20 May 2025: annual plan hearings
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Annual Plan hearings
Enquiry
Reporter had the following questions regarding a pause during last Friday’s annual plan hearings:
Can I please ask for a breakdown of councillor attendance at the AP hearings last week, covering who was there (online or in person) at what times?
The council under its standing orders had to pause and wait for another councillor to join before resuming. What happened?
When was the last time this happened?
During an annual plan hearing?
What apologies were given for what reason?
What measures are in place to stop this from happening and what happened in this instance that those did not work?
Response
We provided the following information:
The following can be attributed to a Council spokesperson:
Councillor attendance at annual plan hearings last week:
You’ll find this info in the draft minutes from the hearings which we’ll share with you tomorrow when they are released.
The council under its standing orders had to pause and wait for another councillor to join before resuming.What happened?
They needed a quorum (6) to continue. The pause was for a few minutes.
When was the last time this happened?
We don’t hold such records but can say it happens very rarely.
During an annual plan hearing?
As above.
What apologies were given for what reason?
Information re apologies will be in the draft minutes but minutes do not record reasons for apologies. You would need to ask the relevant elected members.
Re measures to stop this from happening and what went wrong this time?
Best efforts are made to schedule council matters on dates that do not clash with other known commitments, but previously unplanned events can impact elected members’ ability to attend.
*NOTE: we subsequently provided a link to the 28 May Council meeting agenda which includes draft minutes for the annual plan hearings: Agenda of Council Meeting - Wednesday, 28 May 2025
