CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY 
Title: MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT 
Prepared by: JANE HOPE, INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE 
Purpose 
This paper seeks Members’ agreement to formally adopting the Model Code of Conduct as 
the CNPA’s code of conduct. 
Recommendations 
• That the Model Code of Conduct is accepted unchanged as the CNPA’s Code of 
Conduct, and that a submission to Scottish Ministers is made to this effect by the 
deadline of 1 December 2003; 
• That Members consider whether there are specific areas on which they would like 
further guidance and/or training; 
• That the CNPA has a continuing programme of training and discussion about the 
issues surrounding Membership of a public body, in order to ensure that the CNPA is 
an organisation that commands trust and respect of the public. 
Executive Summary 
The Ethical Standards in Public Life (Scotland) Act 2000 requires Scottish Ministers to issue 
a Code of Conduct for Councillors and a Model Code of Conduct for Members of devolved 
public bodies. The Model Code of Conduct for Members was approved by Parliament in 
December 2001 – all members of the CNPA received this on 3 April at the first informal 
gathering of the Board. The Board is required to agree its own Code of Conduct by 1 
December this year, and this is expected to be based closely on the Model Code. This paper 
recommends accepting the Model code unchanged. The next step is to submit the CNPA’s 
Code of Conduct to Scottish Ministers for approval; they will then set a date for its coming 
into force. 
The Act also requires a register of Members’ interests to be held, and for there to be a 
“proper officer” who has responsibility for the register. These arrangements are already 
largely in place in the CNPA. 

MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT 
Background 
1. The Ethical Standards in Public Life (Scotland) Act 2000 introduced a new ethical 
framework to Scotland, key elements of which are statutory codes of conduct and the 
Standards Commission for Scotland. The Act requires Scottish Ministers to issue a 
model Code of Conduct for members of devolved public bodies. Each public body 
covered by the legislation (and this includes the CNPA) must agree a draft Code of 
Conduct, based on this Model Code. The draft Code must be approved by Scottish 
Minister (advised by the Standards Commission). It then becomes the Code of 
Conduct for the CNPA. The deadline for submission of a draft Code by the CNPA is 
1 December this year. 
2. The Standards Commission for Scotland is responsible for enforcement of the Code. 
It also issues guidance to assist Members in observing the Code. They issued general 
guidance which has only just been made available to us – this is attached at Annex 1. 
CNPA members will have seen the specific guidance (in the information update 
issued on 12 September) which we sought from the Commission on potential conflicts 
of interest for members with farming interests. 
3. In respect of guidance, you are invited to consider whether there are particular areas 
on which you would welcome further guidance/discussion, training. Please note that 
the guidance form the Scottish Executive, “On Board” was given to all members 
when they joined the CNPA, and provides useful guidance on the role of board 
members, and is a useful complement to the Standards Commission advice on ethical 
standards and conduct. 
4. The Ethical Standards Act also requires that each public body prepare and keep 
available for public inspection a register of Members’ interests. In connection with 
this, there is required to be a proper officer with responsibility for the register. The 
Ethical Standards legislation does not require this to be in place until Ministers have 
approved the CNPA’s Code of Conduct. However, these arrangements are already 
largely in place for the CNPA (partly as a result of the requirements of the National 
Parks’ governing legislation). You are reminded to submit a list of your registerable 
interests (in accordance with section 4 of the Model Code) if you have not done so 
already. 
The Model Code of Conduct for Members 
5. The model Code of Conduct for Board Members is attached at Annex 2. The 
principles which underpin the Code are set out in section 2, and are summarised as: 
• Public service 
• Selflessness 
• Integrity 
• Objectivity 
• Accountability and Stewardship 
• Openness 
• Honesty 

• Leadership 
• Respect 
You should apply these principles to all your actions as a CNPA Board Member. 
6. The guidance “On Board” which was given to all Board Members when they joined 
the CNPA Board, and the bespoke NDPB course attended by Members on 27 June, 
both help to amplify the expectations on members of public bodies in terms of how 
they conduct themselves. 
7. I do not consider that the Model Code contains any provisions inappropriate to the 
CNPA. Nor do I feel there are provisions which need to be added. I therefore 
recommend (subject to one caveat set out below) that the Model Code is adopted 
unchanged. This is in keeping with the Scottish Executive’s expectation that the 
Codes of public bodies will not deviate markedly from the Model Code. 
8. The National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 contains a provision in Schedule 1 paragraph 
18 about declaration of Members’ interests. This was based on previous local 
government legislation. At first reading it appears to be more demanding that the 
provisions in section 5 of the Model Code. The Act says that if a Member is “in any 
way directly or indirectly interested in a matter [under consideration by the CNPA] 
they must disclose the nature of the interest, and not take part in any further 
deliberation by the CNPA”. 
9. The Model Code (section 5.1-5.4) helpfully describes the context in which the rules 
on declaration of interest are to be seen, and goes on to say that if you can declare an 
interest in respect of a matter being discussed by the Board, but if you consider the 
interest to be relatively insignificant, you may continue to attend the meeting and take 
part in discussion. 
10. On the basis that the Code post-dates the National Parks (Scotland) Act, and will 
(when approved by Scottish Ministers and the Standards Commission) be the most 
recent statutory guidance on the interpretation of what is meant by “interests” and 
their declaration, it is proposed that the CNPA Board adopts the Model Code and 
abides by its provisions. The Scottish Executive are aware of the potential anomaly, 
and are considering whether further guidance is necessary. 
Code of Conduct for Councillors 
11. There is a Code of Conduct for Councillors, also issued under the Ethical Standards 
(Scotland) Act, which applies to the activities of Councillors in their capacity as 
Councillors. The Councillors’ Code is very similar in principle to that for Board 
Members. However, because of the possibility of conflicts of interest for Councillors 
who are also Members of Boards of other public bodies, a dispensations note was 
issued on 1 April 2003, which gave a general dispensation for Councillors who are 
nominated or appointed as members of other bodies to allow them to participate in 
Council business dealing with matters relating to those other bodies. In addition to 
the general dispensations, individual councillors may apply for specific dispensations 

to allow them to take part in discussion on a matter where, in terms of the Councillors 
Code, they might otherwise be prohibited from taking part. 
12. These are matters for Councillor CNPA members to take up with their Council legal 
adviser. They are mentioned here for completeness. 
Conclusion and Overview 
13. You should note that responsibility for upholding the requirements of the Ethical 
Standards (Scotland) Act and the Code rests with individuals, and Members should be 
familiar with the provisions of both. If you have any queries please ask the Convener 
or the (Interim) Chief Executive – if necessary we can seek further advice from the 
Standards Commission. 
14. It is very difficult to be prescriptive about the issues surrounding the conduct of 
people appointed/elected to posts in public life. The Code of Conduct, once adopted, 
will be the “bible” for the CNPA, but ultimately every case has to be treated on its 
merits and judgements made on the basis of common sense, the principles which 
underpin the Code of Conduct (section 2), and reasonable public perception. 
15. It will be important for the CNPA to maintain the confidence and trust of the public – 
the organisation therefore should commit to a continual programme of discussion and 
training on issues surrounding conduct of Board Members and conduct of Board 
business. 
Jane Hope 
1 October 2003 
janehope@cairngorms.prestel.co.uk