalf of the Council should
be sent in the name of the
appropriate Officer rather than in the name of a Member. There are circumstances
where a letter sent in the name of a Member is perfectly appropriate, for
example, in response to a letter of enquiry or complaint sent direct to the
Member. Letters which, for example, create obligations or give instructions on
behalf of the Council should never be sent out in the name of a Member.
47
Correspondence between an individual Member and
an Officer should not normally be copied (by the Officer) to any other
Member. Where exceptionally it is
necessary to copy the correspondence to another Member, this should be made
clear to the original Member. A system
of ‘silent copies’ should not be employed.
48 Communications with the media can be an
important part of a Member’s workload. In general, Members provide comment and
views while Officers provide the factual information. If a Member is unsure
about the circumstances of a particular issue he/she should contact the
appropriate Director or Head of Service concerned or ask the Press Office to do
so.
49
Members are free to approach any Directorate of
the Council to ask for information in accordance with paragraph 24 above. This right extends to such information,
explanation or advice as they may reasonably need in order to assist them in
discharging their role as a Member of the Council. This can range from a request for general
information about some aspect of the Council’s activities to a request for
specific information on behalf of a constituent. Such approaches should normally be made to
the Director or another Senior Officer of the Directorate concerned.
50
As regards the legal rights of Members to
inspect Council documents, these are covered partly by statute and partly by
the common law.
51
Further and more detailed information regarding
Members rights to inspect Council documents is contained in the Access to
Information Rules in Part 4 of this Constitution and Members may obtain advice
on their rights from the Council’s Monitoring Officer.
52
Any Council information provided to a Member
must only be used by the Member for the purpose for which it was provided i.e.
in connection with the proper performance of the Member’s duties as a Member of
the Council.
53
In accordance with the Code of Conduct for
Members, a Member must not disclose information given to him/her in confidence
by anyone, or information acquired which he/she believes, or ought reasonably
to be aware, is of a confidential nature, except where:
(a)
He/she has the consent of a person authorised to
give it;
(b)
He/she is required by law to do so;
(c)
The disclosure is made to a third party for the
purpose of obtaining professional advice provided that the third party agrees
not to disclose the information to any other person; or
(d)
The disclosure is;
(i)
Reasonable and in the public interest; and
(ii)
Made in good faith and in compliance with the
reasonable requirements of the authority;
54
Confidential Committee papers (yellow papers)
are to be treated as confidential information unless the relevant Committee
resolves not to exclude press and public. Members are reminded that the author
of the report makes the initial decision as to whether or not the papers are to
be treated as confidential. The decision as to whether the report remains
confidential is for the Committee. The confidentiality of the information may
decline over time and it will be a matter for the Monitoring Officer and report
authors as to whether information can be disclosed if no longer considered
confidential. Any decision to release information previously determined as
confidential should be recorded formally under delegated provisions. Other
information may be confidential because to disclose it would be against the
Council’s or public interest.
55
Information and correspondence about an
individual’s private or business affairs will normally be confidential.
56
Officers should make it clear to Members if they
are giving them confidential information. If a Member is not sure whether
information is confidential, he or she should ask the relevant Officer, but
treat the information as confidential in the meantime.
57
Any Council information provided to a Member
must only be used by the
Member in connection with the proper performance
of the Member’s duties as a Member of the Council.
58
If a Member receives confidential information
and considers it should be disclosed to another person because it is reasonable
and in the public interest to do so then he or she must first consult with the
Monitoring Officer and shall not disclose the information without having regard
to any advice given by that Officer.
59
Local authorities are accountable to their
electorate. Accountability requires
local understanding. This will be promoted by the Authority, explaining its
objectives and policies to the electors and rate-payers. In recent years, all
local authorities have increasingly
used publicity to keep the public informed and to encourage public participation. Every Council needs to tell the public about
the services it provides. Increasingly,
local authorities see this task as an essential part of providing services. Good, effective publicity aimed to improve
public awareness of a Council’s activities is, in the words of the Government,
to be welcomed.
60
Publicity is, however, a sensitive matter in any
political environment because of the impact it can have. Expenditure on publicity can be
significant. It is essential, therefore,
to ensure that local authority decisions on publicity are properly made in
accordance with clear principles of good practice.
61
The Local Authority is prohibited by s 2 Local
Government Act 1986 from publishing or assisting to publish material which
appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party. Welsh
Government have published a Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authority
Publicity which Officers and Members should have regard to in making decisions
around publicity. If in any doubt the Head of Communications should be
consulted. Particular care should be taken during the pre-election period
around publicity.
62 Whenever a public meeting is organised
by the Council to consider a local issue, all the Members representing the Ward
or Wards affected should as a matter of course, be invited to attend the
meeting. Any publicity afforded to
Cabinet members on visits to wards may include Ward members as well as Cabinet
members as long as the provisions of the Code of Recommended Practice for Local
Authority Publicity is taken into account.
63 Similarly, whenever the Council
undertakes any form of consultative exercise on a local issue, the Ward Members
should be notified at the outset of the exercise. More generally, Officers should consider
whether other policy of briefing papers, or other topics being discussed with a
Cabinet Member should be discussed with relevant Ward Members. Officers should seek the views of the
appropriate Cabinet Member(s) as to with whom and when this might be done.
64 It is hoped that, by following good
practice and securing sensible and practical working relationships between
Members and Officers, that we can provide one of the cornerstones of a
successful local authority and thereby enhance the delivery of high value quality
services to the people of the area. Mutual understanding, openness and respect
are the greatest safeguard to the integrity of the Council, its Members and
Officers.
65 This Protocol was adopted by the Council
as part of the Constitution on ***
66 Copies of the Protocol will be issued to
all Members as part of the
Constitution
upon election.
67 Questions of interpretation of this
Protocol will be determined by the Chief
Legal Officer.