Harlow Council Monitoring Officer
The Monitoring Officer at Harlow Council is
Mike White, Head of Governance. He is a
lawyer with considerable experience in Local
Government.
The Monitoring Officer is responsible for advising the Council on
the legality of their decisions and on the conduct of Councillors
and Officers. The vast majority of Councils in the UK have
high ethical standards and Councillors and Council staff all behave
honestly and properly. Part of the job of Monitoring Officer
is to promote and encourage such high standards of behaviour in all
Harlow Council business.
The government has taken steps to maintain
high standards in Councils and has established a body called
"The Standards Board for
England". The job of the Standards Board is to monitor
and maintain standards of conduct in local government. It
also employs independent investigators who will examine complaints
of misconduct by Councillors. If you would like to learn
more about the Standards Board for England please visit
their website at http://www.standardsforengland.gov.uk/
Every local Councillor in England and Wales
(including Parish Councillors) must comply with a Code of
Conduct. The Code requires Councillors to treat people fairly
and with respect, put aside their own interests when conducting
Council business and to behave in a way that does not bring the
Council into disrepute. This Code forms Part 5 of
Harlow Council’s Constitution.
All Councillors also have to fill in a form
which goes in a public register of interests and declare any gifts
or hospitality that they receive. This register can be
inspected by anyone, and sets out things like what business a
Councillor carries on and what property he/she owns. The
register is kept by the Monitoring Officer.
Every Council also has to have a Standards
Committee which works closely with the Monitoring Officer.
Harlow’s Standards Committee is set up to help Councillors observe
the Code of Conduct, promote high standards of conduct and deal
with complaints against Councillors referred to it from the
Standards Board (if any). The Standards Committee includes
independent members who have no connection with the Council.
Their role is to give a balanced and neutral view on any issues
considered by the committee. The Chairman of the Standards
Committee is one of these independent members.
Last Updated 06/12/2010