Claiming expenses
Published Date:
22 August 2008
IN recent months there has been much publicity and increasing public demands for members of parliament to be more transparent and accountable when claiming expenses.
A particular sensitive area is where an MP has placed a member of their own family on the expenses payroll.
I believe that in the local authority town halls there is an increasing need to update councillors' transparency, not just regarding expenses but also when they have family members working for the same council as they are serving.
Under the current rules, when a member is attending a council meeting they are required under the local government act to declare an interest if they have a family member working for a department which is the subject of the meeting, and under some circumstances leave.
If they fail to do so they will only be brought to account if they are reported the to Standards board by a member of the public or another council member and this can easily be overlooked.
Keith Dewison,
Billingham.
The full article contains 171 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
22 August 2008 9:10 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Hartlepool
