Gavinton Fogo & Polwarth Community Council
1 GENERAL
1.1
Community Councillors are expected to show the highest standards of personal
conduct in the performance of their duties at all times.
1.2
Their duty is to the whole community served by their Community Council. This
Code should be used to guide their conduct as a Community Councillor. It is
their responsibility to make sure that they are familiar with this Code and
that their conduct meets it.
1.3
Community Councillors should observe the following principles of conduct :-
2 COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
2.1
Community Councillors should promote and support these principles by
leadership and example, always acting in such a way as to protect public
confidence in the Community Council.
3 DUTY TO UPHOLD THE LAW
3.1
Community Councillors must uphold the law and act on all occasions in line
with the public trust placed in them.
3.2
Community Councillors have a responsibility to play their part in ensuring
that the Community Council uses its resources prudently and in accordance
with the law.
4 COMMUNITY INTEREST
4.1
Community Councillors should act to assist the Community Council, as far as
possible, in the interests of the whole community that it serves.
5 SELFLESSNESS
5.1
Community Councillors should act only in the public interest. They should
never use their position as a Community Councillor to gain for themselves,
their family or friends, any financial benefits, preferential treatment or
other advantage, or to grant such benefits, treatment or advantage
improperly to others.
6 INTEGRITY AND PROPRIETY
6.1
Community Councillors should not put themselves in a position where their
integrity is called into question by any financial or other obligations. As
well as avoiding actual impropriety they should avoid any appearance of it.
7 HOSPITALITY
7.1
Community Councillors should record all gifts and hospitality, with a
monetary value above £10, received in connection with membership of the
Community Council They should not accept gifts or hospitality that might
reasonably be thought to influence, or be intended to influence, their
judgement; or where to do so could bring discredit upon the Community
Council.
8 DECISIONS
8.1
Whilst Community Councillors may be influenced by the views of others,
including particular interest groups, it is their responsibility to decide
what view to take, and how to vote, on any question which Community
Councillors have to decide.
9 ACCOUNTABILITY
9.1
Community Councillors are accountable through the community they serve for
their actions and their part in reaching decisions and must submit
themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.
10 OPENNESS
10.1
Community Councillors should be as open as possible about all their actions
and their part in reaching decisions. They should seek to ensure that
reasons are given for decisions of their Community Council.
11 CONFIDENTIALITY
11.1
Community Councillors should ensure that confidential material, including
material about individuals, is handled appropriately with regard to the
public interests and is not used for private purposes.
12 PARTICIPATION
12.1
Community Councillors may take part in the consideration of questions which
come before the Community Council unless they have a private interest, which
would cause their participation to raise questions as to their impartiality.
13 DECLARATIONS
13.1
Community Councillors must declare any private interests relating to their
Community Council duties and should take steps to resolve any conflicts
arising in a way that protects the public interest. They should make
relevant declarations of interest at meetings of the Community Council,
Sub-Committees or Working Groups to which they are appointed, and in all
circumstances where they are active in their role as a Community Councillor.
13.2
If Community Councillors have a private interest in a matter before their
Community Council, they should consider whether it is appropriate for them
to declare this interest and withdraw from discussion and decision making on
that matter. In considering this they should have regard to the following
criteria:-
13.2.1
That members of the public might reasonably think the private interest could
influence them; and
13.2.2
That members of the public might reasonably think the private interest
creates a real danger of bias on the part of the Community Councillor
because it affects them or someone connected with them, more than any other
person or more than the generality of other persons affected by the matter.
13.3
In the case of a private interest that meets neither of these criteria,
there may be no reason to declare the interest or to take any further
action.
13.4
In the case of a private interest which meets criteria detailed in 13.2.1,
Community Councillors should declare their interest but they may decide to
participate in the discussion and decision making on the matter.
13.5
In the case of a private interest which meets criteria detailed in 13.2.2,
Community Councillors should declare their interest and withdraw from the
discussion and decision making on the matter.
13.6
In the case of a private interest which meets both criteria detailed in
13.2.1 & 13.2.2 and if this private interest is of a continuing nature, it
may be that it would cause a Community Councillor to withdraw from the
consideration of business on such a frequent basis that they would be of
little value to their Community Council. In this case, they should not seek
to serve as a Community Councillor.
13.7
Private financial interests may be more likely to be of a nature that meets
the above criteria however private non-financial interests may also meet the
criteria. The fundamental principle to bear in mind is that Community
Councillors should not do anything that they cannot justify to the public in
terms of this code.
14 RELATIONS WITH SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL COUNCILLORS
14.1
Community Councillors should respect the role of Scottish Borders Council
Elected Members and treat them in a way that engenders mutual respect at all
times.
15 RELATIONS WITH SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL EMPLOYEES
15.1
Community Councillors should respect the role of officers of Scottish
Borders Council who are directly responsible to Scottish Borders Council and
treat them in a way that engenders mutual respect at all times.
16 POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS
16.1
Whilst Community Councillors are free to have political affiliations, the
Community Council itself is not a political body but exists to represent the
interests of the whole community. Therefore, in participating in the
business of the Community Council, the concern of Community Councillors must
be to represent the interests of their community and not those of a
particular political party or group.
17 PERSONAL CONDUCT
17.1
Community Councillors’ personal conduct should be such as not to bring the
Council into disrepute. They should act courteously to fellow Community
Councillors, Scottish Borders Council Elected Members and Officers, members
of the public and other bodies.