SECTION 15 – MEMBER AND OFFICER PROTOCOL
1.1 The Council exists to administer local government (together with Parish and Town Councils) in the Borough. Members and Officers have a joint responsibility to ensure that they work collaboratively to ensure an efficient, transparent and democratic Council.
1.2 Members and Officers will, from time to time, review the current culture and practices of the Authority, to ensure that we all continue to maintain high standards in our mutual contacts.
1.3 The purpose of this Protocol is to guide Members and Officers of the Council in their relations with one another.
1.4 Given the variety and complexity of such relations, this Protocol does not seek to be either prescriptive or comprehensive. It seeks simply to offer guidance on some of the issues which most commonly arise. It is hoped, however, that the approach which it adopts to those issues will serve as a guide to dealing with other issues.
1.5 The Council also has in place additional guidance for Members about their role in relation to specific functions or areas of the Council. Examples of this additional guidance include the Planning Protocol, additional guidance for Members regarding Social Services and Housing and guidance to Members about the Corporate Parenting role. Further guidance and protocols may be adopted by the Council.
1.6 This Protocol is supplemental to, but subject to, the Members’ Code of Conduct.
2.1 Members and Officers are servants of the public and they depend upon each other in carrying out the work of the Council. Members are responsible to the electorate and serve so long as their term of office lasts, whilst Officers are responsible to the Council. Officers give advice to the Council (whether in the form of full Council, Committees of the Council, including the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and its Panels, or the Executive) as well as to individual Members, and carry out the Council’s work under the direction and control of the Council and its various bodies.
2.2 Members undertake many different roles. Broadly, these are:-
· Politician In expressing political values and, in the case of
Members belonging to a political group represented on the Council, usually supporting the Policies of the Group to which he or she belongs.
· Policy and Strategic Direction They set the policy and direction for the Council; are responsible for ensuring that adequate management arrangements are in place; develop and allocate the Council’s physical, financial and human resources and monitor the performance, development, continuity and overall well-being of the Organisation.
· Ward Members Subject to constraints arising from the Members’ Code of Conduct and the law, Members represent their communities and bring their views into the Council’s decision-making process. They deal with individual case work and represent constituents in resolving particular concerns or grievances.
· Champion Individual Members may be designated to act as a positive focus for a particular section of the community or range of activities
2.3 Legislation requires the Council to designate some Members with specific responsibilities, these include:-
· The Mayor – to act as the Chairman of the Council and to fulfill certain civic functions (see Section 12)
· The Deputy Mayor – to act as the Chairman of the Council in the absence of the Mayor
· The Leader of the Council – under the system of Executive Arrangements introduced by the Local Government Act 2000 the Leader has the overall responsibility for the Executive and the performance of the Executive functions
· Deputy Leader of the Council – under the legislation relating to Executive Arrangements the Council is required to designate an Executive Member to substitute for the Leader in his/her absence.
· The Lead Member for Children’s Services – to have responsibility at Member levels for the discharge of the Council’s functions as local education authority and those Social Services functions which relate to children.
2.4 Officers have the following main roles:-
· managing and providing the Services and Functions for which the Council has given them responsibility. They are accountable for the efficiency and effectiveness of those Services and for proper professional practice in discharging their responsibilities and taking decisions, within agreed policies.
· providing advice to the Council, and to individual Members, in respect of the Services provided
· initiating policy proposals
· implementing agreed Policy
· ensuring that the Council acts lawfully, and in accordance with the principles of sound financial management
· representing the Council on external organisations
2.5 By law, the Council is required to designate Officers with the following responsibilities:-
· Head of Paid Service – the Head of the Officer Corps, who has overall responsibility for advising the Council on the matter in which the Council’s functions are discharged, and the organisation and proper management of the Council’s staff. The Chief Executive is the Head of Paid Service.
· Monitoring Officer - The role of the Monitoring Officer is, essentially, to ensure that the Council acts lawfully, to bring any Ombudsman reports with findings of maladministration to the attention of the Council and to discharge certain responsibilities under the statutory framework relating to Member conduct. The Borough Solicitor is the Council’s Monitoring Officer.
