REPORT. 7. Reasoning as to whether there have been failures to comply with the Code of Conduct

Transcription

1 PAPER B REPORT Case Reference SBE Report of an investigation under Section 60(2) Local Government Act 2000 by Helen Miles, appointed by monitoring officer for Isle of Wight Council into an allegation concerning Mr Andrew Maley. CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary 2. Mr Andrew Maley s official details 3. The relevant legislation and protocols 4. The evidence gathered 5. Summary of the material facts 6. Mr Andrew Maley s additional submissions 7. Reasoning as to whether there have been failures to comply with the Code of Conduct 8. Funding Appendix A Schedule of evidence taken into account and list of unused material Appendix B Chronology of events 1. Executive Summary 1.1 On 1 April 2008 a complaint made by Councillor Gill Rogers against former Councillor Mr Andrew Maley was referred from the Standards Board for England for investigation locally. It is alleged that Mr Maley had failed to disclose all his interests on his register, that he was a Company Director with a 51% shareholding in a company that he had not disclosed and that he had an interest in a property in Bembridge, known as Sunny Cottage, Preston Road, Bembridge that he had not disclosed, and that he had lodged a Planning Application relating to a property called Sweet Briars, Preston Road, Bembridge, describing himself as the owner. 1.2 Mr Andrew Maley is a Company Director of a company called Negatech Ltd and holds a 51% shareholding. That company is recorded as holding a Legal Mortgage over a property known as Sunny Cottage, Preston Road, Bembridge. Sunny Cottage was a bungalow that was demolished several years ago and replaced with three properties, one of which called Shoreline, is owned by Negatech Ltd. The Planning Application that Mr Maley made in relation to Sweet LM / wrk HEM / Page 1

2 Briars is a property owned by his parents. Neither Shoreline nor Negatech Ltd appear on Mr Maley s Register of Interests. I find that, by not declaring these interests on his Register, former Councillor Mr Andrew Maley has breached the Code of Conduct. 2. Mr Andrew Maley s official details 2.1 Mr Andrew Maley was elected to Office on Bembridge Parish Council on 26 May 2005 for a term of four years. 2.2 Mr Andrew Maley is no longer a member, having resigned 17 March Mr Andrew Maley gave a written undertaking to observe the Code of Conduct on 17 June Mr Andrew Maley signed the Register of Financial Interests on 9 July 2005, in which he disclosed that he was a Director of a Company called Tracwear Ltd and that he had an interest in 84 Steyne Road, Bembridge, Isle of Wight. 2.4 Mr Andrew Maley has attended no training on the Code of Conduct 3. The relevant legislation and protocols 3.1 The Bembridge Parish Council has adopted the Code of Conduct (on 21 August 2007) in which the following paragraphs are included: 12. Within 28 days of the provisions of an Authority s Code of Conduct being adopted or applied to that Authority or within 28 days of his election or appointment to office (if that is later), a Member must register his financial interests in the Authority s register maintained under Section 81(1) of the Local Government Act 2000 by providing written notification to the Monitoring Officer of the responsible Authority of:- a) any employment of business carried on by him; b) the name of the person who employs or has appointed him, the name of any firm in which he is a partner, and the name of any company for which he is a remunerated Director; c) the name of any person, other than a relevant Authority, who has made a payment to him in respect of his election or any expenses incurred by him in carrying out his duties; d) the name of any corporate body which has a place of business or lane in the Authority s area, and in which the Member has a beneficial interest in a class of securities of that body that exceeds the nominal value of 25,000:00 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body; e) a description of any contract for goods, services or works made between the Authority and himself or a firm in which he is a Partner, a company of which he is a remunerated Director, or a body of the description specified in sub-paragraph d) above; LM / wrk HEM / Page 2

