Conflicts of Interest Policy

Summary

The purpose of this policy is to communicate the Charity’s procedures for dealing with conflicts of interest.

Scope

This policy applies to all trustees, staff and volunteers.

Implementation

This policy will be disseminated to all trustees, staff and volunteers of the Charity via access to the Microsoft shared drive.

Other Relevant Policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with our:

• Data Protection Policy.

Why We Have a Policy

Trustees have a legal obligation to act in the best interests of Didcot TRAIN – Inspiring Young People (“TRAIN”) and in accordance with TRAIN’s governing document and to avoid situations where there may be a potential conflict of interest. Staff and volunteers have similar obligations. Conflicts of interest may arise where an individual’s personal or family interests and/or loyalties conflict with those of TRAIN. Such conflicts may create problems that:

• inhibit free discussion;
• result in decisions or actions that are not in the interests of TRAIN; or
• risk the impression that TRAIN has acted improperly.

The aim of this policy is to support honesty and integrity through the open declaration of such conflicts of interest that may arise and, thereby, protect both the organisation and the individuals involved from any appearance of impropriety should such interests not be declared.

The Declaration of Interests

Accordingly, we are asking trustees and senior staff to declare their interests, and any gifts or hospitality offered and received in connection with their role in TRAIN. A declaration of interests form is provided for this purpose, listing the types of interest you should declare. To be effective, the declaration of interests needs to be updated at least annually and when any material changes occur.

If you are not sure what to declare, or whether/when your declaration needs to be updated, please err on the side of caution. If you would like to discuss this issue, please contact TRAIN’s secretary or, in the absence of the secretary, the chair for confidential guidance.

Register of Conflicts of Interest

The Charity will maintain a Register of all reported conflicts of interest. This register of interests shall be used to record all gifts of a value over £50 and hospitality over £150 received by the trustees and staff. Interests and gifts will be recorded on TRAIN’s register of interests, which will be maintained by TRAIN’s secretary.

The Register will contain, as a minimum, the following information:

• The date on which the conflict of interest was first reported, supplemented where appropriate by the dates on which any changes to the conflict of interest were reported, including the date on which the conflict of interest ceased to be an issue. Note: once reported, a conflict of interest will remain “on the record” for a minimum of 3 complete reporting years after the conflict of interest ceases to exist (e.g. if the individual concerned, or any connected persons, ceases to be involved with the charity).
• The name of the individual involved and, in the case of a conflict of interest involving one or more connected persons, the names of those connected persons and their relationships.
• The position/role/responsibilities within the charity of the individual involved.
• The type of conflict of interest (e.g. personal benefits, family involvement, business involvement, other).
• Details of the conflict of interest, including its potential impact on the Charity.
• Mitigation of the conflict of interest – i.e. the steps taken by the Trustees to ensure that the conflict of interest does not adversely influence the charitable activities of the Charity.

The register will be accessible by the trustees. The trustees reserve the right not to disclose details of declared conflicts of interest where such disclosure would compromise the right to privacy of the individual(s) concerned. Also, the trustees reserve the right not to disclose details of declared conflicts of interest which involve sensitive information. Requests to access the Register from staff, volunteers and any other external party must be for specific information in pursuit of a legitimate concern and not casual enquiries to see what the Register contains.

Data Protection

The information provided will be processed in accordance with data protection principles as set out in the Data Protection Act 2018. Data will be processed only to ensure that trustees, staff and volunteers act in the best interests of TRAIN. The information provided will not be used for any other purpose.

What to Do if You Face a Conflict of Interest

If you believe you have a real or perceived conflict of interest you should:

• declare the interest at the earliest opportunity
• withdraw from discussions and decisions relating to the conflict.

The secretary should take special care to ensure that minutes or other documents relating to the item presenting a conflict are appropriately redacted for the person facing the conflict. A balance needs to be made to ensure that the person still receives sufficient information about the activities of TRAIN generally without disclosing such sensitive information that could place the individual in an untenable position.

If you are a user of TRAIN’s services, or the carer of someone who uses TRAIN’s services, you should not be involved in decisions that directly affect the service that you, or the person you care for, receive(s). You should declare your interest at the earliest opportunity and withdraw from any subsequent discussion, unless expressly invited to remain in order to provide information. In this case you may not participate in, or influence, the decision or any vote on the matter. You will not be counted in the quorum for that part of the meeting and must withdraw from the meeting during any vote on the conflicted item. There are situations where you may participate in discussions from which you could indirectly benefit, for example where the benefits are universal to all users, or where your benefit is minimal. This action will be agreed by the chair and minuted accordingly.

If you fail to declare an interest that is known to the secretary and/or the chair of the board, the secretary or chair will declare that interest.

In the event of the board having to decide upon a question in which a trustee or member of staff has an interest, all decisions will be made by vote, with a simple majority required. A quorum must be attained for the discussion and decision; interested parties will not be counted when deciding whether the meeting is quorate. Interested board members may not vote on matters affecting their own interests.

All decisions under a conflict of interest will be recorded by the secretary and reported in the minutes of the meeting. The report will record:

• the nature and extent of the conflict;
• an outline of the discussion; and
• the actions taken to manage the conflict.

Where a trustee benefits from the decision, this will be reported in the annual report and accounts in accordance with the current Charities Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (SORP). All payments or benefits in kind to trustees will be reported in TRAIN’s accounts and annual report, with amounts for each trustee listed for the year in question.

Where a member of TRAIN’s trustees, staff and volunteers is connected to a party involved in the supply of a service or product to the charity, this information will be fully disclosed in TRAIN’s annual report and accounts. Independent external moderation will be used where conflicts cannot be resolved through the usual procedures.

Managing Contracts

If you have a conflict of interest, you must not be involved in managing or monitoring a contract in which you have an interest. Monitoring arrangements for such contracts will include provisions for an independent challenge of bills and invoices, and termination of the contract if the relationship is unsatisfactory.