Purpose

The Council currently has one Independent Person and in the event that the current Independent Person is unable to act through absence or conflict of interest, the Monitoring Officer would be required to effectively borrow an Independent Person from a neighbouring authority which is not ideal. The appointment of a second Independent Person removes that risk and also provides some future resilience.

In accordance with The Localism Act 2011 Section 28(8) (c iii) the appointment of an independent Person should be “approved by a majority of members of the Authority”. After the recruitment and selection process has been undertaken a recommendation to appoint a named individual who meets the requirements of the post will be proposed to Full Council for approval. This is consistent with previous appointments to this position.

Decision

To carry out a recruitment process to appoint a second Independent Person in accordance with the Localism Act 2011. The Council has an Independent Person who the Council’s Monitoring Officer must consult with in relation to any Code of Conduct complaints received in relation to City of Doncaster Councillors or Councillors from the 36 Town & Parish Councils across Doncaster.

It is considered good practice to have more than one Independent Person as this provides additional capacity, resilience and the ability to manage potential conflicts of influence and absences.

The Independent Person receives an allowance of £1,250 per annum and this will be met by the Governance Services budget.

The appointment of a second independent person is subject to approval by Full Council

Alternative options considered

Options Rejected

Not to recruit a second Independent Person – rejected due to not achieving the benefits outlined above.