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TRANSCRIPT
Working with Politicians
Masterclass
• Olwen Dutton – Partner and Head of Local
Government, Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP
• Alex Lawrence – Associate, Anthony Collins
Solicitors LLP
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Covering this morning….
• The role of members,
• How and why might politicians behave as they do
• Different roles and responsibilities
• How to influence within the council
• How to write reports and present arguments
• What happens when things go wrong
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House Rules
• Chatham House rules please
• Questions and comments welcome throughout
• Its an art not a science….
Local government sits within a
democratic context, subject to
politics and the electoral process
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Why this course?
• Councils are political bodies; members who set
direction and policies and are served by officers to
deliver those policies and manage.
• Progress often depends upon working with
members and being comfortable in doing so.
• Changes in governance since LGA 2000 (and
indeed in the role of local authorities and the
financial constraints) has meant that there are
fewer opportunities for more junior officers to work
with members
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Olwen’s story
• Worked in met and shire counties, PTE, districts,
SPA, National and Regional bodies
• Started in local authorities in xxxxxx
• Head of Legal Services, AVDA, Associate
Director Audit Commission, Corporate Director,
Chief Executive
• Worked with politicians from the start as a junior
and then senior lawyer, and as a Corporate
Director and Chief Executive
• A NHS Vice Chair and Chair of a charity
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Alex’s Story
• Trained at Anthony Collins
• In-house solicitor at Leicestershire County Council
• …back to Anthony Collins as a commercial and
governance solicitor working with officers and
politicians across a range of projects
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Politicians, Parties and Drivers
• The human angle…members come from a range
of different backgrounds with different priorities
– Some with full time jobs
– Some just undertake their Council duties
– Some are interested in the workings of the
Council
– Some want to focus on their wards
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Politicians, Parties and Drivers
• And don’t forget the politics………
• National parties
• Local groups
• Group discipline
• Independents/new groups
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Local and national politics
• Hacker: Are you saying there's nothing wrong
with education in this country?
• Sir Humphrey: No, why of course not, Prime
Minister! It's a joke, it's always been a joke! And
as long as you leave it in the hands of the local
councillors, it will remain a joke! I mean, half of
them are your enemies anyway, and the other
half are the sort of friends who make you prefer
your enemies.
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Opportunities to Work with
Politicians
• Who actually gets to work with politicians on a
regular basis?
• Pre 2000 the Committee System
• Now Executive Arrangements- Elected Mayor;
Leader and Cabinet….
• Also
– Outsourcing
– Alternative delivery mechanisms
• Fewer opportunities
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Political Groups
• Junior officers don’t normally get involved with
political groups
• Briefings
• Group discipline
• Ungrouped members and independents
• Proportionality rules
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All sorts of members
• Elected Mayor (not a councillor but sometimes
treated as one)
• Leader
• Cabinet/Executive member/Portfolio Holder
• Chairman/Mayor
• Committee Chair
• Opposition Group leaders
• Back bencher/scrutiny member
• Administration or opposition?
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We are equal but some are more
equal than others• Who are those whose views carry sway?
• Who is listened to and is an influencer?
• Leader?
• Deputy Leader?
• Committee Chairs ?
• Leaders “Minder” ?
• Opposition Group Leader ?
• Who is owed a favour?
• Officers
• How do you know?
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A little bit of law
• Some decisions have to be Full Council
• An Executive authority ( ie an Elected Mayor or
Leader and Cabinet) decisions are those of the
Executive unless the legislation says otherwise
• Executive members can make individual
decisions - if the Leader has decided this
• Alternative or Committee authority- no individual
decision making- all through Committees
• Know your constitution
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The Constitution
• Sets out how the council operates within the Law
• Scheme of Delegation
– To Committees
– To Officers
• Council Procedure Rules
• The Rules of Debate
• Code of Conduct
• Codes and protocols
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Know how decisions are made
• The formal route- idea, consultation; draft reports,
option appraisals, resource and budget
considerations, pre decision scrutiny, call in,
cabinet, committee, council
• And the informal route- idea, resource and budget
considerations, informal discussions with partners
and others, engagement with staff, discussions in
the groups, views of senior officers
• Both routes are needed
• When do you step in?
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Stepping in
• Know your subject
• Understand what the real issue is
• Be clear about your ideas and be able to present
them clearly and succinctly
• Don’t use jargon or acronyms
• Be able to see both sides of the argument and
present options fairly
• Don’t descend into detail or spring up with an
answer too early
• Remember form follows function
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What is a councillors role?
• Community leadership and engagement
• Serving the community across the Council’s area
• Understanding the community as a whole and their
ward especially - representing their ward
• Decision making
• Policy and strategy development; inc budget
• Overview and scrutiny
• Representing the council
• Sir Humphrey: Politicians like to panic, they need
activity. It is their substitute for achievement…
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What matters to members?
