RECTIFICATION 1
Contents
Summary 2
Ms Claudia Webbe MP: Resolution letter 3 Letter from the Commissioner to the complainant, 13 May 2021 3
5 Written evidence 4 1. Letter from the complainant to the Commissioner, 15 March 2021 4 2. Letter from the Commissioner to Ms Claudia Webbe MP, 15 April 2021 5 3. Letter from Ms Claudia Webbe MP to the Commissioner, 16 April 2021 13 4. Letter from the Commissioner to Ms Claudia Webbe MP, 27 April 2021 15 10 5. Letter from Ms Claudia Webbe MP to the Commissioner, 28 April 2021 17 6. Letter from the Commissioner to Ms Claudia Webbe MP, 5 May 2021 18 Appendix 1 18 Appendix 2 20 Appendix 3 21 15 RECTIFICATION 2
Summary
I opened an investigation after receiving an allegation that Ms Claudia Webbe MP had breached paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members. The complainant explained that when Islington Council agreed a pay increase for Councillors in 5 September 2020, this increase was backdated to the start of the 2020/21 financial year. The complainant alleged Ms Webbe’s entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests failed to include five months of backdated remuneration she received.
In her reply to the allegation Ms Webbe explained that, after receiving notification 10 of the pay increase from Islington Council, she contacted the Registrar to update her about the change to her remuneration. However, when notifying the Registrar that in September 2020 her pay from Islington Council had increased to £900.67, she did not include £120.40, which represented five payments of £24.08 for the months from the start of the financial year. Ms Webbe accepted this was, “…a written error 15 on my part. I sincerely apologise for this error and therefore apologise for the breach of paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members”.
My inquiry concluded that, in failing to provide the correct information for her entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, Ms Webbe acted in breach of paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members. This is the second occasion in 20 recent months I have found Ms Webbe to have breached paragraph 14 of the rules. However, as this breach concerned a single entry in the Register of Members’ Financial interests, and Ms Webbe has explained how the error occurred as a result of a miscalculation, I believe it falls at the less serious end of the spectrum.
I have asked the Registrar to arrange for the relevant entry in the Register to be 25 placed in bold italics, so that it would be clear they had been the subject of an inquiry. I consider this to be a suitable outcome and, after careful consideration, I concluded my inquiry using the rectification procedure available to me under Standing Order No 150. RECTIFICATION 3
Ms Claudia Webbe MP: Resolution letter
Letter from the Commissioner to the complainant, 13 May 2021 I wrote to you on 15 April 2021, to tell you I had begun an inquiry into your allegation that Ms Claudia Webbe MP had acted in breach of the rules of conduct. I 5 write today to tell you the outcome of my inquiry.
During my investigation I found that Ms Webbe breached paragraph 14 of the Rules of Conduct for Members, in relation to her entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. The full rationale for my decision can be found in my letter to Ms Webbe, dated 27 April 2021 (item 4 in the written evidence pack), which you can access 10
Msonce Webbe the pack has has acknowledged been published. and apologised for her breach of the rules and taken the appropriate steps to correct her error. As you will know, this is the second occasion in recent months I have found Ms Webbe to have breached paragraph 14 of the rules. However, as this breach concerned a single entry in the Register of 15 Members’ Financial interests, and Ms Webbe has explained how the error occurred as a result of a miscalculation, I believe it falls at the less serious end of the spectrum. After careful consideration I have decided this inquiry should be concluded through the rectification procedure, available to me through House of Commons’ Standing Order No 150.
20 I will publish my decision and the written evidence pack shortly on my webpages https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial- interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/complaints-and- investigations/allegations-the-commissioner-has-rectified/ and I will report the outcome to the Standards Committee in due course.
25 Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. I can confirm that the matter is now closed.
13 May 2021 RECTIFICATION 4
Written evidence
1. Letter from the complainant to the Commissioner, 15 March 2021 I wish to raise an issue with Claudia Webbe MP with regard to the accuracy of her entries in the Register of Interests.
5 This follows the rectification that she had to make following your recent investigations into her previous incorrect entries in the Register.
