Part 5 - Appendix 2 - Protocol on the relationship between Officers and Members of Gloucestershire County Council
Appendix 2 - protocol on the relationship between Officers and Members of Gloucestershire County Council of the Code of Conduct for Employees.
- Introduction
- The role of elected Members - The role of County Councillors as Members of full Council and Council bodies
- The standing of County Councillors as individual Members of the Council
- Other roles of County Councillors
- The role of Officers - The role of Officers in the course of their employment
- Contact between Officers and Members other than in the course of Officers’ employment
- Sources of difficulty
- Political neutrality - Supporting the work of the Council
- Lobbying Members
- Giving advice and providing information
- Confidentiality
- Dealing with the Press
- Member pressure on Officers
- Blurring of Officers and Members public and private roles
- The role of Group Leaders and senior Officers
- Conclusion
- Officers (except political assistants) must always exercise great care to ensure they do not and may not reasonably be said to appear to act in a manner that favours one political group over another. This does not mean that Officers (including political assistants) may not implement the policies and proposals of the administration. To the contrary, under executive arrangements the Cabinet stands in the shoes of the Council for all “executive functions” and Officers are under a duty to do all they can to give effect to the Cabinet’s agenda and specific decisions. It follows that Officers should not act in a way that is calculated to deliberately frustrate or undermine a policy or decision of the Council or a Council body although political assistants may do so if expressly instructed by the political party in whose work they are engaged.
Page updated:
12/10/2020