Tower Hamlets Constitution

This Code has been developed to support the high standards of leadership and performance of members, and the openness and accountability necessary to ensure public confidence in the way in which you conduct your public duties.

The Code applies to the Mayor, Councillors, and Co-opted Members of the Council, collectively referred to as Member(s) in the remainder of this document.

A “Co-opted Member” is defined in the Localism Act 2011 Section 27(4) as “a person who is not a Member of the authority but who

1. is a Member of any committee or sub-committee of the authority, or;

2. is a Member of, and represents the authority on, any joint committee or joint sub- committee of the authority;

and who is entitled to vote on any question that falls to be decided at any meeting of that committee or sub-committee”.

Some Co-opted Members of the Council’s Scrutiny Committees are not caught by the above definition as they do not have the right to vote, however all Scrutiny Co-optees are expected to abide by the terms of this Code of Conduct.

The Code does not apply to Independent Persons, Observers and other persons involved in the Council’s Committees, Boards, and Panels. They are expected to take into account the Code and to follow any rules set out by their own organisations and act appropriately. This includes those Members of bodies such as the Health and Wellbeing Board who are appointed by other organisations.

The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to assist you, as a Member, in modelling the behaviour that is expected of you, to provide a personal check and balance, and to set out the type of conduct that could lead to action being taken against you. It is also to protect you, the public, fellow Members, local authority officers and the reputation of local government. It sets out general principles of conduct expected of all Members and your specific obligations in relation to standards of conduct. The LGA encourages the use of support, training and mediation prior to action being taken using the Code. The fundamental aim of the Code is to create and maintain public confidence in the role of Member and local government.

In addition to the Member Code of Conduct, the Council’s governance arrangements include a number of further Codes and Protocols set out in the Constitution which provide additional guidance or obligations which Members must consider. These include, but are not limited to, the Planning and Licensing Codes of Conduct and the Member / Officer Relations Protocol.

As Members you are also required to adhere to the Council’s Social Media policy in your role as a Member.

The Member Code of Conduct has been set within the context of the Tower Values of ‘Together, Open, Willing, Excellent, and Respect’ which we all holdCouncil's TOWER values (towerhamlets.gov.uk).

This Code of Conduct has been developed from the Model Code of Conduct published by the Local Government Association (LGA). The LGA has also produced guidance to accompany its Model Code. This guidance is a useful reference point for Members and officers on the application of the Code.

The relevant sections of the guidance are referenced throughout this Code as a useful guide on the application of the code The full guidance is available here:https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/guidance-local-government-association-model-councillor-code-conduct

Although the guidance is a useful reference for officers and Members, it will be for the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Independent Person and/or Standards Advisory Committee as appropriate, (applying the Code), to determine whether a Member has breached it.

Everyone in public office at all levels; all who serve the public or deliver public services, including ministers, civil servants, Members and local authority officers; should uphold theSeven Principles of Public Life, also known as the Nolan Principles. The Nolan Principles are set out in Appendix A to the Code of Conduct.

In accordance with the public trust placed in me, on all occasions:

• I act with integrity and honesty

• I act lawfully

• I treat all persons fairly and with respect; and

• I lead by example and act in a way that secures public confidence in the role of Member.

In undertaking my role:

• I impartially exercise my responsibilities in the interests of the local community

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• I do not improperly seek to confer an advantage, or disadvantage, on any person

• I avoid conflicts of interest

• I exercise reasonable care and diligence; and

• I ensure that public resources are used prudently in accordance with my local authority’s requirements and in the public interest.

This Code of Conduct applies to you as soon as you sign your declaration of acceptance of the office of Mayor/Councillor or on appointment as a co-opted member and continues to apply to you until you cease to be a Member.

This Code of Conduct applies to you when you are acting in your capacity as a member which may include, but is not limited to, when:

• You are acting on council business

• Your actions would give the impression to a reasonable member of the public with knowledge of all the facts that you are acting as a Member;

• You misuse your position as a Member

The Code applies to all forms of communication and interaction, including:

• at face-to-face meetings

• at online or telephone meetings

• in written communication

• in verbal communication

• in non-verbal communication

• in electronic and social media communication, posts, statements and comments.

You are also expected to uphold high standards of conduct and show leadership at all times when acting as a Member.

Your Monitoring Officer has statutory responsibility for the implementation of the Code of Conduct, and you are encouraged to seek advice from your Monitoring Officer on any matters that may relate to the Code of Conduct.

This section sets out your obligations. Should your conduct fall short of these standards, a complaint may be made against you, which may result in action being taken.

As aMember:

1. I promote and supporthigh standardsof conduct through my leadership and example.

2. I treat other Members and members of the public with respect.

3. I treat local authority employees, and representatives of partner organisations and those volunteering for the local authority with respect and respect the role they play.

4. I take account of the views of others, including where applicable my political group, but I reach my own conclusions and actin accordance withthose conclusions.

