Issue - meetings

To receive a Confidential Appendix from the Director of Law and Governance

on the complaints currently being considered.

AGREED in accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for consideration of Item 4 listed on Part 2 of the agenda, on the grounds that confidential information would be disclosed to them in breach of the obligation of confidence; and nothing in this Part shall be taken to authorise or require the disclosure of confidential information in breach of the obligation of confidence.

- For the purposes of subsection (2) above, “confidential information” means—

(a)information furnished to the council by a Government department upon terms (however expressed) which forbid the disclosure of the information to the public; and

(b)information the disclosure of which to the public is prohibited by or under any enactment or by the order of a court;

and, in either case, the reference to the obligation of confidence is to be construed accordingly.

(c)A principal council may by resolution exclude the public from a meeting during an item of business whenever it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during that item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as defined in section 100I below.

(d)A resolution under subsection (4) above shall—

(a)identify the proceedings, or the part of the proceedings, to which it applies, and

(e)state the description, in terms of Schedule 12A to this Act, of the exempt information giving rise to the exclusion of the public,

and where such a resolution is passed this section does not require the meeting to be open to the public during proceedings to which the resolution applies.

The committee noted the updated list of complaints against councillors prepared by the Director of Law and Governance and noted progress made on investigating those complaints.

Members of the committee felt that all members should be requested to attend the training offered on the Councillor code of conduct as part of the member induction programme in May. Members asked if training on social media awareness and appropriate use could be included in the member induction programme.

AGREED: To recommend that all members be requested to attend training on the Councillor Code of Conduct after the election in May.

To receive a Confidential Appendix from the Director of Law and Governance

on the complaints currently being considered.

AGREED in accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for consideration of Items 1 and 2 listed on Part 2 of the agenda on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 (information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).

The Committee noted the update from the Director of Law and Governance on the current complaints.