Within the detailed rectification document published on the Parliament website, Ms Webbe says that entry is ‘complete and correct’.
The rectified entries states that Ms Webbe received £876.59 per month from 26th 10 January 2020 to 26th August 2020 inclusive, when it was increased to £900.67 per month on 26th September 2020 and this continues until further notice from 26th October 2020 onwards.
However, this is not the case.
The increased allowances for Islington Councillors was passed in September 2020 15 and these were backdated from the start of the financial year of 1st April 2020.
So at the time of the payment in September 2020, Ms Webbe would have been aware of the increase as from 1st April 2020 as the backdated payment was included either within the 26th September 2020 payment or at the very latest, the 26th October 2020 payment.
20 This was after you had started your investigations and before its conclusion in February 2021.
I wrote to the Democracy section of Islington Council in February 2021 and asked them the following question:
I wonder if you can help
25 I noticed that the Councillors/Members allowance increased to £10.808 per annum for the financial year 2020/2021
Is the financial year as from 1st April 2020 or some other date?
Am I correct in thinking that the Councillors/Members will therefore get a backdated increase as from 1st April over and above their previous 30 allowance of £10,520 per annum? RECTIFICATION 5
They replied with the following:
Thank you for your email. Yes, members’ allowances were increased in line with the local government pay settlement.
Our financial year starts on 1st April, and the increase would be 5 backdated to the start of the financial year.
The original of these emails can be supplied if required.1
I am attaching relevant documents from Islington Council that shows the Allowances paid to Councillors in 2019/20 and 2020/21. These are highlighted in yellow. 2
10 You will notice that the document for the 2020/21 allowances is dated September 2020 and that the increased allowance is from 1st April as set out in paragraph 6 of the document, headed RATES PAYABLE. This ties in with the email response from Islington Council
I therefore feel that this needs further investigation as the information supplied by 15 Ms Webbe was not complete or correct as the payments stated for April to August 2020 inclusive are incorrect, as they would have been at the higher rate of £900.67 per month rather than at the lower rate of £876.59 per month that Ms Webbe had stated
15 March 2021
20 2. Letter from the Commissioner to Ms Claudia Webbe MP, 15 April 2021 [name redacted],
I would welcome your help with an allegation I have received regarding your entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I have decided to open an inquiry into your compliance with paragraph 14 of the House of 25 PleaseCommons’ Code be aware of this Conduct is a fornew Members. allegation, received after the publication of my previous inquiry.3 [Name redacted] has alleged that your increased remuneration from Islington Council was backdated to April 2020, and that this is not reflected in your current register entry. I enclose a copy of [name redacted] correspondence for your information.
30
1 Complainant subsequently forwarded the original emails on 19 March 2021. 2 See appendix 1 below 3https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/pcfs/rectifications/ms-claudia-webbe-mp- rectification.pdf RECTIFICATION 6
The scope of my inquiry My inquiry will consider whether you have acted in breach of paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct with respect of your registration of the increased remuneration from Islington Council. Specifically, I will consider whether you have breached the 5 requirement for Members to register, within 28 days, any changes to their register entry.
My inquiry will also consider whether the information you shared with me during my earlier inquiry, between October 2020 and February 2021,4 was correct. If the scope of my inquiry changes, I will update you in writing.
10 The relevant rules of the House As you will be aware, the overarching rules are found in the House of Commons’ Code of Conduct for Members.5 Paragraph 14 of the Code states:
“Members shall fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. They shall 15 always be open and frank in drawing attention to any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its Committees, and in any communications with Ministers, Members, public officials or public office holders.”
Further to the Code, the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members states the following in Chapter 1: Registration of Members’ Financial 20 Interests
Requirements of the House
2. The House requires new Members, within one month of their election, to register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. After that, Members are required to 25 register within 28 days any change in those registrable interests. Such a change includes both the acquisition of a new interest and the ceasing of any registered interest, for example because an employment has ceased or because a holding has reduced in value or been sold.