• Local news and local issues
• Electorate and Opinion Polls
• Resources and budgets
• Pressure groups
• National news and policies
• Councillors in their own Group
• Colleagues in Opposition Groups
• Their manifesto promises
• Their officers and staff
• Their own history and experiences
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What do Members want from
you?
• Serving the authority as a whole - not a loyalty to
a particular group - even the administration
• Good working relationship - mutual respect
• Integrity and confidentiality
• Responding in a timely way to their queries; and
to any complaints or issues they raise
• Professional and impartial advice the can rely on
• Telling them what they need to know
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What should you expect from
Members ?• Setting leadership and direction
• Good behaviour and mutual respect
• Observing the Code of Conduct and other codes
and protocols
• Reasonable understanding of work/life balance
• No undue pressure or expectation of using their
role to get special treatment
• Leaving officers to do their jobs - not interfering in
operational detail.
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Keeping Members on the Straight
and Narrow• Do your Members understand their role and the
parameters within which they have to work?
– Reasons
– Reasonableness
– Bias and apparent bias
– Pre-determination and predisposition
– Proportionality
– Judicial Review
• If they don’t – how do you tell them?
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Reasons…..
• Members do not have to agree with their officers
recommendations
• Wednesbury Test
• They have to be their reasons that they can
support and give evidence about if required
• Must be based on material considerations
• Should be supported by evidence
• Record of decisions
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Bias and predetermination
• Members own outside interests
• Their manifesto
• Representing their community
• Applying the policies they have decided
• The role of the party whip
• Helping them to deal with constituents and being
ambushed
• Predisposition and predetermination
• Seeking assistance from officers
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Briefings, Reports and
Documents
• Before you start:
– What are you trying to achieve?
– Who are the audience?
– Decision making or advisory/information?
– What is (or is likely to be) Members’ attitude?
– Does the message need to be packaged in a
particular way?
– Is there any history you should know about?
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Briefings, Reports and Documents
• What is your Members’ general tolerance?
– One side of A4?
– Voracious appetite for detail?
• What do they need to know?
• What will you point them to?
• Background papers?
• Confidentiality?
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Briefings, Reports and
Documents
• Does it make sense or is the message lost?
– Think about your audience – do they have
specialist/expert knowledge?
– Structure
• Is it legally correct?
• At the end…does the document still do what it
needs to?
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Briefings, Reports and
Documents• Briefing Members in person
– Create a (first) good impression
– Be prepared
– Know your audience - ask others for their
experiences
– Be confident – regardless of how you might feel on
the inside - so know your stuff!
– Try to build a rapport
– Don’t be afraid to ask questions and challenge
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And when if gets difficult…
• Member Code of Conduct
• Protocol on Member/Officer Relations
• What if it all goes wrong?
– Complaints about a Member
– Complaints and grievances
– Managing Member access to Officers
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What sort of behavior ?
• Bullying and harassment
• Putting pressure on officers to act impartially or
against their professional judgement
• Lack of respect
• Breaches of confidentiality
• Not observing bias rules
• Using public money for political purposes
• Demanding information
• Committee on Standards in Public Life
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Harvey v Ledbury
• Councillor Harvey was a town councilor on
Ledbury Town Council and also a councilor on
Herefordshire Council
• Allegations were made against her by the Clerk
and Deputy Clerk of the Town Council
• The Council chose to deal with these allegations
through a grievance process, made finding
against Councillor Harvey and imposed sanctions
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Harvey v Ledbury
• Councillor Harvey referred herself to the
Monitoring Officer of Herefordshire Council
• Monitoring Officer found no breaches of the Code
of Conduct by Councillor Harvey
• The Town Council decided to extent the sanctions
against Councillor Harvey
• Councillor Harvey judicially reviewed the Town
Council
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Harvey v Ledbury
• The High Court found in favour of Councillor
Harvey on all grounds
• There is no power to punish Members except
through Code of Conduct proceedings
• A Council can act to protect its staff and itself
through action such as how it requires staff to
behave in respect of Members, but this action
cannot be taken to punish a Member
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Dealing with Members on Outside
Bodies• What type of body is it?
• What is the relationship with the Council?
• Is it appropriate for you (and Council resources) to
support a Member in respect of their outside
appointment?
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Member entitlements to
Information• Common Law:
– Good reason for access – a need to know (R v
Birmingham City Council ex p O [1983] 1 AC
578)
• Statute:
– Slightly different rules depending upon whether
the information is held by the Executive or not
• FOIA/EIR
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Member entitlements to
Information• Statute:
– Different rules depending upon whether the
information is held by the Executive or not
– Section 100F, Local Government Act 1972
– The Local Authorities (Executive
Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to
Information) (England) Regulations 2012 –
Regulations 16 (general) and 17 (enhanced
rights for scrutiny Members)
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Member entitlements to
Information• Statute:
– Section 228, Local Government Act 1972
– Article 7, Local Authorities (Companies) Order
1995
– FOIA/EIR
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Questions?
• Contact us on:
– 0121 214 3542
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Check out the website …
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