Issue - meetings
Receipt of Announcements
Meeting: 22/07/2024 - Executive (Item 202)
Receipt of Announcements
To receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council, Members of the Executive or the Chief Executive.
Minutes:
Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council, welcomed members and officers to the meeting, and announced that Councillor Hugo Ashton had been appointed to the Executive as Executive Member for Planning. The Executive welcomed Councillor Ashton to the Executive.
The Leader advised that the Council had taken legal advice regarding agenda item 13 (Publica Transition Plan), as to whether officers who were present at the meeting and employed by Publica, who were in scope for Phase 1 of the transition, would need to declare an interest and/or leave the room whilst the Executive considered the agenda item.
The Leader advised that Publica employees did not have an interest in the context of public law decision making, as they were not the decision maker, however there was a need to avoid the appearance of bias. The Leader stated that Publica employees, who were in scope for Phase 1 of the transition, would leave the room whilst the Executive considered the agenda item. Officers employed by Publica who would advise members in relation to the Publica transition, were permitted to remain in the room, as, in accordance with the viewpoint of the Council’s Director of Governance, the need for members to receive answers to questions outweighed the appearance of bias.
The Leader further advised that an annex contained within the final agenda item (Public Convenience Contract) included commercially sensitive information. The Leader advised that if the Executive wished to discuss the information contained within the exempt annex, the meeting would need to agree to enter private session with the appropriate juncture being highlighted when necessary.