Governors' Declaration of Business Interests

It is important that governors and staff not only act impartially, but are also seen to act impartially. The governing body and school staff have a responsibility to avoid any conflict between their business, personal interests and affairs and those of the school. There is a legal duty on all governors and school staff to declare an interest likely to lead to questions of bias when considering any item of business at a meeting and for the governor and member of school staff concerned to withdraw, if necessary, whilst the matter is considered.

To help put this duty into practice, Archbishop Hutton’s V.C. Primary School Governing Body has established and maintains a register of pecuniary interests indicating, for all governors, headteacher and school staff, any business interests, including relationships. This includes, if appropriate, the company by whom they are employed, directorships, significant shareholdings or other appointments of influence within a business or other organisation which may have dealings with the school.  This includes their own interests and those of any member of their immediate family (including partners) or other individuals known to them who may exert influence.  A register sheet is signed by the governor or member of staff. The register will enable governors to demonstrate that, in spending public money, they or members of staff do not benefit personally from decisions that they make.

We ensure the register is up to date, complete and includes all governors and school staff. Dated nil returns are also requested. There should be notification of changes from governors, as appropriate, and through an annual review of entries. To ensure evidence of completeness, a ‘register’ is signed off annually by the chair of governors.

We keep the register up to date with notification of changes and through annual review of entries, and make the register available for inspection by governors, staff, parents and Lancashire County Council. We publish the register on our website.