· Responsible Financial Officer – designated as the Section 151 Officer who is responsible for the proper administration of the Council’s financial affairs, ensuring that the Council does not incur unlawful expenditure and that the Council’s expenditure does not exceed its resources. The Borough Treasurer is the Council’s Section 151 Officer
· Director of Children’s Services – designated as having responsibility for (inter alia) those functions exercisable by the Council in its role as local education authority and for social services functions so far as those functions relate to children.
· Director of Adult Social Services – designated as having responsibility for those social services functions so far as those functions relate to adults.
· Traffic Manager - to have responsibility for the management of traffic under the Traffic Management Act 2004.
· Overview and Scrutiny Officer – the Council is required to designate an officer to provide advice and support to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and the Overview and Scrutiny Panels.
3.1 The Council’s vision is set out in the Sustainable Community Strategy. For that vision to be realised, Members and Officers must work together in a harmonious relationship based upon mutual respect, courtesy, trust, honesty and understanding of each others roles. This should prevail in all meetings and contacts, whether formal or informal.
3.2 Neither Members nor Officers should seek to take unfair advantage of their position in their dealings with each other. Members should be aware that Officers, especially junior Officers, may sometimes be overawed and feel at a disadvantage. Such feelings can be intensified where Members hold official and/or political office.
3.3 A Member should not apply pressure on an Officer either to do anything that he or she is unwilling to do or is not empowered to do. If a Member considers that an officer has behaved unreasonably in response to the Member he/she should take the matter up with the officer’s Director. Similarly, an Officer must not seek to use influence on an individual Member to make a decision in his or her personal favour. They (Officers) should not raise personal matters to do with their job or make claims or allegations about other employees except through the Council’s formal personnel procedures for consultation, grievances, whistle blowing and so on. Officers who wish to pursue issues of this nature must do so through the appropriate procedure.
3.4 Close personal familiarity between individual Members and Officers can damage the perception of disinterested mutual respect. It could also, intentionally or unintentionally, lead to the passing of confidential information which should not properly be passed between them, such as personal details. Such familiarity could also cause embarrassment to other Members and/or other Officers and could even give rise to suspicions of favouritism. It should, therefore, be avoided.
4.1 It is clearly important that there should be a close working relationship between Executive 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 Officers ability to deal impartially with other Members and other Party Groups. Officers must ensure that even if they are predominantly supporting the Executive, their political neutrality is not compromised.
4.2 Whilst Executive Members will routinely be consulted as part of the process of drawing up proposals for consideration on the Agenda of a forthcoming meeting, it must be recognised that, in some situations, an Officer will be under a professional duty to submit a report. The Chief Executive, Director or other senior Officer will always be responsible for the contents of any report submitted in his or 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. Any issues arising between an Executive Member and a Director in this area should be referred to the Chief Executive for resolution, in conjunction with the Leader of the Council.
4.3 Officer advice must be full and impartial and should include all relevant options. It should not seek to second-guess the decisions of Members, for example by excluding presumed unpalatable options. Members are entitled to reject Officer advice and to give effect to their lawful policies even if these are clearly at variance with the views of Officers. Members should be particularly careful if they propose not to follow advice given in a capacity as Monitoring Officer or Section 151 Officer.
4.4 Where functions which are the responsibility of the Executive are delegated to Officers or other structures outside the Executive, the Executive will, nevertheless, remain accountable to the Council, particularly through the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and its Panels, for the discharge of those functions. This is to say, the Executive will be held to account for both its decision to delegate a function and the way that the function is being carried out.
4.5 Under Executive arrangements, individual Members of the Executive are allowed to take formal decisions. The Executive, Executive Members and Officers must satisfy themselves that they are clear what exactly they can and cannot do. The Council has put in place a protocol for Executive decision-making which stipulates that no Executive decision shall be made by a Member without a written report, incorporating advice from the Borough Solicitor and Borough Treasurer, being submitted by the appropriate Director to the Member.
4.6 Executive Members should appreciate that the Overview and Scrutiny Commission, or one of its Panels, may require an Officer to attend before them to explain advice which the Officer has given to the Executive (or an individual Executive Member) and/or to give advice to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission or the Panel, as the case may be. Accordingly, Executive Members should not assume that the advice which they receive from Officers will not be disclosed and/or subject to scrutiny.
