Declarations of Interest
All Board and Committee members have to sign up to the Board and Committee Member Code of Conduct, which sets out the Trust’s expectations of them.
This Code includes requirements about declaring, recording and handling conflicts of interest. It sets out why they must declare any interests – personal, financial or business – which may interfere with their ability to perform their duties or conflict, or be perceived to conflict with their role as a Board or Committee member at the Trust.
Board and Committee Members are required to declare any interests by completing a ‘Declaration of Interest’ form when they are appointed. They must update this declaration form annually and let the Trust know if there are changes to their interests in between.
Declarations of interest are also a standard agenda item at all our Board and Committee meetings, so members can declare their interests about specific topics. All declarations are included in the minutes of the meeting.
Depending upon the nature of the interest, a member with a declared interest may be asked not to take part in any decision related to that item and/or asked to leave the meeting temporarily while the item is discussed.
Declared interests are held on a register which is reported annually to the Audit Committee.
All staff are also required to make similar declarations annually, as well as when their situation changes.
The Staff Code of Conduct sets out similar expectations about how staff should declare and handle conflicts/potential conflicts of interest. There are procedures which guide staff on how to avoid conflicts of interest in, for example, letting homes, staff recruitment or selecting contractors.