Dispensations for Parish & District Councillors
A Standards Committee may grant a dispensation to an
elected or co-opted member of an authority in the following
circumstances:
- Where more than 50% of the members who would be entitled to
vote at a meeting are prohibited from voting;
OR
- Where the number of members that are prohibited from voting at
a meeting would upset the political balance of the meeting to the
extent that the outcome of voting would be prejudiced. This
circumstance does not apply to parish councils or co-opted members
of the Standards Committee.
Dover District Councillors cannot be given a dispensation
allowing them to vote in Scrutiny Committee meetings about
decisions made by any body they were a member of at the time the
decision was taken.
The dispensation granted may apply to just one meeting or it may
be applicable on an ongoing basis. However, the dispensation cannot
be used to allow participation in the business of the authority if
it was granted more than four years ago.
When considering whether to make a written application,
please keep in mind that it is not possible to grant a
dispensation as a matter of urgency to deal with urgent business.
All applications will be considered having regard to
the guidance issued by the Standards for England.
You can apply for a dispensation by requesting a form from the
Democratic Services team and sending the completed form to the
Monitoring Officer. Please remember that dispensations have to be
dealt with at a properly constituted meeting of the Standards
Committee. Therefore you should allow sufficient time for that
meeting to be called and proper notice given.
Signed and completed forms should be sent to the Monitoring
Officer, Dover District Council, White Cliffs Business Park, Dover,
Kent CT16 3PJ. If you have any questions concerning a request for
dispensation, please contact Democratic Services.
Contact Democratic Services
Tel: 01304 872304
E-mail: democraticservices@dover.gov.uk
