The Common Council and New Successor Bodies (Chief Finance Officer) Regulations 1991

Functions of responsible officer as regards reports

4.—(1) The chief finance officer of an authority shall have the duties mentioned in this regulation, without prejudice to any other functions.

(2) The chief finance officer shall make a report under this regulation if it appears to him that the authority, a committee or officer of the authority, or a joint committee—

(a) has made or is about to make a decision which involves or would involve the authority incurring expenditure which is unlawful;

(b) has taken or is about to take a course of action which, if pursued to its conclusion, would be unlawful and likely to cause a loss or deficiency on the part of the authority; or

(c) is about to enter an item of account the entry of which is unlawful.

(3) The chief finance officer shall make a report under this regulation if it appears to him that the expenditure of the authority incurred (including expenditure it proposes to incur) in a financial year is likely to exceed the resources (including sums borrowed) available to it to meet that expenditure.

(4) lt shall be the duty of the chief finance officer, in preparing a report in pursuance of paragraph (2), to consult so far as practicable—

(a) with the person who is for the time being responsible for performing the duties of the authority’s monitoring officer under section 5 of the 1989 Act, and

(b) if in the case of the Common Council another person is for the time being designated as the head of the authority’s paid service under section 4 of that Act, also with that officer.

(5) Where the chief finance officer has made a report under this regulation he shall send a copy of it to—

(a) the person who at the time the report is made has the duty to audit the authority’s accounts; and

(b) each person who at that time is a member of the authority.

(6) Subject to paragraph (7), the duties of a chief finance officer under paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be performed by him personally.

(7) If the chief finance officer is unable to act owing to absence or illness his duties under paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be performed—

(a) by such member of his staff as is a member of one or more of the bodies mentioned in section 6(5) of the 1989 Act and is for the time being nominated by the chief finance officer for the purpose of this regulation; or

(b) if no member of his staff is a member of one or more of those bodies, by such member of his staff as is for the time being nominated by the chief finance officer for the purpose of this regulation.

(8) An authority shall provide its chief finance officer with such staff, accommodation and other resources as are in his opinion sufficient to allow his duties under this regulation to be performed.