5. OFFICERS SUPPORT FOR THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMISSION AND ITS PANELS
5.1 It is clearly important that there should be a close working relationship between the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of its Panels and those 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 Officers’ ability to deal impartially with other Members and other Party Groups. Officers must ensure that even if they are predominately supporting the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and/or its Panels, their political neutrality is not compromised.
5.2 It is not the role of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission, or its Panels, to act as a Disciplinary Tribunal in relation to the actions of Members or Officers. Neither is it the role of Officers to become involved in what would amount to disciplinary investigation on behalf of the Commission or a Panel. In relation to staff, such matters must be dealt with under the Council’s disciplinary procedures whilst Members are accountable for their behaviour through the Code of Conduct for Members, local protocols and the respective frameworks established to secure compliance.
6 OFFICER SUPPORT FOR THE CHAIRMEN AND MEMBERS OF OTHER COMMITTEES
6.1 The Council has a range of Committees which deal with “Non-Executive” matters. The main ones are:-
· the Planning Committee
· the Licensing and Safety Committee
· the Employment Committee
6.2 Some Officers, as part of their normal duties, will be in regular contact with the Chairman and Members of those Committees. Much of what is said in Section 4 about the relationship between Officers and the Executive will also apply, allowing for the different circumstances, to the relationship between Officers and Chairmen/Vice-Chairmen and Members of Non-Executive Committees.
6.3 To summarise, the main principles are:-
· relevant Officers will need to maintain a close working relationship with the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen concerned
· that relationship must not be such as to call in to question Officers’ impartiality
· there should be dialogue between relevant senior Officers and the Chairman
· it is the author’s responsibility to ensure that reports include only proper advice and correct information
· Members must not put Officers under pressure to give advice or information in any other way
· Officer advice should be full and impartial
· the decision whether or not a report should be submitted to a Committee is for the Chief Executive, Director or relevant senior Officer
7 DELEGATED DECISION-MAKING BY OFFICERS
7.1 The Executive, a Committee of the Executive or an individual Executive Member may decide to delegate a decision to a Director, in consultation with one or more Members. Directors must consider carefully any comments made to them by the Members concerned, but Members must bear in mind that it is the Officer, not the Member, who takes the decision in these circumstances and is responsible for it. It needs to be borne in mind that no Officer can be compelled to take a decision with which he or she does not agree, or which he or she considers to be wrong or inequitable; an Officer must take any such decision in accordance with his or her professional judgment.
7.2 If a Non-Executive function is delegated to an Officer, he or she is not obliged to take a decision on the matter; and may refer the matter to the appropriate Committee for a decision. Indeed, a Director should refer the matter to the Committee if they feel that the matter raises some new point of principle which was not contemplated when the delegation was first agreed.
8 MEMBERS ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
8.1 Members’ legal rights to inspect Council documents are covered partly by statute and partly by common law. Members, generally, have a statutory right to inspect Agendas, Minutes and Background Papers of the Council, the Executive, Overview and Scrutiny Commission and its Panels and Committees. However, this does not apply to certain items which contain “exempt information”, for example because they relate to individual employees, to contractual negotiations or applicants for Council’s services. The statutory rights are set out more fully in the Access to Information Procedure Rules in the Council’s Constitution.
8.2 The common law right is based on the principle that any Member has, on the face of it, a right to inspect Council documents if access to those documents is reasonably necessary to enable the Member properly to perform his or her duties as a Member of the Council. This is often referred to as the “need to know” principle. However, Members do not have a “roving commission” to examine any documents of the Council. Mere curiosity is not sufficient.
8.3 A Member requesting access to documents should direct his or her enquiry to the relevant Director, Assistant Director or Head of Service. Officers will be concerned to furnish a Member with such information, advice and access to documents which he or she requires for the proper performance of his or her duties as a Councillor. There may be occasions, though, when an Officer believes that the Member does not have a right of access to a document and that it would be inappropriate, on that occasion, for the Member to see the document. Examples of when it might be considered inappropriate to disclose a document to a Councillor who does not have a right of access, include sensitive Social Services cases or where there is a special need to secure commercial confidentiality in a proposed transaction. If that were the case, the Officer shall advise the Member that, in the Officer’s view, disclosure is neither required, nor appropriate, and the reasons why disclosure would not be appropriate. Any dispute regarding a Member’s access to a document should be referred to the Monitoring Officer.