…
30 [My emphasis]
4 https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/pcfs/rectifications/ms-claudia-webbe-mp- rectification.pdf 5 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmcode/1882/188201.htm RECTIFICATION 7
Further details During the course of my previous inquiry, in your letter to me dated 23 December 2020, you said,
“On the 17th December 2020, I was notified by Islington Council that the monthly gross 5 amount from 26th September 2020 is £900.67, I have updated and notified the registrar (23 December 2020)”.6
Further to this, on 14 January 2021, you met with the Registrar to go through your register entry and ensure it was up to date. The Registrar followed-up this meeting by sending you an email with a draft version of your register entry, which you were 10 asked to check for accuracy. After liaising with the Registrar to clarify a number of final points, you emailed her on 9 February 2021, to say your register entry was “complete and correct”. A copy of this email exchange is enclosed for reference. 7
Your current register entry states that between 26 April and 26 August 2020, you received regular monthly payments from Islington Council of £876.59, and that on 15 26 September 2020, this payment increased to £900.67. From October 2020 your entry states,
Webbe, Claudia (Leicester East)
1. Employment and earnings
Payments from Islington Council, Town Hall, Upper St, London N1 2UD for duties 20 as a Councillor. Hours: an average of 15 hrs a month unless otherwise stated.
…
From 26 October 2020 until further notice I receive £900.67 a month for an average commitment of 15 hrs. (Registered 01 October 2020; updated 23 December 2020)
25 I have added a full copy of your current register entry below for ease of reference.8
Next steps I would welcome your comments on the allegation made by [name redacted]. In particular that in failing to update the Register of Members’ Financial Interests to
6See item number 8 in the published written evidence pack, https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/pcfs/rectifications/ms-claudia-webbe-mp- rectification.pdf 7See enclosures after this letter. 8 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/210315/webbe_claudia.htm RECTIFICATION 8
reflect the backdated remunerations to April 2020, your actions amount to a breach of paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members.
I would also be grateful for your answers to the following specific questions:
1. When and how were you made aware that the increase in remuneration from 5 Islington Council, which was agreed in September 2020, would be backdated to April 2020?
2. If you were aware during the course of my inquiry, that the increase in remuneration would be backdated to April 2020, please could you explain why you did not notify myself or the Registrar of this information?
10 3. Are you satisfied that your current entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests is complete and accurate in all other respects and in line with Chapter 1 of the Guide to the rules?
a. If it is not, please contact the Registrar now to bring it up to date.
b. If it is, please describe the steps you have taken to satisfy yourself of 15 this.
It would be helpful to receive any evidence to support your responses when you reply to this letter. Any other points you wish to make to help me with this inquiry would also be welcome.
Important information 20 n by the House on 19 July 2018, I will not publish the fact that I am conducting an inquiry into an My inquiries are conducted in private. Following the decision take the inquiry to third parties. They will answer direct factual questions about the processesalleged breach I follow, of the and Code the of Conduct. standards My system office willmore not generally, comment buton anywill aspect neither of 25
Thisconfirm letter nor and deny any that subsequent I have begun correspondence an inquiry. between us in connection with this inquiry is protected by parliamentary [the complainant]. privilege. It should be kept confidential until the outcome of my inquiry is published. The same requirement extends to 30 Procedure I enclose a copy of the Commissioner’s Information Note, which sets out the procedure for inquiries. Please note that this has not yet been updated to reflect the changes flowing from the decision of 19 July 2018. While I do not, at this stage, know whether it will be necessary to interview you about this matter, it would be open to 35 you to be accompanied at any suc with you at any stage if you would find that helpful. h interview. I am, of course, very happy to meet RECTIFICATION 9
I should say now, as a matter of courtesy, that I may seek the advice of the House share that correspondence with you. authorities and others as part of this inquiry. If I do so, I will Information provided to me during the course of my inquiry will be retained, and 5 disposed of, in accordance with the House of Commons’ Authorised Records Disposal Policy.
Potential outcomes Inquiries are generally concluded in one of three ways. If the evidence does not substantiate the allegation, it will not be upheld. If the evidence demonstrates a 10 breach of the rules, I may, in circumstances defined by Standing Order No. 150, uphold the allegation and conclude the inquiry using the rectification procedure, without making a referral to the Committee on Standards. Where an allegation is not upheld or is rectified, the investigation material, including our correspondence, will be published on the Parliament website.
