Issue - meetings

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a)  any business on the agenda

b)  any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.  

The Chair advised Council that Members who were in Council Tax arrears for more than two months would be unable to vote on items involving budget calculations, and these Members must declare this as an interest.

Councillor Natalie Hoy stated that she had sought advice from the Monitoring Officer about whether her membership of the Facebook group ‘Clowne Action Group’ would prevent her from voting on any of the items on the agenda. The Monitoring Officer advised her that this would not prevent any participation in voting.

Councillor James Watson declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in Item 9 (Level of Council Tax 2020/21) and Item 10 (Pay Policy Statement) due to his role as an employee for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. He indicated that he would not participate in the discussion or vote on either item.