8.—(1) A member must regard himself as having a personal interest in any matter if the matter relates to an interest in respect of which notification must be given under paragraphs 13 and 14 below, or if a decision upon it might reasonably be regarded as affecting to a greater extent than other council tax payers, ratepayers, or inhabitants of the authority’s area, the well-being or financial position of himself, a relative or a friend or—
(a)any employment or business carried on by such persons;
(b)any person who employs or has appointed such persons, any firm in which they are a partner, or any company of which they are directors;
(c)any corporate body in which such persons have a beneficial interest in a class of securities exceeding the nominal value of £5000; or
(d)any body listed in sub-paragraphs (a) to (e) of paragraph 14 below in which such persons hold a position of general control or management.
(2) In this paragraph—
(a)“relative” means a spouse, partner, parent, parent-in-law, son, daughter, step-son, step-daughter, child of a partner, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, or the spouse or partner of any of the preceding persons; and
(b)“partner” in sub-paragraph (2)(a) above means a member of a couple who live together.
9. A member with a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered must disclose to that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of that consideration, or when the interest becomes apparent.
10.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, a member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter if the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the member’s judgement of the public interest.
(2) A member may regard himself as not having a prejudicial interest in a matter if that matter relates to—
(a)another relevant authority of which he is a member;
(b)another public authority in which he holds a position of general control or management;
(c)a body to which he has been appointed or nominated by the authority as its representative;
(d)the functions of the authority in respect of statutory sick pay under Part XI of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(1), where the member is in receipt of, or is entitled to the receipt of such pay from a relevant authority; and
(e)any functions of the authority in respect of an allowance or payment made under sections 173 to 176 of the Local Government Act 1972(2), section 18 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989(3), or paragraphs 25, 25A and 25B of Schedule 2 and paragraphs 20, 20A and 20B of Schedule 2A to the Police Act 1996(4).
11. A member with a prejudicial interest in any matter must—
(a)withdraw from the room or chamber where a meeting is being held whenever it becomes apparent that the matter is being considered at that meeting, unless he has obtained a dispensation(5) from the authority’s standards committee; and
(b)not seek improperly to influence a decision about that matter.
12. For the purposes of this Part, “meeting” means any meeting of—
(a)the authority; or
(b)any of the authority’s committees, sub-committees, joint committees or joint sub-committees.
1992 c. 4. Part XI has been amended.
1972 c. 70. Sections 173 to 176 were amended by section 194 of and paragraphs 26 of 27 of Schedule 11 to the Local Government and Housing Act 1989; section 7 of the Miscellaneous Financial Provisions Act 1983 c. 29; sections 25 and 194 of and Schedule 34 to the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 c. 65; section 11(3) of and Schedule V to the Water Act 1983; section 328 of and paragraph 18 and 19 of Schedule 29 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999; section 84 of and paragraph 18 of Schedule 14 to the Local Government Act 1985 and section 237 of and Schedule 13 to the Education Reform Act 1988. Section 173A was inserted by section 24(2) of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.
1989 c. 42. Section 18 was amended by section 99 of the Local Government Act 2000; section 43 of and paragraph 37 to Schedule 4 of the Police and Magistrates' Court Act 1994 and section 582(1) of and paragraph 97 of Schedule 37 to the Education Act 1996.
1996 c. 16. The relevant paragraphs in Schedule 2 and 2A were amended and inserted by sections 104(6), 107 and 137 of and Schedule 7 to the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (c. 16). Schedule 2A was inserted by section 310(2) of and Schedule 26 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999.
Under section 81(5) of the Local Government Act 2000, the Secretary of State may prescribe in regulations the circumstances in which standards committees may grant dispensations.