15 If I uphold the allegation, and it is either unsuitable for the rectification procedure, or you do not accept my decision, I must make a referral to the Committee on Standards. My memorandum to the Committee will be published as an appendix to the Committee’s own Report.
Regardless of the outcome of my inquiry, I must emphasise that all the relevant 20 evidence, including our correspondence, will be published when this inquiry is concluded. I routinely redact the personal data of third parties unless it is relevant to my decision(s). Please tell me if you provide sensitive material that you think I should redact. I will consider carefully any such request.
Action 25 I would be grateful to have your response to this letter as soon as possible and no later than 29 April 2021. Please let me know before that date if you require more time to respond.
If you would prefer me to communicate with you by email, or via a different postal address, please give the details when you reply to this letter. It would also be helpful 30 if you were willing to provide a telephone number through which I might contact you.
Due to the current health crisis, my team are working from home only, so I would be grateful if you could send your response electronically to: [email protected]
35 Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.
15 April 2021 RECTIFICATION 10
Enclosure: Email exchange between the Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests and Ms Claudia Webbe MP, 9 February 2021.
• From: Commons Registrar Sent: 09 February 2021 12:38 5 To: WEBBE, Claudia Cc: Standards Commissioner Subject: Your Register entry
Dear Ms Webbe
Following your correspondence with the Standards Commissioner, I have set out 10 your draft Register entry below, in the form in which it will appear in the Register of 15 February. I shall assume that it is complete and correct unless I hear otherwise from you.
The rectified entries will remain in bold italic for twelve months.
Please let me know if you have questions. And please register any future changes 15 in your interests within 28 days.
Yours sincerely
Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests
Webbe, Claudia (Leicester East)
1. Employment and earnings 20 Payments from Islington Council, Town Hall, Upper St, London N1 2UD for duties as a Councillor. Hours: an average of 15 hrs a month unless otherwise stated. 26 January 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification 25 procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 26 February 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of 30 Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 26 March 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 35 26 April 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure RECTIFICATION 11
was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 26 May 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure 5 was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 26 June 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of 10 the Guide to the Rules applies. 26 July 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 15 26 August 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 26 September 2020, received £900.67. (Registered 01 October 20 2020; updated 23 December 2020) This is a late register update to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. From 26 October 2020 until further notice I receive £900.67 a 25 month for an average commitment of 15 hrs. (Registered 01 October 2020; updated 23 December 2020) This is a late register update to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 30 Payments from Tradewins UK Ltd (marketing) (now known as Inspire Field Marketing Ltd) 3 Elm Court, Meriden Business Park, Copse Drive, Coventry CV5 9RG, for field marketing: 31 January 2020, received final payment of £1,068.73. Hours: none since my election to Parliament. (Registered 10 November 35 2020) This is a late register update to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 8. Miscellaneous Until 24 November 2020, unpaid director of Islington Ltd (iCO) 40 (management and procurement services). (Registered 11 January 2020; updated 27 January 2021) This is a late register update to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. Until 24 September 2020, unpaid director of St Luke's Trustee Ltd 45 (community charity). (Registered 11 January 2020; updated 25 January 2021) This is a late register update to which the rectification RECTIFICATION 12
procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. Until 24 September 2020, unpaid director of City YMCA Ltd. (Registered 11 January 2020; updated 25 January 2021) This is a late 5 register update to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. Trustee of Marx Memorial Library and Workers' School. (Registered 11 January 2020) 10 Until 24 September 2020, I held the following appointments in my capacity as Islington Councillor:.
Trustee of City YMCA Member of Crossrail High Level Forum 15 Member of Groundwork, London's Local Authority Strategic Input Board Member of the General Assembly of the Local Government Association Member of the London Road Safety Council Member of North London Waste Authority 20 Trustee of St Sepulchre United Charities
(Registered 11 January 2020; updated 25 January 2021) These are late register updates to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the 25 Rules applies.
