This Government is committed to ensuring the good record of transparency, probity, scrutiny, and accountability is maintained across councils in this country.<\/p>
Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 requires that a councillor must not participate in a discussion or vote on a matter where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest in any matter to be considered at a meeting. Section 30(3) of the Localism Act 2011 further provides that any relevant pecuniary interests of a councillor\u2019s spouse or partner are considered as a disclosable pecuniary interest of the councillor. Government has published guidance<\/a> on disclosable pecuniary interests available.<\/p> It is a criminal offence to fail to declare pecuniary interests, which acts as a strong deterrent against corruption.<\/p> Every principal council has a Monitoring Officer, whose statutory role is to report on matters that they believe are, or likely to be, illegal or amount to maladministration.<\/p>"}
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