Agenda item

To agree the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 22nd July 2022.

MATTERS ARISING

Election of Chairman (page 4) – A Member questioned whether the matter of voting rights for ex-officio Members of this Sub-Committee had yet been clarified. The Town Clerk advised that ex-officio Members were those who have been appointed to a body by virtue of the position or office that they hold and that they were not permitted to vote in the elections of a Chairman and Deputy Chairman. The Town Clerk informed the Sub Committee that the status of the two Members concerned here was not that of an ex-officio - they were Members appointed as representatives of the Policy and Resources Committee and the Port Health and Environmental Services Committee respectively. The Town Clerk therefore advised that they did have voting rights.

A Member stated that the terms of reference for the Sub Committee and the Planning and Transportation Committee should be updated to reflect this position. The Town Clerk accepted that the current arrangements for this Sub-Committee were implicit and not explicit. She explained that there would be an opportunity for Members to re-consider the constitution of all of the Sub committees reporting into the Grand Committee and their terms of reference in April, as was the case annually, at the first meeting of the Grand Committee each new civic year.

On another matter, a Member stated that, in the interests of transparency, the minutes ought to be amended to record the names of all Members who stood for Chairman and Deputy Chairman as well as the number of votes that each candidate received.

Another Member noted that the City Corporation’s minuting style for Committee elections had alternated between recording the names of Members who have stood for various positions and omitting them. The Member was of the view that all committees should adhere to the same minuting style and that this should be considered by the Policy and Resources Committee and the Court of Common Council during the annual review of committee terms of reference and Standing Orders to ensure a consistent approach.

Some Members referred to the Nolan principle of openness to indicate that the names of Members who have stood for elections should be recorded.

The Town Clerk stated that she was of the view that the minutes should reflect the names of those Members who stood for Chairman and Deputy Chairman and the number of votes cast for each Member. She highlighted that this had taken place at a public meeting and was also live streamed and recorded. It was also highlighted that the names of those who stood for various positions on Committees/Outside Bodies at the Court of Common Council and the number of votes that they receive were regularly published on the public summons. This approach was supported by the Sub Committee.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes of the last meeting held virtually on 22 July 2022 be approved as a correct record, subject to the addition of the names of all those Members who had stood for Chairman and Deputy Chairman as well as the number of votes cast for each candidate.