Respect means politeness and courtesy in behaviour, speech, and in the written word. Debate and having different views are all part of a healthy democracy. As a Member, you can express, challenge, criticise and disagree with views, ideas, opinions, and policies in a robust but civil manner. You should not, however, subject individuals, groups of people or organisations to personal attack.

In your contact with the public, you should treat them politely and courteously. Rude and offensive behaviour lowers the public’s confidence in Members.

In return, you have a right to expect respectful behaviour from the public. If members of the public are being abusive, intimidatory or threatening you are entitled to stop any conversation or interaction in person or online

If you wish to raise concerns about the behaviour of a member of the public you can seek advice from the Monitoring Officer in the first instance.

Where you have stopped engaging or refused to engage with any member of the public who could reasonably be perceived as being abusive, threatening, intimidatory or otherwise displaying unacceptable behaviours you should direct them to other communication channels within the council.

This also applies to fellow Members, where action could then be taken under the Member Code of Conduct, and local authority employees, where concerns should be raised in line with the Member / Officer Relations Protocol.

As aMember:

1. I do not bully any person

2. I do not harass any person

3. I promote equalities and do not discriminate unlawfully against any person

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) characterises bullying as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient. Bullying might be a regular pattern of behaviour or a one-off incident, happen face-to-face, on social media, in emails or phone calls, happen in the workplace or at work social events and may not always be obvious or noticed by others.

The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 defines harassment as conduct that causes alarm or distress or puts people in fear of violence and must involve such conduct on at least two occasions. It can include repeated attempts to impose unwanted communications and contact upon a person in a manner that could be expected to cause distress or fear in any reasonable person.

Unlawful discrimination is where someone is treated unfairly because of a protected characteristic. Protected characteristics are specific aspects of a person's identity defined by the Equality Act 2010. They are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

The Equality Act 2010 places specific duties on local authorities. Members have a central role to play in ensuring that equality issues are integral to the local authority's performance and strategic aims, and that there is a strong vision and public commitment to equality across public services.

As aMember:

1. I do not compromise, orattemptto compromise, the impartiality of anyone who works for, or on behalf of, the local authority.

Officers work for the local authority as a whole and must be politically neutral (unless they are political assistants). They should not be coerced or persuaded to act in a way that would undermine their neutrality. You can question officers to understand, for example, their reasons for proposing to act in a particular way, or the content of a report that they have written. However, you cannot require or coerce them to act differently, change their advice, or alter the content of that report.

As aMember:

1. I do notdiscloseinformation:

   1. Given to me in confidence by anyone

   2. Acquiredby me which I believe, or oughtreasonably tobe aware, is of a confidential nature, unless

      1. I have received the consent of a person authorised to give it;

      2. I am required by law to do so;

      3. The disclosure is made to a third party for the purpose of obtaining professional legal adviceprovided that the third party agrees not todisclosethe information to any other person; or

      4. The disclosure is:

         1. Reasonable and in the public interest; and

         2. Made in good faith and in compliance with the reasonable requirements of the local authority;

         3. And I have consulted the Monitoring Officer prior to its release.

2. I do not improperly use knowledge gained solelyas a result ofmy role as aMemberfor the advancement of myself, my friends, my family members, myemployeror my business interests.

3. I do not prevent anyone from getting information that they are entitled to by law.

Local authorities must work openly and transparently, and their proceedings and printed materials are open to the public, except in certain legally defined circumstances. You should work on this basis, but there will be times when it is required by law that discussions, documents and other information relating to or held by the local authority must be treated in a confidential manner. Examples include personal data relating to individuals or information relating to ongoing negotiations.

As aMember:

1. I do not bring my role or local authority into disrepute

As a Member, you are trusted to make decisions on behalf of your community and your actions and behaviour are subject to greater scrutiny than that of ordinary members of the public. You should be aware that your actions might have an adverse impact on you, other Members and/or your local authority and may lower the public’s confidence in your or your local authority’s ability to discharge your/it’s functions. For example, behaviour that is considered dishonest and/or deceitful can bring your local authority into disrepute.

Members collectively are able to hold the local authority and fellow Members to account and where appropriate you can constructively challenge and express concern about decisions and processes undertaken by the council whilst continuing to adhere to other aspects of this Code of Conduct. Members should not make trivial or malicious allegations against each other.

As aMember:

1. I do not use, orattemptto use, my position improperly to the advantage or disadvantage of myself or anyone else.

Your position as a member of the local authority provides you with certain opportunities, responsibilities and privileges, and you make choices all the time that will impact others. However, you should not take advantage of these opportunities to further your own or others’ private interests or to disadvantage anyone unfairly.

As aMember:

1. I do not misuse council resources.

2. I will, when using the resources of the local authority or authorising their use by others;

   1. Act in accordance with the local authority’s requirements; and ensure that such resources are not used for political purposes unless that use could reasonably be regarded as likely to facilitate, or be conducive to, the discharge of the functions of the local authority or of the office to which I have been elected or appointed.

