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Independent Persons

Job details

Appointment of ‘Independent Persons’

The Council has a duty to promote and maintain high ethical standards in the conduct of members of the Council and of the parish/town councils in the area. This involves the adoption of a Code of Conduct with which such members are expected to comply.  The Council has to put in place local arrangements to deal with allegations that a Councillor has breached the Code, and is looking to recruit up to four independent persons. 

The role of the ‘independent persons’ will be to support these arrangements and:

• will involve being consulted by the council before a decision is made on whether to reject a complaint or take further action;
• may involve being consulted by a member or co-opted member against whom a complaint has been made.
• may involve being appointed to serve on a panel asked to advise the council on the proposed dismissal of the authority’s head of paid service, its monitoring officer or its chief finance officer
• may be required to sit on a Standards Panel to consider complaints that cannot be resolved by the Council, or on appeal,
• may be required to sit on a Standards Panel to undertake an annual sample review of decisions by the monitoring officer under the code of conduct complaints process.

Appointments are likely to be for a term of four years and previous experience in this area is not required. This is an unpaid position although travelling expenses may be claimed.

Eligibility

You should have an interest in upholding standards in public life, and be objective, impartial and independent with a desire to serve your community. 

A person cannot be appointed as an ‘independent person’ if they are or were within a period of five years prior to the appointment:

• a member, co-opted member or officer of the authority; or
• a relative or close friend of a person in (a) above.

The council will not consider applications from any persons who are actively engaged in local party political activity.

For more information contact

For an application form and information pack, or to arrange an informal discussion about this role, please contact:   Henry.Merricks-Murgatroyd@herefordshire.gov.uk   and please use in the email title:               Independent Persons Recruitment

Hoople Ltd is working on behalf of our Client as a Recruitment Agency.