3 f) the address or other description (sufficient to identify the location) of any land in which has a beneficial and which is in the area of the Authority; g) the address or other description (sufficient to identify the location) or any land where the Landlord is the Authority and the Tenant is a firm in which he is a Partner, a company of which he is a remunerated Director, or a body of the description specified in sub-paragraph d) above; and h) the address or other description (sufficient to identify the location) of any land in the Authority s area in which he has a licence (alone or jointly with others) to occupy for 28 days or longer. 4. The evidence gathered 4.1 I have taken account of oral evidence from Mr Andrew Maley and Mrs Gill Rogers. 4.2 I have also taken account of documentary evidence obtained from Mrs Gill Rogers, the Land Registry and 5. Summary of the material facts 5.1 On 25 November 2007 the Clerk to Bembridge Parish Council wrote to Councillor Andrew Maley having received Notice of a Planning Application for a property known as Sweet Briars. Mr Maley was shown as the property owner. She reminded Mr Maley of the need to ensure that his Register of Interests was complete. 5.2 On 21 January 2008 the Deputy Monitoring Officer, Mr Chris Mathews, wrote to Mr Maley as it had been brought to his attention that he may have overlooked an interest that needed to be recorded. The letter referred to the Planning Application for Sweet Briars in which it stated that Mr Maley was the owner of that property, and asked that a new Register of Financial and Other Interests be completed to include this and any other property in which he had a beneficial interest. 5.3 On 23 January 2008 the Clerk to Bembridge Parish Council forwarded a blank Register to Mr Maley and indicated that a response was expected by 31 January On 4 February 2008 a covering, and substantive, letter was received from Mr Maley together with an unsigned Register of Financial and Other Interests. In the substantive letter of 4 February 2008, Mr Maley expressed his views on the subject matter as a whole and stated that I find this to be almost an infringement of my human rights, that I should be asked to declare any personal information, as an unpaid member of the public prepared to try and help my local community by standing for the position of Local Councillor. Mr Maley went on to explain that Sweet Briars was a property owned by his parents, apologised if there were any mistakes or misleading entries on the Planning Application to Sweet Briars and said that he felt it would have been wise if the Clerk to the Council had checked the records at the Land Registry, rather than assuming all details of the LM / wrk HEM / Page 3

4 Planning Application were correct. He concluded the letter by stating that he had no financial interest to declare, nor did he intend signing anything to that effect. 5.5 On 5 February 2008 the Clerk to Bembridge Parish Council once again wrote to the Deputy Monitoring Officer to explain that she had carried out a Search at Companies House and it appeared that Mr Maley was a 51% shareholder in Negatech Ltd, in which he was also a Director, and that there was a Charge against a property known as Sunny Cottage, Preston Road, Bembridge. 5.6 A complaint was made by Councillor Gill Rogers to the Standards Board for England that was referred to the Isle of Wight Council for local investigation. The complaint form was accompanied by an Appendix of Documents, including details from Companies House relating to Negatech Ltd. 5.7 Following referral of the complaint from the Standards Board, in response to a letter sent inviting Mr Maley to discuss the complaint, Mr Maley responded on 30 April 2008 stating I made it quite clear in the correspondence that I have no intention of signing the Code of Conduct documentation and in my mind - had I signed it - there was no breach of the Code. In response to the request to identify any documents that he would wish taken into account during the investigation, he replied that this was not relevant, and in response to the request for the names and addresses of any he would wish interviewed, he stated none. 5.8 As Mr Maley works abroad frequently, it was difficult to arrange a date to meet with him and after a number of abortive attempts, including a number of unsuccessful attempts for a telephone interview, it was decided to seek answers through correspondence as this appeared to be the most effective course of communication. Mr Maley s work pattern was unpredictable and although he indicated when he would be in the Country, his plans changed and on several occasions when contact was made he said it was not a convenient time to talk, and o one occasion was in Amsterdam on business when he took the call. Ultimately it was necessary to conduct a telephone interview with Mr Maley on 7 July Mr Maley confirmed that he had made a Planning Application in respect of Sweet Briars, Preston Road, Bembridge on 15 October 2007, through an agent. He stated his parents owned Sweet Briars, that he put in the paperwork on their behalf. Mr Maley accepted the agent had completed the application on his behalf showing him as the owner In response to the question Do you own Sunny Cottage, if not does Negatech Ltd, if not who does? Mr Maley explained that pre 2005 he made an application for Planning Permission to demolish a bungalow in Preston Road Sunny Cottage. Neither he nor Negatech Ltd were the owner. The application, which was approved, was to build three houses. Once built, one was given to the land owner, one was sold and one retained by Mr Maley; the property is called Shoreline and is on a different plot to Sweet Briars Mr Maley said that there was no Charge on any of the properties on this site and could not explain why Companies House showed a Charge. LM / wrk HEM / Page 4

