Northamptonshire County Council, like all local councils, is legally required to appoint a member of staff as its ‘Monitoring Officer’. This position is currently held by Chris Whittington, Head of Legal Services.
The Monitoring Officer effectively serves as the guardian of the County Council’s constitution and the decision-making process. He is responsible for advising the County Council on the legality of its decisions and providing guidance to councillors on the Council’s constitution and its powers.
The Monitoring Officer also works closely with the Council’s Standards Committee to assist it in its role of promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by councillors.
The role of the Monitoring Officer is set out in Northamptonshire County Council’s constitution (Part 2, Article 12, Paragraph 12.03) and is made up of the following specific responsibilities:
Maintaining the constitution
In conjunction with the Standards Committee the Monitoring Officer is responsible for maintaining and- when necessary- revising the County Council’s constitution, as well as ensuring that copies of the constitution are made available to councillors, members of staff and the public.
Advising on constitutional issues and decisions
The Monitoring Officer advises all councillors on the interpretation of the Council’s constitution, on the decision-making process, and on questions of maladministration, financial propriety, and probity. He also provides guidance on Cabinet decisions to ensure that they comply with the budget and other major policies agreed by the County Council.
Ensuring that all decision-making is lawful and fair
If the Monitoring Officer believes that any decision by the Cabinet or the Council would be unlawful or would result in a charge of maladministration against the County Council he is required to report this to Cabinet or Council. The Monitoring Officer must consult with the Chief Executive and the Executive Director for Finance before making such a report, which stops the decision from being implemented until the Monitoring Officer’s concerns have been discussed by councillors.
Supporting the Standards Committee
The Monitoring Officer provides expert advice to the County Council’s Standards Committee and attends all ordinary meetings of the Committee.
Managing ‘local determination’ cases
Under new Government regulations the County Council’s Standards Committee is responsible for determining any cases involving potential breaches of the Members’ Code of Conduct by Northamptonshire councillors that may be referred to it by the Standards Board for England. In such cases the results of investigations carried out by the Standards Board for England will be referred to the Monitoring Officer, who will start the process of staging a ‘local determination’ hearing of the Standards Committee. The Monitoring Officer will then act as an adviser to the Standards Committee during its deliberations on whether the Code of Conduct has been broken and, if so, the penalty that should be imposed on the councillor concerned.
Maintaining Access to Information
The Monitoring Officer is required to ensure that details of all Executive decisions (decisions taken by the Cabinet, individual Cabinet Members, or by Council officers or committees using powers delegated from the Cabinet), together with background papers and other related information, are made available to the public as promptly as possible.