Agenda item

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting held on 12 July 2022.

Members received the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 12 July 2022.

A Member requested a correction to their comments on the discussion on the Annual Governance Statement(AGS). They said that they had asked for a discussion on including comments on the disruption to the normal elections process for Alderman that had been caused by the elections of Lord Mayor and Sheriffs in the AGS for 2021/22, but the minutes had recorded this as a request for it to be included in the next AGS. The Member would also send a private note to the Chairman and the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee on this matter.

The Town Clerk informed Members of two further matters of accuracy:

• Corrections to the departments of three officers
• Add that the Committee had given unanimous praise for the Annual Governance Statement 2021/22 (AGS)

Matters arising

The Chairman provided Members with an update on the issue of elections. He said that he had been engaged in separate conversations with both the Head of Electoral Services and the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee. The Chairman understood that a report on elections would be on the agenda for the next meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee (4 October 2022), and that there were indications that a Working Group would be set up on this area.

A Member said that it was important for Members to remember that the responsibilities of the Electoral Services team are specifically limited by law.

The City Solicitor said that he had also discussed the issue with Electoral Services. He said one area being considered was how much initial information was being provided to candidates on the legal limitations of Electoral Services. He clarified that it was not for the Returning Officer to become involved in certain disputes.

The Chairman welcomed the officers from Grant Thornton.

RESOLVED, that – the public minutes and non-public summary be approved as a correct record, subject to the above changes.