Do I Need an Officer Decision Record?

by Louis Sebastian, Legal Services Team Manager and Deputy Monitoring Officer

I am often asked by officers carrying out Council business whether they need to complete an Officer Decision Record (ODR). This article looks at what an ODR is and when it is needed.

What is an Officer Decision Record?

ODRs come from the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 (Reg. 7) which deals with the recording of decisions made by local government officers on behalf of their council. The regulations state that decisions need to be recorded when:

  1. The Decision would have otherwise been taken by the relevant government body, to committee, sub-committee etc. but has been delegated to an officer; and
  2. The decision is to
    a. Grant a permission or licence;
    b. Affects the right of an individual; or
    c. Award a contract/incur an expenditure which matierally affects that relevant local government body’s financial position

The ODR must contain the following information:

i. the date of the decision;
ii. a description of the decision with reasons for taking it;
iii. details of alternative options, if any, considered and rejected; and
iv. if the decision is taken under a specific, express delegation by a committee, the names of any member of that committee (if any) who declared of interest in relation to the decision.

The key content of a notice is that it contains the reasons for the decision.

When do I need one?

Matters covered by 1. are relatively self-explanatory. In short this includes all decisions made by officers on behalf of the Council. This will cover pretty much everything so it is the limbs of 2. that will determine whether an ODR is needed.

Granting a Permission or a Licence
Where a permission or licence is granted by the Councils (for example Planning Permission, Taxi Licence or Premises Licence), a written record must be made. However, where the legislation under which the licence in granted requires a written record setting out the date and details of the decision, no additional ODR is needed.

Affecting the Right of an Individual
This varies depending on the situation but there is some guidance from case law. The leading case is the Newey case in which a decision that led to the erection of scaffolding and plywood in front of a neighbouring property which blocked light into the property for 60 weeks was held to affect the rights of an individual. We are therefore talking about decisions that have quite significant impacts on the rights of individuals. More common examples might be the decision to erect a new CCTV camera in a particular place or the decision to adopt a Neighbourhood Plan following a referendum.

Award a Contract/Incur Expenditure
There is no case law or guidance as to what amount or what type of spending constitutes a material effect on that council’s financial position and is it is up to each local authority to form its own – reasonable – view. North West Leicestershire District Council’s approach is to look at the financial authorisation thresholds in its Contract Procedure Rules. NWLDC has decided that contracts/expenditure which require approval from Team Manager level or above (i.e. £10,000 or more) constitutes a “material effect” and so require an ODR.

The flowchart below summarises the ODR thought process at NWLDC.