Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Avey was elected Chairman for the meeting. 

To agree that the Chairman, in consultation with other members of the Employment Matters Appeals Panel, sign the minutes outside of the meeting.

It was agreed that the Chairman, in consultation with other members of the Employment Matters Appeals Panel, should sign the minutes outside of the meeting. 

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Carr. 

A Member need only disclose at any meeting the existence of a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in a matter to be considered at that meeting if that DPI has not been entered on the Disclosable Pecuniary Interests Register maintained by the Monitoring Officer.

A Member disclosing a DPI at a meeting must thereafter notify the Monitoring Officer in writing of that interest within 28 days from the date of disclosure at the meeting.

A Member may not participate in a discussion of or vote on any matter in which he or she has a DPI (both those already registered and those disclosed at the meeting) and must withdraw from the room during such discussion/vote.

Members may choose to voluntarily disclose a DPI at a meeting even if it is registered on the Council’s register of disclosable pecuniary interests but there is no legal requirement to do so.

There were none. 

This report summarises the content of agenda item 6, which, in the opinion of the proper officer, contains exempt information within one of the categories in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. It is a matter for the Panel to determine whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of document.

The Employment Matters Appeals Panel agreed that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the exempt material relating to agenda item 6 (Matter for Decision) because consideration of these matters in public would disclose information falling within Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and, in all the circumstances of the case, it was considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information. 

Appeal against dismissal as detailed in the attached schedule. 

Discussion

The Panel considered an appeal against dismissal.

The Panel very carefully considered all the information presented and decided to uphold the decision to dismiss.

Councillor Godwin wished for his vote against the decision to be recorded.

Decision

The Panel decided by a majority decision to uphold the original management decision on the grounds of loss of trust and confidence and confirmed the appellant’s dismissal from Medway Council.