• From: WEBBE, Claudia Sent: 09 February 2021 14:04 To: Commons Registrar 30 Cc: Standards Commissioner Subject: RE: Your Register entry
Hi,
Thank you for this notification and update. This is complete and correct.
Many thanks
35 Claudia Webbe MP
Member of Parliament for Leicester East RECTIFICATION 13
3. Letter from Ms Claudia Webbe MP to the Commissioner, 16 April 2021 Thank you for your letter of 15th April 2021 bringing to my attention an inquiry into a further allegation you have received from the complainant you told me about on the 26th October 2020, about my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial 5 Interests and compliance with the House of Commons’ Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament and in particular that my actions amount to a breach of paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament.
I apologise for the error that I made when I updated the Registrar on the 23rd December 2020 about the increased remunerations that the amount for 26th 10 September 2020 was entered incorrectly from the Excel spreadsheet I received. My written entry from the error in my email recorded an increase to £900.67 when in fact, the figure for the Gross pay for September 2020 was £1021.07, which included an element of £24.08 x 5, which I now understand is for each of the months of April, May, June, July and August 2020.9
15 I genuinely had meant for this to have said £1021.07 but the figure in my email to the registrar was written wrong.
Thus, a Gross pay amount of £120.40 was missing from the increase renumeration notification that I provided for the 2020/21 financial year as instead of the increase amount to £900.67 for September 2020, it should have said £1021.07. This was a 20 written error on my part. I sincerely apologise for this error and therefore apologise for the breach of paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament.
The increase renumeration to £900.67 for the months of October 2020 onwards are correct.
In response to your specific questions:
25 1. When and how were you made aware that the increase in remuneration from Islington Council, which was agreed in September 2020, would be backdated to April 2020?
Islington Council’s AGM, which because of the pandemic was held later in the year than usual on 24th September 2010 where it agreed its annual constitution change. 30 Part 7 of the constitution in relation to Member’s Allowance is attached. This shows at section 1.4(a) a small increase in the basic allowance to £10,808 for the 2020-21 year.10 It also stated in section 6.1 that “the rates for each allowance change from time to time, generally with effect from 1 April each year.” The document itself shows many revisions and tracked changes, as proceedings were held online and because
9 In her original letter Ms Webbe made three numerical typographical errors, regarding the sum she received from Islington Council. When my office queried the amount, Ms Webbe corrected her error. 10 See appendix 3 RECTIFICATION 14
of the pandemic, documents were available to view online as opposed to a hard copy version.
2. If you were aware during the course of my inquiry, that the increase in remuneration would be backdated to April 2020, please could you 5 explain why you did not notify myself or the Registrar of this information?
I first notified the registrar on the 1st October of my renumeration from January 2020 onwards based on monthly figures that I had available to me at this time. I updated this on the 23rd December 2020, which was to be based on the actual Gross 10 Pay for each month. I did so following confirmation from Islington’s finance team via an excel statement detailing the amount for each month. In relaying the figures from the spreadsheet provided to me, I now realise that I made a genuine error in the figure I submitted for 26th September 2020.
I conveyed the following to the registrar on the 23rd December 2020
15 “I have a further amendment to make as I have now received notification from Islington Council on the 17th December 2020 that there has been a slight increase in the monthly gross amount. Thus, as of 26th September the monthly amount received is now £900.67 and from 26 October 2020 until further notice I receive £900.67 a month for an average commitment of 15 hrs. I would be grateful if you 20 could update my entry.”
This was based on the tabbed monthly excel spreadsheet sent to me from the Council’s payroll team as to the Gross Pay for each month. This was the notification I was referring to that I received on the 17th December 2020. The notification arose following an email I sent to Islington’s payroll team in November requesting the 25 Gross pay monthly details for the year. I said in my email “The reason I need this breakdown was so that I can report accurately to parliament”. From the information received I made an error in what I wrote in the email to the registrar as I was supposed to have conveyed the following:
“I have a further amendment to make as I have now received notification from 30 Islington Council on the 17th December 2020 that there has been a slight increase in the monthly gross amount. Thus, as of 26th September the monthly amount received is now £1021.07 and from 26 October 2020 until further notice I receive £900.67 a month for an average commitment of 15 hrs. I would be grateful if you could update my entry”.
