The draft minutes of the Standards Panel hearing of Dec 19th 2013 have just been formally published. They confirm what was published at the time and maintain the secrecy of the reasons as to why the hearing had to be held in private.
Cllr Summers objected to the decision that the hearing be held in private but was outnumbered outside the meeting itself. Both at the start of the meeting at 10 am and at the end (2.55pm) when the opportunity to disclose was reconsidered, no formal objections were made.
Formal complaints to the Council about the unnecessary secrecy have been made but not resolved yet. Members of the public can refer the matter and its conduct to the Local Government Ombudsman.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here