Strong local government demands high standards of conduct and a solid ethical framework. It falls upon the Standards Committee to ensure that this is in place. The Council has adopted a Code of Conduct for Members which covers individual behaviour, such as rules about members' disclosure of interests. Other legislation requires that councils seek continuous improvement, provide fair treatment, promote equality and do not discriminate. The Committee makes the links between these issues and the Code of Conduct.
The Committee consists of seven Councillors and four independent Members one of whom acts as Chair of the Committee.
The current membership of the Standards Committee is:
There are four Independent Members (Voting) as follows:
- A Brown (Chair);
- A Withington;
- A Loyns;
- K Wainwright.
Link to the e-Meeting Manager System for Agenda, Minutes and Forward Plan.
A different Independent Member will Chair the Committee each year. An Independent Member is a person who has no connection with the Council and is not a member of any political party. He/she is appointed for a four year term of office, and the term of office of one of the Independent Members will expire each year. A recruitment process takes place to select Independent Members which starts with an advert in our local newspapars.
The Committee's priciple roles are to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by Councillors, Co-opted Members and Church and Parent Governor representatives and to assist them in observing the Council's Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is underpinned by the principles of:
- selflessness;
- honesty and integrity;
- objectivity;
- accountability;
- openness;
- respect for others;
- duty to uphold the law;
- stewardship;
- leadership.
The Code informs Members of their obligations in carrying out their duties when conducting council business and provides advice on what action they should take if they have a personal or prejudicial interest in a matter which is under discussion.
You can view the Members Declaration of Interests for all of Bury's Councillors on each of the Councillor's web pages.
The Councillor's Code of Conduct can be viewed as part of the Council's Constitution (pdf).
Further information about standards can be found on the Bury's rough guide to Standards web page.
If you would like ask a question about Standards, please use our online form to submit a question regarding a Standards related issue.
For further information on standards within Local Government you can use the following link to the Standards Board for England.