35 The error I made for the 26th September was a mistake on my part. I am very sorry I did not spot this error until now. I had intended to distinguish the figure for September from the figure for October 2020 onwards. Instead of the figure of £1021.07, I made an error in writing this as £900.67. My understanding is that the spreadsheet presented to me for September 2020 included an amount of £24.08 x 5 40 for each of the months April, May, June, July and August – the information was RECTIFICATION 15
presented as a finance excel sheet. There was no written explanation. I had implicitly thought that my entry for September 2020 included the increase in renumeration from April 2020, but I did not spot the error that instead of the £1021.07 that I intended to write, my email submitted to the registrar said £900.67, this was an 5 error. I am very sad about this.
That genuine human error that I made on the 23rd December 2020 continued throughout my communication with the Registrar and yourself as I did not spot the error.
I assumed that my notification of the 23rd December 2020 to the registrar was the 10 notification of the increased income and that I was required to notify the registrar of actual gross pay income received, which I thought I did but now realise that the figure for September 2020 was a written error and thus incorrect.
3. Are you satisfied that your current entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests is complete and accurate in all other respects and in 15 line with Chapter 1 of the Guide to the rules? a. If it is not, please contact the Registrar now to bring it up to date. b. If it is, please describe the steps you have taken to satisfy yourself of this. It would be helpful to receive any evidence to support your responses when you reply to this letter. Any other points you wish to make to help me with this inquiry 20 would also be welcome.
In order to correct the entry in the Register of Members Financial Interest I have written to the registrar to notify them of my written error in my email of the 23rd December 2020 for the month of September 2020. I believe that all other entries are accurate in all other respects and in line with Chapter 1 of the Guide to the rules. I 25 fully apologise for the error and failure on my part.
16 April 2021
4. Letter from the Commissioner to Ms Claudia Webbe MP, 27 April 2021 Thank you for your letter of 16 April 2021, I am grateful for your prompt and full response. Having considered the evidence carefully, I now have sufficient 30 information to make a decision on the allegation that you breached paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members.
My decision Having considered our correspondence, and the published rules on the registration of financial interests, I have decided that in failing to provide the correct information 35 when updating your entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, you breached paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members.
RECTIFICATION 16
Rationale As you will know, paragraph 14 of the Code states, “Members shall fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.”
5 It is clear from your letter to me that an error occurred in December 2020, when you wrote to the Registrar to update her regarding the change in remuneration you received from Islington Council. In that correspondence you drew her attention to the fact the Council had voted in September 2020, to increase the annual remuneration paid to Councillors; and as a result, the monthly amount you received 10 had increased in September 2020, from £876.59 to £900.67.
However, in that same correspondence you failed to account for the fact the pay award would be backdated to the beginning of the 2020/21 financial year.
As a result, an additional amount of £120.40 (the backdated amount of £24.08, for the five months between April and September 2020), was not included in your 15 register entry for 26 September 2020, which should have shown a total of £1,021.07. In your letter to me of 16 April 2021, you explained, “I now realise that I made a genuine error in the figure I submitted [to the Registrar] for 26th September 2020.”
I do not believe your actions are in any way a deliberate attempt to mislead, and it appears you were unaware your register entry was incorrect up until the point you 20 received my letter on 15 April 2021. Given the amount of time my office and the Registrar spent with you earlier this year, to ensure your registration was correct, I do think this error occurred as a result of inattention on your part. Therefore, I have concluded that, in failing to provide accurate details regarding your remuneration from Islington Council within 28 days as required by the House, you breached 25 paragraph 14 of the rules of conduct.
