This seminar will be of particular interest to new and Deputy Monitoring Officers in local authorities, Fire and Police Authorities in England and Wales, and to officers who are considering becoming a Monitoring Officer or Deputy Monitoring Officers.
The seminar is designed as a practical introduction to being a Monitoring Officer and will cover –
· Designation as MO, security of employment and the Designated Independent Person process.
· Shared legal services and shared MOs – issues and conflicts
· The position of the MO within the senior management structure
· The role of the Deputy Monitoring Officer
· The relationship of the MO with the Head of Paid Service and the Chief Finance Officer
· Sections 5 and 5A and the duty to make a statutory report on illegality
· The role of the MO in the current Standards Regime, including protocols for the MO’s role in the assessment, investigation and determination of standards complaints, and the role in respect of the register of interests and dispensations
· Is it Code or is it illegality? Bias and predetermination.
· The MO and Parish and Town Councils
· What happens once the current Standards Board regime is abolished
· The Constitution, and the role of the MO in holding the ring between Council and Executive
· Access to Information and the recording of decisions
· Comparison of the role of the MO with that of the Head of Legal Services
· The resources required by the MO, including access to reports, meetings and external advice
· The practicalities of handling the role – statutory regulator or trusted adviser?