Update on politically restricted posts

Report: 8
Date: 15 September 2010
By: Monitoring Officer on behalf of the Chief Executive

Summary

This report summarises the current law on employees posts being politically restricted, and provides guidance to staff for members to agree when staff wish to apply for an exemption from political restriction.

A. Recommendation

That

1. the Committee notes the contents of the report; and
2. the Committee agrees the guidance set out at Appendix 1 of the report

B. Supporting information

1. The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (“the LGHA”) provides that certain posts within local authorities (including the MPA) should be designated as politically restricted. The impact of a post-holder holding a politically restricted post means that there are restrictions placed on their political activities (as set out in the Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions) Regulations 1990), and the individual is prevented from becoming or remaining a member of a local authority (which includes the MPA) or of the House of Commons.

2. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 amended the LGHA by giving Standards Committees the responsibility for determining applications for exemption from political restriction. Staff were able to apply to the Standards Committee for their post to be exempt if either:

1. The Authority has designated that the duties of their post involved:
   • Giving advice on a regular basis to the authority themselves, to any committee or sub-committee of the authority or to any joint committee on which the authority are represented or, where the authority are operating executive arrangements, to the executive of the authority, to any committee of that executive, or to any member of that executive who is also a member of the authority; or
   • speaking on behalf of the authority on a regular basis to journalists or broadcasters,
2. They were restricted because their salary was above the salary threshold, and the Authority had provided a certificate of opinion as to whether the duties fell within (a) above

3. Standards Committees were also given the power to direct the Authority to include posts on its list of restricted posts.

The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (“the Local Democracy Act”)

4. The Local Democracy Act made changes to the designation of politically restricted posts in the LGHA by removing the requirement for the Authority to maintain a list of posts above the nominated salary and therefore removed the requirement to designate posts to be politically restricted due to salary, regardless of the post-holders duties.

5. The Local Government Employers organisation advised that authorities should review the posts previously considered to be politically restricted by virtue of salary level to assess whether they should be genuinely politically restricted by virtue of the duties they actually perform.

6. Section 2 of the LGHA sets out certain posts which are politically restricted without a right for an exemption. These are

• The Head of the Authority’s Paid Service (the MPA’s Chief Executive);
• The Statutory Chief Officers (the only relevant post for the MPA is the statutory finance officer);
• The Non-Statutory Chief Officers (defined as a person for whom the HOPS is directly responsible; and any person who, as respects all or most of the duties of his post, is required to report directly or is directly accountable to the local authority itself or any committee or sub-committee of the authority. It excludes secretarial or administrative support to the HOPS);
• The Deputy Chief Officers (defined as a person who, as respects all or most of his duties of his post, is required to report directly or is directly accountable to one or more of the statutory or non-statutory chief officers); and
• The Monitoring Officer.

7. The Authority has designated the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of DARA as non-statutory Chief Officers.

8. The MPA is currently reviewing its posts.  Staff in those posts which are designated Deputy Chief Officer will be informed following this review. Staff in those posts which were previously considered to be politically restricted on the basis of salary and are following the review deemed not to fall within the definition, will be informed in writing of the change to their post’s politically restricted status.

Application for exemptions

9. Officers have developed guidance and procedure for employees to apply for their post to be exempt from the classification as a politically restricted post. This is attached at Appendix 1. Those posts which are deemed to be Deputy Chief Officer posts will be added to the document once the review is completed.

C. Other organisational and community implications

Equality and diversity impact

There is no direct equalities impact issues arising from this report.

MET Forward

There is no direct Met Forward implications from this report.

Financial implications

There are no direct financial implications arising from this report.

Legal implications

They are contained within the report.

Environmental implications

There are no direct environmental implications arising from this report.

Risk implications

There are no implications arising from this report.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report author(s): Helen Sargeant, Solicitor and Monitoring Officer to the MPA

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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