Role of a Council Monitoring Officer

1st August 2024

ROLE OF A COUNCIL MONITORING OFFICER

What is a Monitoring Officer?

All local authorities must appoint one of their officers (employees) as the ‘Monitoring Officer’, being the individual responsible for performing the duties outlined in Section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.  A Monitoring Officer is, therefore, a statutory appointment.

What is the Monitoring Officer responsible for?

In terms of the 1989 Act, a Monitoring Officer has legal duty to ensure their Council fulfils its statutory obligations. The Monitoring Officer is also responsible for ensuring lawfulness and fairness in the operation of the local authority’s decision-making process. They have a duty to act when it appears to them that any proposal, decision, or omission by the Council has given rise to, or is likely to or would give rise to, a contravention of any enactment or rule of law or amounts to maladministration. This includes investigating and reporting on anything the local authority does that has the potential to be an illegal action. The Monitoring Officer is also responsible for the maintenance and interpretation of their Council’s constitution.

What specific role does the Monitoring Officer undertake in terms of the Ethical Standards Framework?

Promoting and providing training on the Councillors’ Code: Monitoring Officers have a key role in promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct. The Monitoring Officer is responsible for ensuring that appropriate training is given to elected members on the ethical standards framework, the Councillors’ Code of Conduct and any Guidance and Advice Notes issued by the Standards Commission. This includes ensuring that training is provided on induction and on a periodic basis thereafter.

Monitoring Officers are also expected to assist the Standards Commission in work to promote the ethical standards framework by circulating and promoting any Guidance and Advice Notes it has produced to councillors and fellow employees.

While it is a councillor’s personal responsibility to ensure they comply with the provisions in the Code, Monitoring Officers can provide advice and support to councillors on how to interpret and apply its provisions. This means that Monitoring Officers may, on occasion, intervene and advise a councillor accordingly, if there are concerns that the councillor in question may have breached the Code or may be about to do so.

Jackie Buchanan, Angus Council’s Monitoring Officer notes: “A lot of what the Monitoring Officer does has evolved through custom and practice and sits outwith any statutory framework. It is good, therefore, to see the new The Code of Practice on Good Governance for Local Authority Statutory Officers which has recently come into being. Albeit directed to statutory officers in England and Wales, it does have resonance in Scotland too and is an interesting read.”

Monitoring Officers also have a role in ensuring that all relevant Council employees, such as committee clerks and member services’ officers are aware of, and familiar with, the requirements of the Code.

Maintaining a Register of Interests: All councils must set up, maintain and make available for public inspection a register of elected members’ interests. The Monitoring Officer should ensure that a proper officer is appointed under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation and that such a Register of Interests is maintained.

While it is a councillor’s personal responsibility to ensure that all their relevant interests are recorded, the Council’s Monitoring Officer should try to ensure that councillors are aware of what constitutes a registrable interest under the Code and, further, that they are aware that they are required to record any changes within one month.

Identifying and Declaring Interests: The Monitoring Officer should ensure that there are procedures in place to seek and record declarations of interest at the start of all meetings. While it is a councillor’s personal responsibility to ensure that they identify and declare any interests (as only they know what these are), they can seek advice from the Monitoring Officer on the Code’s requirements.

Potential breaches of the Code: The Monitoring Officer may report any concerns about compliance with the Code to the Chief Executive.

The Monitoring Officer may have an investigatory role if an internal decision is made to attempt local resolution in respect of complaints or concerns made about a councillor’s conduct. If, however, a complaint is made to the Ethical Standards Commissioner (ESC) about one of their elected members, the Monitoring Officer acts as the principal liaison between the Council and the ESC’s office. The Monitoring Officer is expected to assist the ESC in their investigation, by providing information and evidence within the timescales as requested, and by making arrangements for interviewing of any employees or other councillors as required.

If local resolution in respect of complaints or concerns made about a councillor’s conduct is deemed inappropriate in the circumstances or is unsuccessful, the Monitoring Officer may report an alleged breach of the Code to the ESC. It should be noted, however, that there is no requirement for the Monitoring Officer to do so and that anyone can make a complaint to the ESC, regardless of whether they have been directly affected by the alleged conduct.

Jackie Buchanan explains: “asking a Monitoring Officer to submit a complaint can place them in a difficult position as local government officers have a duty to support the whole council, not just the administration and, as such, must remain politically neutral.”

Further Information

The Standards Commission’s Advice Note on the Role of the Monitoring Officer can be found at:https://www.standardscommissionscotland.org.uk/education-and-resources/professional-briefings

The Code of Practice on Good Governance for Local Authority Statutory Officers can be found at: https://solace.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Code-of-Practice-on-Good-Governance-for-Statutory-Officers-June-2024.pdf