You may be provided with resources and facilities by the local authority to assist you in carrying out your duties as a Member. They should be used in accordance with the purpose for which they have been provided and the local authority’s own policies regarding their use and are not to be used for business or personal gain.

Examples include:

• office support

• stationery

• equipment such as phones, and computers

• transport

• access and use of local authority buildings and rooms.

As aMember:

1. I undertake Code of Conduct training provided by my local authority.

2. I cooperate with any Code of Conduct investigation and/or determination

3. I do not intimidate orattemptto influence any person who is likely to be involved with the administration of any investigation or proceedings.

4. Icomply withany sanction imposed on me following a finding that I have breached the Code of Conduct.

If you do not understand or are concerned about the local authority’s processes in handling a complaint you should raise this with your Monitoring Officer.

Any alleged breach of this code will be dealt with in accordance with the arrangements set out in arrangements for dealing with complaints of breach of the code of conduct for members in section xx.

NB: a breach of any of the statutory requirements relating to the registration and declaration of disclosable pecuniary interests may result in prosecution. If you needadviceyou should contact the Monitoring Officer.

As aMember:

1. I register anddisclosemy interests.

Section 29 of the Localism Act 2011 requires the Monitoring Officer to establish and maintain a register of interests of members of the authority.

An example of an interest is something which is of value to you which you may have through personal, professional or other private reasons. For example, your job, home or other property. Your main financial interests are called Pecuniary Interests.

You should note that failure to register or disclose a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest as set out in Table 1 of Appendix B, is a criminal offence under the Localism Act 2011 for which you can be prosecuted.

You need to register your interests so that the public, local authority employees and fellow Members know which of your interests might give rise to a conflict of interest.

An example of a conflict of interest is ‘a situation where your interests (or responsibility to another organisation) could be (or could be seen to be) in conflict with your responsibilities as a Member’. This is especially important in relation to your role as a decision maker at the Council. Table 3 of Appendix B sets out how different types of declarations should be dealt with at meetings.

If in doubt, always seek advice from your Monitoring Officer.

The register of interests maintained by the Monitoring Officer is a public document that can be consulted when (or before) an issue arises. Your interests will be published on your Council web page.

The register also protects you by allowing you to demonstrate openness and a willingness to be held accountable. You are personally responsible for deciding whether you should disclose an interest in a meeting, but it can be helpful for you to know early on if others think that a potential conflict might arise. It is also important that the public know about any interest that might have to be disclosed by you or other Members when making or taking part in decisions, so that decision making is seen by the public as open and honest. This helps to ensure that public confidence in the integrity of local governance is maintained.

As aMember:

1. I do not accept gifts or hospitality, irrespective of estimated value, which could give rise to real or substantive personal gain or a reasonable suspicion of influence on my part to show favour from persons seeking to acquire, develop or do business with the local authority or from persons who may apply to the local authority for any permission, licence or other significant advantage.

2. Iregister with the Monitoring Officer any gift or hospitality with an estimated value of at least £25 within 28 days of its receipt.

3. I register with the Monitoring Officer any gift or hospitality that I have been offered but have refused to accept.

4. I will also declare repeated smaller hospitality/gifts which, when combined, wouldlikely exceed£25 within any three-month period.

5. I will consider donating any gifts to the Speaker’s Charity or other charitable causes.

In order to protect your position and the reputation of the local authority, you should exercise caution in accepting any gifts or hospitality which are (or which you reasonably believe to be) offered to you because you are a Member.

It would be expected that you would accept normal gifts and hospitality in relation to your work. However, if the gift or hospitality was valued at over £100 you would normally only accept it if it directly related to your role as a Member. You should make the reasons for acceptance clear in your declaration.

However, there may be times when such a refusal may be difficult if it is seen as rudeness in which case you could accept it but must ensure it is publicly registered.

However, you do not need to register gifts and hospitality which are not related to your role as a member and that you would have received anyway such as:

• gifts from your friends and family,

• gifts/hospitality primarily in relation to your employment, voluntary work or similar which are not related to your role as a Member,

• invitations to weddings and similar events from family and friends,

• small gifts or hospitality received as part of weddings, life-events, religious festivals and celebrations that you would in any case have attended in a personal capacity (Christmas, Eid, Hannukah, Ramadan etc).

The Seven Principles of Public LifeThe Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a public office-holder. This includes all those who are elected or appointed to public office, nationally and locally, and all people appointed to work in the Civil Service, local government, the police, courts and probation services, non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and in the health, education, social and care services. All public office-holders are both servants of the public and stewards of public resources. The principles also apply to all those in other sectors delivering public services.

1. SelflessnessHolders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.

2. IntegrityHolders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

3. ObjectivityHolders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.

4. AccountabilityHolders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.

5. OpennessHolders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.

6. HonestyHolders of public office should be truthful.

7. LeadershipHolders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.