5 5.12 When asked why Shoreline did not appear on his Register of Interests, Mr Maley said he had no intention or otherwise of not disclosing this on his Register, and could not offer any other explanation. Mr Maley did comment that, as a matter of personal view, he had had enough of bureaucracy Mr Maley confirmed he was a Director and held 51 of 100 shares in Negatech Ltd. He said he must have forgotten to disclose his interest in Negatech Ltd, that there was no intention on his part not to disclose it, he just had not thought about it When asked if he wished to add anything, Mr Maley said that he did not agree with the need to disclose all his personal business, that it went too far, that he was an unpaid volunteer having to deal with a manic amount of bureaucracy He said that he wanted to clarify that he did not resign over this mater, he resigned due to his workload and the fact he could not attend meetings. He did not have the time to be a Parish Councillor A telephone interview was also conducted with the Complainant, Councillor Gill Rogers, who confirmed that the issues she was concerned about were the ones highlighted in her letter and she had nothing else to add A Search against the property known as Sweet Briars, Preston Road, Bembridge, Isle of Wight had not been successful as the property is not registered. A Search against the property now known as Shoreline reveals that the land is registered, the owner being Negatech Ltd. 6. Mr Maley s additional submissions. None were received following the draft Report being sent to Mr Maley. 7. Reasoning as to whether there have been failures to comply with the Code of Conduct 7.1 The Planning Application made by Mr Maley with regard to Sweet Briars, Preston Road, Bembridge clearly states under Certificate A that nobody except the Applicant was the owner of any part of the building/lane to which the Application relates. The property is not registered with the Land Registry and it is not therefore possible to obtain as a matter of public record, the details of land ownership. 7.2 The Isle of Wight became a compulsory registration area for land registration in The significance of this is that from 1986 any sale of land resulted in the name of the new owner. The fact that the land is unregistered suggests that it has been owned by the same owner pre Mr Maley says that his parents have owned the property since I consider, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Maley does not own Sweet Briars. 7.3 From the company papers extracted from Companies House by the Clerk to the Bembridge Parish Council, it is clear that Mr Maley is a Director of Negatech Ltd, and this is accepted by Mr Maley. He was appointed a Director of that company on 24 August The records show Mr Maley holding 51% of ordinary shares LM / wrk HEM / Page 5

6 as at 18 April When Mr Maley was asked about his membership of this company and his shareholding, he confirmed that he held 51 of 100 shares. 7.4 The company records also show a Legal Charge held by the company over the property Sunny Cottage. Mr Maley said that there was no Charge and could not explain why Companies House showed a Charge. Whether or not there is such a Charge, and it appears clear from Companies House records that there is, Sunny Cottage is the property that was demolished and replaced by three dwellings, one of which is known as Shoreline and is owned by Negatech Ltd. Mr Maley has acknowledged this. In addition this is born out by the details obtained from the Land Registry. He was not the owner of Sunny Cottage, but once he became the owner of Shoreline, he should have updated his Register of Interests in accordance with paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Bembridge Parish Council. 7.5 The fact that there may have been interests not disclosed on his Register was raised with Mr Maley by both the Clerk to the Parish Council and by the Deputy Monitoring officer, and an opportunity given to Mr Maley to update his Register. Mr Maley declined to do so, stating he had no financial interests to declare, nor did he intend signing anything to that effect. 8. Finding 8.1 I find that Mr Maley failed to disclose his interest in Negatech Ltd, and his interest in the property called Shoreline, Preston Road, Bembridge, as required by paragraph 12 of the Code of Conduct. I find, therefore, that Mr Maley has breached the Code of Conduct. However, as Mr Maley resigned on 17 March 2008, other than censure, there is no further action that can be taken. LM / wrk HEM / Page 6

7 APPENDIX A Schedule of evidence taken into account Doc No Description Pages 1 Complaint form and appendices 1-32 Notes of telephone conversations, letters and interviews with witnesses Doc No Description Pages 2 Letter to Mr Maley dated 10:04: Letter to Maley dated 24:04: from Andrew Maley dated 30:04: Telephone attendance notes dated 09:05:08 and 13:05: Telephone attendance note dated 23:05: Telephone attendance note dated 13:06: to Mr Maley and reply dated 24:06: Telephone attendance notes dated 27:06:08 and 4:07: to Andrew Maley dated 04:05: Telephone interview with Mr Maley dated 07:07: Telephone interview with Councillor Gill Rogers dated 07:07:08 46 Minutes of meetings and other documentary evidence Doc No Description Pages 13 Copy Planning Application taken from iwight.com Land Registry official copy dated 22:04:08 regarding Sweet Briars Land Registry official copy regarding Shoreline Andrew Maley s comments on draft report - None Received LM / wrk HEM / Page 7

8 APPENDIX B Chronology of events: 24:08:00 Mr Maley made Director of Negatech Ltd.. Mr Maley acquires Shoreline, Preston Road, Bembridge (on land formerly known as Sunny Cottage. 26:05:05 Mr Maley appointed as Councillor to Bembridge Parish Council 09:07:05 Mr Maley signs Register of Financial and Other Interests for Bembridge Parish Council 18:04:07 Company records show Mr Maley still holds 51 ordinary shares in Negatech Ltd. 15:10:07 Mr Maley submits Planning Application relating to Sweet Briars, Preston Road, Bembridge as the owner. 25:11:07 Mr Maley asked to reconsider his entries on Register of Financial and Other Interests following Planning Application. 21:01:08 Mr Maley asked to complete a new Register of Financial and Other Interests. 04:02:08 Mr Maley asked to complete a further Register of Interests. 07:07:08 Mr Maley confirms in interview that he is a Director and Shareholder in Negatech Ltd, is the owner of Shoreline, Preston Road, Bembridge. LM / wrk HEM / Page 8