Committee on Standards in Public Life: Local government ethical standards: report
R19-6
Response position Partially accepted
Published January 2019
Response position and delivery status are recorded separately. Acceptance does not establish implementation.
Recommendation (the Committee's words)
Local authorities should be required to establish a register of gifts and hospitality, with councillors required to record any gifts and hospitality received over a value of £50, or totalling £100 over a year from a single source. This requirement should be included in an updated model code of conduct.
From: Committee on Standards in Public Life, Local government ethical standards: report, January 2019
Government response
Government response (the government's words)
The Local Government Association’s suggested code of conduct published in January 2021 includes a requirement for members to “register… any gift or hospitality with an estimated value of at least £50”. However, it did not contain any requirements relating to the total value of gifts or hospitality received from the same source over a sustained period.
Local authorities have the autonomy to set gifts and hospitality requirements in their own codes of conduct. The government accepts that there is merit in best practice guidance on the thresholds for gifts and hospitality and agrees that a register of gifts and hospitality should be publicly available.
Local authorities have the autonomy to set gifts and hospitality requirements in their own codes of conduct. The government accepts that there is merit in best practice guidance on the thresholds for gifts and hospitality and agrees that a register of gifts and hospitality should be publicly available.
From: HM Government. Source document ↗