9 INFORMATION AND ADVICE TO MEMBERS
9.1 Any Council information provided to a Member must only be used by the Member for the purpose for which it was provided, namely in connection with the Member’s duties as a Councillor, unless the information is already in the public domain.
9.2 The Code of Conduct for Members provides that Members must not disclose information given to them in confidence by anyone (this includes the Council), or information acquired by the Council which they believe or ought reasonably to be aware, is of a confidential nature except where:-
· the Member has the consent of a person authorised to give it,
· the Member is required by law to disclose,
· 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
· the disclosure is reasonable and in the public interest and made in good faith and in compliance with the reasonable requirements of the Council
9.3 In relation to the last stated exception (disclosure thought to be reasonable and in the public interest) disclosure should not be made unless at least two clear working days has elapsed from the Member notifying the Chief Executive or in his/her absence the Deputy Chief Executive in writing (which includes e-mail) that the Member proposes to disclose the information specifying the information proposed to be disclosed. Both Members and officers should be aware that the disclosure of confidential information may constitute a breach of Data Protection legislation; generally, personal information cannot be released without the consent of the person to whom it relates. Improper disclosure of confidential information can put the Member and the Council at legal and financial risk.
9.4 Regular contact between Members and senior Officers is necessary to ensure the efficient working of the Council. In this context it is the responsibility of Directors to identify within their Departments the senior Officers who should have regular contact with Members. This will depend upon the nature of the Service they provide and the nature of the Member contact envisaged. In identifying which Officers will have regular contact with Members, Directors should take into account that, with some Services, which regularly impact upon Ward interests, it may be appropriate to designate Officers at a relatively less senior level than for other Services. Members should always bring major concerns about issues affecting a Department directly to the attention of the Director concerned.
9.5 In the following circumstances, information or advice provided by an Officer to a Member will be disclosed:-
· if the information or advice relates to a matter in the Forward Plan, to the relevant Executive Member
· if the information or advice relates to a matter to be considered at a Committee, to the Chairman of the Committee (or in his or her absence the Vice Chairman)
· if the information or advice relates to a matter being considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission, or one of its Panels, to the Chairman (or in his/her absence the Vice-Chairman) of the Commission or the relevant Panel
10 OFFICERS AND POLITICAL GROUPS
10.1 Officers are politically neutral and must be seen to be so. They serve the whole Council and not a political group. However, it is recognised that, from time to time, there will be occasions, particularly on major policy matters, when it is in the Council’s interests that a political group should receive the professional advice of Officers on a specific matter.
10.2 Officers cannot be required to attend party group meetings. Any request for an officer to attend a party group meeting should be directed to the Chief Executive or relevant Director and indicate the subject upon which information and/or advice is to be sought. If the Chief Executive or Director is of the opinion that it would be inappropriate for there to be an Officer in attendance, his or her decision shall be final. If Officer attendance is appropriate, the Chief Executive or Director shall determine which Officers should attend. Normally it would not be appropriate to request any Officer to attend other than the Chief Executive, a Director, Assistant Director or Head of Service.
