GOVERNING BODY DECLARATION OF PERSONAL AND PECUNIARY INTERESTS - GUIDANCE NOTES

The governing body and individual governors should always act in the best interest of the school.  Declaring conflicts of interest is a legal requirement as laid out in the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013.

Governors are required to make an annual declaration however; this does not remove the requirement for a governor to make a declaration of interest at a meeting where an interest is relevant to something being discussed.

Pecuniary Interests

Pecuniary interests are quite wide in their scope for example:

• Where a governor may personally benefit from the consequences of a decision of the governing body;
• A governor’s employer, or a partner in a partnership, company directorship(s), charity trusteeships, membership of professional bodies, etc, may benefit from the consequences of a decision of the governing body;
• Offers of gifts or hospitality (declined or accepted);
• The supply of goods/services to the school;
• Any other perceived possible conflict.

Personal Interests

A personal interest should be declared if there is any chance that a governor’s personal interest could unfairly prejudice, influence or conflict with decision making processes for example:

• Where a governor has immediate family/personal connections to another governor or member of staff;
• Where a governor is a governor at another educational establishment.

It is important that any declarations, pecuniary or personal, made at meetings of the governing body or committees are minuted and whether a governor(s) withdrew from the meeting.  There is now a legal duty for schools to display on the school website a Register of Personal and Pecuniary Interests for the governing body.

Useful Links:

The Seven Principles of Public Life (originally published by the Nolan Committee:  The Committee on Standards in Public Life was established by the then Prime Minister in October 1994, under the Chairmanship of Lord Nolan, to consider standards of conduct in various areas of public life, and to make recommendations) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life.

The Charity Commission has produced guidance on dealing with conflicts of interests which may be useful, even for schools that do not have charitable status.