In line with the Localism Act 2011, each commissioner has declared any interests which may affect their role.
The questions they are asked and a summary of each of their recorded declarations, are set out below.
For more details, please email commissioners@woking.gov.uk
Questions to the commissioners
1. Employment
Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain and any unpaid directorships.
2. Sponsorship
Any payment or provision of any other financial benefit (other than from the council) made or provided within the last twelve months in respect of any expenses incurred in carrying out duties as a commissioner.
3. Contracts
Any contract which is made between the commissioner or the commissioner’s spouse/ partner (or a body in which that person has a beneficial interest) and the council (a) under which goods or services are to be provided or works are to be executed; and (b) which has not been fully discharged.
4. Land
Any beneficial interest in land (e.g. a home) which is within the council's area.
5. Licences
Any licence (alone or jointly with others) to occupy land in the council's area for a month or longer.
6. Corporate tenancies
Any tenancy where (to the Commissioner’s knowledge): (a) the landlord is the council; and (b) the tenant is a body in which the commissioner, or the commissioner’s spouse/partner, has a beneficial interest.
7. Securities
Any beneficial interests in securities (i.e. shares, debentures, debenture stock, loan stock, units of a collective investment scheme and other securities of any description, other than money deposited with a building society) where –
that body (to the commissioner’s knowledge) has a place of business or land in the council's area and either:
- the total nominal value of securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total share capital of that body; or
- if the share capital of that body is of more than one class, the total nominal value of the shares of any one class in which the relevant person has a beneficial interest exceeds one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class.
8. Other interests
Non-pecuniary interests that arise from the commissioner’s membership of, or occupation of a position of general control or management, in the following bodies:
- Bodies to which the commissioner has been appointed or nominated by the council
- Bodies exercising functions of a public nature
- Bodies directed to charitable purposes
- Bodies one of which of whose principal purposes includes the influence of public opinion or policy
Declarations made by each Commissioner in 2023
Sir Tony Redmond
Declared interests:
- Chair, Improvement and Assurance Board, Nottingham City Council
No potential conflicts of interests.
Richard Carr
Declared interests:
- Interim Managing Director, East Midlands Development Company
- Interim Managing Director, Colchester Commercial Holdings Ltd (NB. role concludes at end March 2024)
- Director and co-owner, Richard Carr Consulting Ltd
- Senior Independent Director, East London NHS Foundation Trust
- Chair, Independent Improvement Board for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
No potential conflicts of interests.
Carol Culley
Declared interests:
- Vice President – Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA)
Relevance and mitigation
CIPFA have been contracted to provide professional support to Woking Borough Council’s finance function.
This contract was put in place prior to intervention in May 2023 and was commissioned by the previous S151 officer. The contract is managed by the council’s current S151 officer.
All expenditure in relation to it requires approval from the council’s Financial Control Panel prior to payment.
There is also some additional work which is recharged to Victoria Square Woking Ltd (one of the council’s companies) that is commissioned and agreed with the company and carried out by a separate private contractor but is invoiced via CIPFA for convenience with no mark up.
Mervyn Greer
Declared interests:
- UK Government Cabinet Office Crown Representative for Local Government
No potential conflicts of interests.