10.3 If an Officer does attend a political meeting, the following points should be borne in mind:-
· 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. Both Members and Officers should refrain from any conduct which could lead to the political impartiality of Officers being seriously called into question
· political 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
· Officers may, at their discretion, decline to disclose exempt information
· any advice given to a political group will be treated with strict confidentiality by the Officers concerned and will not be accessible to any other political group. It is acknowledged, however, that information upon which any advice is based will, if requested, be available to all political groups
· it must not be assumed by any political group, or Member, that an Officer is supportive of any Policy or Strategy developed because of that Officer’s assistance in the formulation of that Policy or Strategy
· Officers must respect the confidentiality of any political group discussions at which they are present in the sense that they should not relay the content of any such discussion to another political group
· where Officers provide information and advice to a political group meeting in relation to a matter of Council business, it should be understood that the Officers have a duty to provide all necessary information and advice to a relevant decision-making body of the Council whenever the matter in question is considered
· special care needs to be exercised by Officers involved in providing information and advice to political group meetings where there are non-Members of the Council present. Persons who are not elected Members will not be bound by the Code of Conduct for Members, in particular, the provisions relating to the Confidentiality of Information. For this, and other reasons, Officers may not be able to provide the same level of information and advice as they would to a Members only meeting
11 PORTFOLIO REVIEW GROUPS
11.1 The Council has established a number of Portfolio Review Groups to allow Members of the majority group to discuss proposed agenda items for meetings of the Executive and to formulate recommendations to the Executive. The Chief Executive, Directors, the Assistant Chief Executive, the Borough Treasurer, the Borough Solicitor and officers authorised by any of those officers may attend meetings of Portfolio Review Groups. However, as with Group meetings:-
· 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.
· Portfolio Review Groups have no power to take decisions on behalf of the Council and any recommendations which they formulate are not binding upon the Executive.
Although, it is legitimate for an officer to amend a draft report in light of discussions at a Portfolio Review Group meeting (if the officer considers it appropriate to do so) the report to the Executive and the recommendations therein will remain those which the officer in his/her professional opinion considers appropriate.
11.2 Members who do not belong to the majority group are also entitled to officer advice and to information (subject to the limitations previously set out in this Protocol) in connection with Executive agenda items. The process by which such advice is secured shall be as agreed between the Member and the Chief Executive/
Director/Assistant Chief Executive, Borough Treasurer or Borough Solicitor.
12 CORRESPONDENCE
12.1 Save in exceptional circumstances, all correspondence (letters, faxes or e-mails) on official Council business should be sent out only in the name of the appropriate Officer (exceptions might be, for example, the Leader of the Council raising an issue on behalf of the Council with a Government Minister or special circumstances where it would be appropriate for correspondence setting out the Policy of the Council to be sent in the name of an Executive Member or Committee Chairman). This does not, of course, prevent a Member responding in his or her own name to correspondence addressed to him or her in his or her official capacity (e.g. Executive Member, Chairman of the Committee) or as a Ward Member such as a letter of complaint.
12.2 Correspondence which creates obligations, or give instructions on behalf of the Council, should never be sent out under the name of a Member.
13 THE MAYOR
13.1 The Mayor presides at meetings of the Council and takes the leading role in the civic life of the Borough, representing the Borough at civic engagements, within and outside Bracknell Forest. The role of Mayor, as the leading resident of the Borough, although largely ceremonial, is important to the public perception of the Authority and enjoys the respect of Bracknell Forest residents. Officers and Members should treat the Mayor with the respect due to his or her office on all occasions when the Mayor is acting in that capacity. Officers and Members must do everything appropriate to ensure that the dignity of the Office is upheld. The Mayor is entitled to receive support and advice from all levels of the Organisation in carrying out his or her Mayoral duties. As a matter of good practice, Members should, when appropriate, advise the Mayor’s Office in advance if they propose to attend a function at which they know the Mayor will be present.
13.2 The provisions of Paragraph 12.1 above apply in respect of the Deputy Mayor when he or she deputises for the Mayor.
14 PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PRESS RELEASES
14.1 The Communications Team within the Chief Executive’s Office serves the Council as a whole and must operate within the limits of the Local Government Act 1986, which prohibits the Council from publishing material which appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party. The legislation provides that in determining whether or not the publication of any material is prohibited, regard shall be had to (inter alia):-
· the content and style of the material
· the time and other circumstances of publication (particular caution is required during an Election period)
· the likely effect on those to whom the material is directed
· whether the material refers to a political party or to persons and/or points of view associated with a political party
14.2 Council press releases are drafted by Officers and will often contain quotations (within the limits of the Local Government Act 1986) from the Leader, the Deputy Leader, Executive Member or Chairman of a Committee whose service is involved as well as from the Mayor or Deputy Mayor about ceremonial events. Such press releases are issued on behalf of the Council and it would not, therefore, be appropriate when repeating quotations from Members to indicate their party political affiliation.
