Have you bothered to read ‘The good
councillors guide, 4th edition’, 2013, Department for Communities
and Local Government?
“The words risk management should be engraved
upon every Councillor’s mind.”
Any Hemingbrough association, club,
resident or landowner with an asset of possible benefit to the village could
ask the Parish Council to take it into public ownership for a variety of
reasons. They may have financial, technical
or administrative reasons or want to ensure the law will protect it for future
generations.
The Parish Council is not free to make
such decisions instantly. The Council is
a corporate body that raises money through taxation of local residents. The Government sets rules to ensure Councils
do not take unacceptable risks with that public money and Councils do not court
disaster. “The words risk management should be engraved upon every
Councillor’s mind.[i]”
Councillors must protect public money
by formal assessment of risks before taking significant decisions. They must have a visible management process
ensuring contract compliance. Councillors
must understand every risk that affects its duties, activities and proposals, and
record how it will manage such risks.
The Council must insure risks to protect the public, public money,
employees and assets. The Council must
set up regular safety checks and record they carried them out.
Councillors share collective
responsibility for the financial management of the Council[ii].
The Council must have a Responsible Financial
Officer (RFO), usually the Parish Clerk, to guard against the risk of loss,
fraud or bad debt, whether through deliberate or careless actions, protect
community assets and use public money wisely[iii].
Standing Orders and Procedures controlled by law or accepted
as good ‘custom and practice’ set boundaries for Councillors, for example, an
individual asking the Council to take an
asset into public ownership should not also be significantly responsible for
the Councils own risk assessment or having a tie-breaking vote in the decision to take
over the asset.
Imagine a private, second-hand car dealer knowing
his dodgy car may have significant technical risks being in any way responsible
for the Council buying that car with public money. Prudent Council’s avoid such situations by
having Committees, untainted by Members with personal
reasons for involvement in the subject, which
seek the opinions of electors, assess the risks and costs, and then report to
and make recommendations to the full Council.
“Nolan
Principles” apply to the conduct of people in public life. They include always acting in the public
interest, avoiding obligations to family, friends or close associates[iv],
submitting to public scrutiny, promoting, supporting, and exhibiting high
standards of conduct and being willing to challenge poor behaviour, such as
bullying.
Any Hemingbrough association, club, resident
or landowner with an asset to sell or transfer to public ownership must expect
the Parish Council to take time to understand the risks and rewards fully.
It cannot be any other way!
Unless you are an elected Hemingbrough Parish Councillor!
TO BE CONTINUED
[i] The good
councillors guide, 4th edition, 2013, Department for Communities and
Local Government (DCLG).
[ii] The good
councillors guide
[iii] The good
councillors guide
[iv] The good
councillors guide
