§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 13 June (HL Deb, cols. 367–68), what system is in place, and under what Act of Parliament, to address the situation when a parish councillor, in mid-term, refuses to sign the code of conduct, declines to fill in the register of interests and does not offer his or her resignation. [HL4996]
§ Lord RookerThe Local Government Act 2000 requires members of parish councils to give a written undertaking to observe the authority's code of conduct. If a member fails to give that undertaking within two months of the authority adopting a code, he or she ceases to be a member of the authority.
Members must complete a register of interests within 28 days of a code applying to their parish council, as a result either of the council adopting a code, or of the statutory application of the model code from 5 May on all councils which had not by then adopted a code. Failure to complete a register could lead to investigation by the Standards Board for England.