Councillors debated whether they, and employees of Swindon Borough Council should be compelled to list offers of gifts they turn down.

Members of the council’s standards committee which includes independent member of the public as well as elected councillors were reviewing the authority’s ethical framework.

Its current policy on gifts is that none worth more than £50 can be accepted, and any accepted must be declared. They are listed on councillors’ web pages under their register of interests and there is a separate list of gifts accepted by officers.

Independent member Keith Strickland asked if refused gifts were also reported and asked if they should be: “It’s as important to show you’ve turned down a gift if you think the offer was inappropriate.”

Councillor Steve Weizinger wasn’t in favour: “I can’t see the benefit of this. I don’t see a logical reason for having to declare a gift not accepted.”

The members were told that no other nearby councils were known to require such declarations and dropped the suggestion.