Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Relevant Authorities (General Principles) Order 2001 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which it is made.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order—

“the Act” means the Local Government Act 2000;

“members” means members and co-opted members of relevant authorities, and

“statutory officers” means heads of paid service, chief finance officers and monitoring officers.

General principles

3.—(1) The Secretary of State hereby specifies in the Schedule to this Order, the principles which are to govern the conduct of members of relevant authorities in England and police authorities in Wales.

(2) Only paragraphs 2 and 8 of the Schedule to this Order shall have effect in relation to the activities of a member that are undertaken other than in an official capacity.

Article 3(1)

SCHEDULETHE GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Selflessness

1.  Members should serve only the public interest and should never improperly confer an advantage or disadvantage on any person.

Honesty and Integrity

2.  Members should not place themselves in situations where their honesty and integrity may be questioned, should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.

Objectivity

3.  Members should make decisions on merit, including when making appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards or benefits.

Accountability

4.  Members should be accountable to the public for their actions and the manner in which they carry out their responsibilities, and should co-operate fully and honestly with any scrutiny appropriate to their particular office.

Openness

5.  Members should be as open as possible about their actions and those of their authority, and should be prepared to give reasons for those actions.

Personal Judgement

6.  Members may take account of the views of others, including their political groups, but should reach their own conclusions on the issues before them and act in accordance with those conclusions.

Respect for Others

7.  Members should promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. They should respect the impartiality and integrity of the authority’s statutory officers, and its other employees.

Duty to Uphold the Law

8.  Members should uphold the law and, on all occasions, act in accordance with the trust that the public is entitled to place in them.

Stewardship

9.  Members should do whatever they are able to do to ensure that their authorities use their resources prudently and in accordance with the law.

Leadership

10.  Members should promote and support these principles by leadership, and by example, and should act in a way that secures or preserves public confidence.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order specifies the principles which are to govern the conduct of members and co-opted members of relevant authorities in England and police authorities in Wales, in accordance with section 49(1) of the Local Government Act 2000.

Article 3(1) gives effect to the Schedule to the Order, and paragraph (2) of that article provides that the principles are expected to govern only the official conduct of members and co-opted members, apart from the second and eighth, which have effect on all occasions. The Schedule specifies the principles.

Under section 50 of the Local Government Act 2000, the Secretary of State may also issue a model code as regards the conduct which is expected of members and co-opted members of authorities. Where he does so, that model code must be consistent with the principles specified in this Order.