14.3 The Member’s Code of Conduct stipulates that Members when using or authorising the use by others of the resources of the Council must:-
(a) act in accordance with the Council’s requirements and
(b) ensure that such resources are not used improperly for political purposes (including party political purposes). “Resources” includes the time, skills and assistance of anybody employed by the Council. Accordingly, when drafting press releases or any other publication with the assistance of Officer advice, the provisions of the Code of Conduct should be observed. There is, of course, nothing to prevent any Member from communication with the Media in a personal or political capacity using their own resources or those of their political party.
15 COUNCIL PROPERTY, SUPPORT SERVICES TO MEMBERS, USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS
15.1 Support Services (such as typing, printing, photocopying and transport) and resources (such as stationery and lap-top computers) can lawfully be provided to Members to assist them in discharging their role as Councillors. However, such services and resources should only be used for Council business and not for personal or political use. In relation to the use of computer and other ICT equipment supplied by the Council, Members should observe the terms of any agreement between the Member and the Council and should also ensure that they comply with all relevant Council policies relating to such equipment. The Information Commissioner has power to impose extremely heavy financial sanctions for breaches of Data Protection legislation and it is therefore particularly important that Members observe Council procedures relating to Information Security. Members have a responsibility to ensure that any such resources made available to them are not used by any other person.
15.2 Photographs supplied to Members or taken on behalf of the Council shall not be reproduced (nor permitted to be reproduced) in any form whatsoever or be used in any publication without the express consent, in writing, of the Monitoring Officer.
16 INVOLVEMENT OF WARD MEMBERS
16.1 It is important to all Members that they should be kept particularly informed of, and have an input into, matters of Council business which affect their Wards, including the Mayor’s official engagements. Therefore, whenever a public meeting is arranged by the Council to consider an issue local to a Ward, or one or more Wards in a part of the Borough, the Ward Member(s) should normally be invited to attend the meeting. Similarly, whenever the Council undertakes any form of consultative exercise on an issue local to a Ward or particularly affecting a part of the Borough, the appropriate Officers should normally notify the Ward Members of the consultation and request their views on the matter in issue.
17 MEMBERS ACTING AS ADVOCATE FOR OR SUPPORTING THIRD PARTIES IN APPEALS AGAINST COUNCIL DECISIONS
17.1 Members have the same rights to represent third parties on appeals against Council decisions or to support third parties in such appeals as any member of the public. However, it is important to ensure that when acting in either role, Members should not seek to take improper advantage of their position as a Member of the Council and that Council Officers are not deterred from defending the Council’s decision as vigorously as in any other case. For those reasons, Members should, in such circumstances, be particularly careful:-
(a) not to disclose any information which they have received from the Council in their capacity as a Member which would not be available to a member of the public
(b) not to disclose, or make reference to, briefings on the relevant matter which they have received from Officers (other than in a part of a Committee meeting which the public are not excluded from)
(c) to ensure that in the conduct of the appeal they do not seek or appear to seek preferential treatment
(d) not to present themselves as representing the views of the Council.
17.2 Members acting as an Advocate or as a supporter of an appeal against a Council decision must expect to be treated by Officers in exactly the same way as any other Advocate or supporter
18 VISITS TO ESTABLISHMENTS
18.1 In some circumstances, it will be inappropriate for Members to visit an establishment, such as for example, a Social Services care facility, without prior notification being given to a Director, Assistant Director or other designated Officer. Each Department may prepare guidance for Members on when prior notification is required. In the event of the Council giving approval to any such guidance, Members shall abide by the same. Pending the preparation and approval of any guidance, Members should give consideration to whether prior notification is appropriate before visiting an establishment.
19 DISPUTES
19.1 With goodwill, respect and integrity on both sides, there ought to be very few occasions when a disagreement between an Officer and a Member cannot be resolved amicably. If there is a serious dispute of substance it should be discussed, in the first instance, between the Member and the Officer concerned, involving the Officer’s Director, if appropriate. If such discussions should not produce an acceptable settlement, reference may be made to the Chief Executive, but this should be seen as a last, rather than a first resort. If the matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily after reference to the Chief Executive, it may be referred to the Monitoring Officer who shall, in consultation with the Independent Person, determine whether the matter should be brought before a Code of Conduct panel.