Next Steps I have considered carefully how I should conclude this inquiry. As you will be aware, this is the second occasion you have been found to have breached paragraph 14 of the rules and I am concerned that this matter is closely connected to my earlier 30 inquiry. I am disappointed you did not identify, when previously asked during that inquiry, that your register entry was incorrect. However, I am also aware with the local elections now going ahead, your term as a Member on Islington Council has now officially come to an end. Thank you for contacting the Registrar and notifying her of this change in your financial interests.11
35 On balance I have decided a referral to the Committee on Standards is not warranted at this time, and it would be appropriate to conclude this matter by way of the rectification procedure available to me under Standing Order No 150. In such circumstances the Committee would generally expect the Member to have
11 Email sent to the Registrar 21 April 2021 RECTIFICATION 17
acknowledged and apologised for their breach of the rules, and to have taken any steps necessary to rectify their breach.
In your letter of 16 April 2021, you said, “I sincerely apologise for this error and therefore apologise for the breach of paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members 5 of Parliament.” You also said, “I believe that all other entries are accurate in all other respects”. Thank you for this. Please be aware, if I receive further allegations related to your register entry, I will refer the matter directly to the Committee on Standards.
As you will know, in cases concerning the registration of interests, I would usually ask the Registrar to arrange for the relevant entry to be italicised in the Register of 10 Members’ Financial Interests, to indicate to the reader that entry has been the subject of a rectification. If you are content for me to conclude the inquiry as set out above, please confirm this by way of your formal response to this letter no later than 7 May 2021.
If you agree to my proposal, I will share my written evidence pack with you, so that 15 you can check its factual accuracy before publication. I will also report the outcome to the Committee on Standards in due course as a matter of routine. I will ask the Registrar to arrange to annotate the relevant information in the Register.
If you do not accept my decision, you should tell me the reasons for that by reply. After which, I will prepare a Memorandum to the Committee on Standards, so that 20 they may consider the matter. I would give you the opportunity to see and comment on a draft of the Memorandum, but the content of it would, in the final analysis, be for me alone.
In the meantime, our correspondence remains protected by parliamentary privilege and I must ask that you continue to maintain the strict confidentiality of the inquiry.
25 27 April 2021
5. Letter from Ms Claudia Webbe MP to the Commissioner, 28 April 2021 Thank you for your letter of the 27th April 2021 relating to the conclusion of your inquiry into an allegation you received, about my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and compliance with the House of Commons’ Code of Conduct for 30 Members of Parliament.
I confirm I am content for you to conclude the inquiry as set out in your letter of the 27th April 2021.
Once again, I apologise for the numerical error provided when updating the registrar and thus I apologise for my breach of rule 14 of the rules of conduct.
35 28 April 2021 RECTIFICATION 18
6. Letter from the Commissioner to Ms Claudia Webbe MP, 5 May 2021 Thank you for your letter of 28 April 2021, agreeing to my proposal to conclude my inquiry by way of the rectification procedure.
I enclose a copy of the written evidence pack, which includes the correspondence 5 exchanged during the investigation. In this pack you will find a draft copy of the letter I plan to send to the complainant; it is the first item in the pack, after the summary. While the content of the letter and the summary are both matters for me alone, I would welcome any comments on the factual accuracy of these items, as well as the written evidence pack. The complainant's name will be redacted from the 10 published pack; please let me know if there are any further redactions you think should be made, and I will consider your request.
I would be pleased to receive any comments you wish to make on these items as soon as possible, and no later than 14 May 2021.
Once I have any comments you wish to make, I will finalise the pack, which will then 15 be published on my webpages. I will notify you
of the publication of the pack. I will Inalso the notify meantime, the Committee our correspondence on Standards continues of the outcome to be ofprotected my inquiry by inparliamentary due course. privilege. Until I send you and the complainant letters concluding the inquiry, this matter should remain confidential.
20 5 May 2021
Appendix 1
• Extract from Islington Council Members Allowance Scheme 2019/20
MEMBERS’ ALLOWANCES SCHEME 2019/20 25 In accordance with paragraph 15 of the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003, the total sum paid to Councillors in the 2019/20 financial year under the Members’ Allowances Scheme was as follows: 30 Basic Allowance
All Councillors received an allowance of £10,519.04 … 35
RECTIFICATION 19
• Extract from Islington Council – Constitution Part 7, September 2020
PART 7
MEMBERS’ ALLOWANCES SCHEME
1. MEMBERS’ ALLOWANCES SCHEME – 2020-21 5 1.1 The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 require authorities to make a scheme for the payment of allowances to Councillors.
