Public participation
The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public. This meeting is open to the public, who may ask a question or make a statement. Written notice of questions or statements should be given to Yamina Rhouati of Democratic Services by 12.00 noon on 18 July 2013. Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.
Minutes:
The Leader confirmed that as usual she would be happy to allow participation on any of the items listed on the agenda by members of the public present.
Cllr Hubbard expressed concern that some of his members had not as requested been given copies of the confidential part II report for this meeting and that one of his members had not as requested received a copy of the agenda. He appreciated that he had been given a copy of the Part II report on 19 June (along with other group leaders) but was only given a further 3 copies for his members shortly before the meeting. Whilst acknowledging he was an opposition group member, he considered that sharing information with the opposition was essential to enable them to robustly challenge proposals and therefore ensure good governance in decision making.
The Leader explained that she was aware that reference to the part II report had been posted to a liberal democrat website with an alarmist headline. She considered this to be unnecessarily unsettling to staff which was not only irresponsible but totally unacceptable. She considered that Councillors should despite political differences, above all act in the best interests of the Council.
The Monitoring Officer confirmed that confidential material could be provided to Councillors on request and on a need to know basis. He accepted that sharing information contributed to good governance but that confidentiality needed to be maintained in the best interests of the Council. He would be happy to review processes to ensure we were achieving the right balance between good governance and protecting the Council’s position.
During the course of discussion later in the meeting, it was agreed to review processes through the Group Leaders.