Issue - meetings

The Monitoring Officer presented a report to enable the Committee to consider requests from Councillors Peter and Phillippa Williamson for a dispensation.

The Committee considered that it was in the interests of persons living in the Council’s area for as many members as possible to be able to participate in debate and decision making on a topic as important as the Local Plan, which would affect the whole of the Council’s area.  This must be balanced against the public interest in upholding the principle that members should not participate in or influence matters when it is clear that the decision directly affects their property.  The Committee was mindful that the provisions of the Localism Act 2011 enabled discretion to be exercised locally as to whether a member should be permitted to participate in an item of business notwithstanding a disclosable pecuniary interest in that matter.  This provided a useful and transparent mechanism for members to seek assurance that their participation would not subsequently be challenged, particularly in circumstances where it might be unclear, because of the generality and breadth of the item of business, whether a disclosable pecuniary interest would actually arise.

In all the circumstances, having considered these requests, the Committee was satisfied that it was appropriate under Section 33(2)((c) or (e) of the Localism Act 2011 to grant dispensations to Councillor Peter Williamson and Councillor Phillippa Williamson to allow them to participate in any discussion and/or vote at a meeting in respect of the Lancaster District Plan and any associated assessments, allocations or policies, provided that any such discussion or vote did not refer directly and specifically to the land in their ownership.  The Committee considered that such proviso was necessary to balance the competing public interests.

The dispensations would be granted to the date of the next City Council elections in 2019.

Resolved:

(1)          That dispensations be granted to Councillor Peter Williamson and Councillor Phillippa Williamson to allow them to participate in any discussion and/or vote at a meeting in respect of the Lancaster District Plan and any associated assessments, allocations or policies, provided that any such discussion or vote does not refer directly and specifically to the land in their ownership. 

(2)  That the dispensations be granted to the date of the next City Council elections in 2019.