Councillors will no longer have to declare gifts up to the value of fifty pounds, Bolton Council has ruled.

The recommendation from the Standards Committee to increase the threshold from £25 for declaring receipt of gifts or hospitality to £50 was approved by councillors at a meeting of the full council.

The motion was put forward by Cllr Karen Hon, who cited its main reason to keep “in line with the cost-of-living crisis”.

“It is a recommendation to declare any gifts that were offered to you up to the price of £50 – you don’t have to accept these; I would recommend you don’t accept gifts off members of the public.

“I would think most of us don’t accept gifts, as it’s been mentioned there are rarely any declarations of acceptance.”

The notion was met by opposition from Cllr David Grant who noted the parallels between the “current mood at Westminster”.

He said: “The issue comes down to transparency and whilst it’s relatively small fries and the increase is moderate, I don’t think it will open the flood gates.

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“But I do think bearing in mind the current mood at Westminster, this sends the wrong message out.

“Councillors increasing the value to which they need to declare any gifts I think is wholly wrong and I will be voting against this.”

Cllr John Walsh noted that the subject was “a delicate one” and “there’s never the right time to address these things”.

He added: “The events at Westminster casts a shadow over the proposal.

“There is a danger of throwing the baby out the bath water – there is a danger of this model becoming bureaucratic and burdensome, which will have a negative impact on the work of this council.

“I don’t see what the great fuss is about, those on the fringes may get invited to an odd meal but I don’t want us to get into a situation where we’re nitpicking whether its £25, £30 or £50.

“It’s the principle we’re talking about tonight, it’s the fact that there should be a figure to be declared, I think it’s not unreasonable to retain the existing figure and take the bureaucracy away.

“We are still bound by the 1995 Committee on Standards in Public Life report – these standards are there for us to adhere to.

“Whether it’s £25 or £50 is of minor importance.”

The motion was voted on by the council in favour of the motion.

Speaking to The Bolton News, Cllr Hon said: “The original upping of the limit was due to an increased cost of living crisis.

“The main thing to take into account is that it’s advisory for councillors to declare these gifts, but they don’t have to accept them.

“In Bolton it’s not an occasion that happens too often anyway, it’s not really an issue as we don’t get gifts.

“Things have happened with higher ranking politicians, but it’s not something that affects us deeply at a local level.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at leah.collins@newsquest.co.uk.