Application for the position of Independent Person | East Hampshire District Council

Appointment of Independent Persons to be consulted on Councillor Code of Conduct Complaints and to act as a member of the council’s Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP).

Independent person - person specification (pdf 117 kb)
Independent person - role description (pdf 67 kb)
Indendant person - spent and unspent convictions (pdf 72 kb)

Councillor complaints

The Localism Act 2011 requires the council to have arrangements in place to provide for the appointment of at least one independent person whose views are to be sought, and taken into account, by the council before it makes its decision on an allegation that it has decided to investigate, and whose views may also be sought by the councillor (also referred to as a member) who is the subject of a complaint.

The Independent Person will also generally assist the council’s standards committee in promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct amongst its elected members and town and parish councillors within its area.

Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP)

The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 require a Council to establish and implement a scheme which provides for the payment of allowances in accordance with the Regulations.

To do this, the council must establish an Independent Remuneration Panel. The panel must produce a report making recommendations as to the payment and amount of all forms of allowances, the duties to which special responsibility allowances should attach and whether allowances should be index linked. The Panel is required to make recommendations to the council whenever the council decides to either revoke or amend its current scheme.

Full details of the role and responsibilities of the Independent Person are included in this recruitment pack.

An annual allowance of £1500 will be paid to the Independent Person.

The criteria and duration of the role required for the Independent Person is for a term not exceeding 4 years, usually coterminous with the council’s election cycle and will be subject to regular review.

For further details, including the eligibility criteria, please email the Monitoring Officer - monitoring.officer@easthants.gov.uk.

Please complete the following application form

If a Parish or Town Councillor wishes to apply for the position, it has to be at least 5 years since they held elected office.

The closing date is Monday 27 January 2025 at 23:59pm.

The interview date is Tuesday 4 February 2025.

Personal details

Name

Address

Postcode

Telephone number

Qualifications

Please list in particular any qualifications which you think are relevant to the position of Indepenent Person.

Why do you wish to be considered for appointment as Independent Person and what particular attributes do you believe you would bring to the role?

Please provide any additional information you may wish to give in support of your application.

Criminal convictions and cautions

Have you ever received a caution, including conditional cautions, or been convicted by a Court of any offence or been reprimanded? Please see further information on spent and unspent convictions at the end of the application form.

Do you have any criminal convictions and cautions?

If yes, please give details and dates of any convictions (excluding driving offences).

Note: This does not apply to convictions which are spent in accordance with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

References

Reference 1 name

Reference 1 address

Reference 2 name

Reference 2 address

Please confirm the following statements

Am able to attend the council offices for in-person meetings and consultations as required through the standards process.

Am able to attend programmed meetings, ad hoc if required, and devote preparation time for each meeting.

Am able to access emails and undertake work at home if required.

Am available for telephone/email and MS Teams consultation.

Do not currently have and must not enter into any contractual relations with the council under which I will gain personally.

Have disclosed and agree to continue to disclose to the Council any matter in my background which, if it became public, might cause the Council to reconsider the appointment.

Am not a member of any political party or have a public profile in relation to political activities.

Declaration

I wish to apply to be an Independent Person.

In submitting this application, I declare that:-

I am not and have not during the past five years been a member or officer of the District Council.
I am not related to, or a close friend of, any Member or Officer of the District Council.
I am not currently an Officer or Member of any other relevant authority (this includes town, parish, borough, district, county and unitary council and Police and Fire Authorities.
I am not actively engaged in local party-political activity.
I understand that this is a voluntary role which attracts an annual stipend of £1500 to cover costs incurred. I will not be an employee of East Hampshire District Council and confirm that I therefore do not have the rights of employees or workers for East Hampshire District Council.

Digital signature

Date

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