Gifts and Benefits Register
At times, a member of the community may offer a staff member or Elected Member a gift or other benefit. This may be a genuine offer of appreciation or non-genuine as an attempt to influence decision making.
The Council policy supports the following Local Government position and now the legislation also requires that any benefit must be refused if:
- it is given in an attempt to influence
- if receiving it would, in the mind of a reasonable person, be perceived that it would prevent the receiver's ability to act impartially.
When it is appropriate for a gift or benefit to be received, that item will be entered into either the Council Elected Members' or the Council Employees' Gifts and Benefits Register. In pursuit of the principle of open and transparent government, both registers are publicly available.