10 Before making, amending or reworking its allowances scheme, the Council is required by virtue of section 19 of the 2003 Regulations to have regard to the recommendations of an Independent Remuneration Panel. The Council is not, however, bound to adopt all or any of the Panel’s recommendations provided it has given them due consideration 15 and is satisfied that it has justifiable reasons for not doing so.
Government Regulations do not limit the amount that can be paid under allowances schemes. This Council’s total budget including on-costs for Members’ Allowances for 2020-21 is £995,000. 20 Any Member may by notice in writing to the Chief Executive, elect to forego any part of entitlement to an allowance under the scheme.
1.2 It was agreed by Council on 16 September 2003 that the basic and 25 special responsibility allowances are upgraded in line with the annual Local Government Pay settlement.
1.3 If there are substantial changes to the Scheme, other than in relation to any change as a result of the Local Government Pay settlement, it will 30 be submitted to budget Council for approval.
1.4 The scheme as approved provides for the following:
(a) Basic Allowance 35 A Basic Allowance payable equally to each Member for the financial year 20202021 is £10,808. (This is paid on a monthly basis rather than as a lump sum). …
6. RATES PAYABLE 40 6.1 The rates for each allowance change from time to time, generally with effect from 1 April each year. RECTIFICATION 20
Appendix 2
• Copy of Ms Claudia Webbe MP’s Register of Members’ Financial Interests
The Register of Members' Financial Interests As at 12 April 2021
5 Webbe, Claudia (Leicester East) Webbe, Claudia (Leicester East) 1. Employment and earnings Payments from Islington Council, Town Hall, Upper St, London N1 2UD for duties as 10 a Councillor. Hours: an average of 15 hrs a month unless otherwise stated. 26 January 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
15 26 February 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
26 March 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register 20 entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
26 April 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 25 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
26 May 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 30 26 June 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
35 26 July 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
26 August 2020, received £876.59. (Registered 01 October 2020) This is a late register 40 entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
26 September 2020, received £900.67. (Registered 01 October 2020; updated 23 December 2020) This is a late register update to which the rectification procedure was 45 applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
From 26 October 2020 until further notice I receive £900.67 a month for an average commitment of 15 hrs. (Registered 01 October 2020; updated 23 December 2020) This is a late register update to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 50 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
Payments from Tradewins UK Ltd (marketing) (now known as Inspire Field Marketing Ltd) 3 Elm Court, Meriden Business Park, Copse Drive, Coventry CV5 9RG, for field marketing: RECTIFICATION 21
31 January 2020, received final payment of £1,068.73. Hours: none since my election to Parliament. (Registered 10 November 2020) This is a late register update to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 5 8. Miscellaneous
Until 24 November 2020, unpaid director of Islington Ltd (iCO) (management and procurement services). (Registered 11 January 2020; updated 27 January 2021) This is a 10 late register update to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
Until 24 September 2020, unpaid director of St Luke's Trustee Ltd (community charity). (Registered 11 January 2020; updated 25 January 2021) This is a late register update to 15 which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
Until 24 September 2020, unpaid director of City YMCA Ltd. (Registered 11 January 2020; updated 25 January 2021) This is a late register update to which the rectification 20 procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies.
Trustee of Marx Memorial Library and Workers' School. (Registered 11 January 2020) 25 Until 24 September 2020, I held the following appointments in my capacity as Islington Councillor:.
Trustee of City YMCA 30 Member of Crossrail High Level Forum Member of Groundwork, London's Local Authority Strategic Input Board Member of the General Assembly of the Local Government Association Member of the London Road Safety Council Member of North London Waste Authority 35 Trustee of St Sepulchre United Charities
(Registered 11 January 2020; updated 25 January 2021) These are late register updates to which the rectification procedure was applied on 4 February 2021. Paragraph 15 of Chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules applies. 40
Appendix 3
• Extract from Islington Council – Draft Constitution Part 7, September 2020