Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Reed proposed and Councillor Price seconded, that Councillor Cox be appointed Chair for the meeting. On being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Cox be appointed as Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Reed declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 4 as a member of the Conservative Group.

Councillor Price declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 4 as a member of the Liberal Democrat Group and as an attendee of the meeting discussed.

The Panel considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting and determined that the meeting should remain public.

RESOLVED:

That the press and public not be excluded from the meeting.

The Complaint

The Panel confirmed that it had read the agenda report and in the independent investigation report concerning alleged breaches of the Council’s Member Code of Conduct by Councillors Christopher Alley, Ian Campbell, Oliver Cooper and Vicky Edwards.

Alex Oram, Investigating Officer, presented the investigation report, summarised the complaints, the evidence considered and the conclusions reached, and thanked those who had assisted with the investigation.

The Subject Members and the Panel questioned the Investigating Officer. The discussion included the decision taken in November 2025 to consider the Local Plan report in private; the statutory basis and legal advice relied upon at that meeting; whether the report retained the necessary quality of confidence when similar information was already in the public domain, whether the information was capable of affecting land values or otherwise related to financial or business affairs; and the routes available to Members who wished to challenge the decision to treat the report as confidential.

The Investigating Officer explained that the investigation was concerned with the subsequent disclosure of the Council document rather than a reconsideration of the November 2025 procedural decision. In his view, the report remained a confidential Council document at the time it was published. He advised that prior publication of similar information did not, of itself, remove the report’s confidential status.

The Panel also considered the requirement in paragraph 4 of the Code of Conduct to consult the Monitoring Officer before disclosing confidential information. The Subject Members relied upon the objections and discussion which had taken place at the November meeting. The Investigating Officer did not consider that this amounted to the specific consultation stipulated by the Code.

Members were asked to note an error in regard to Councillor Cooper’s occupation, erroneously stated as solicitor rather than lawyer.

The Councillors’ Case

Councillor Cooper speaking on his behalf, submitted that the subject Members had acted collectively and in good faith. He stated that they considered the original decision to exclude the press and public to be unlawful, that their confidence in the use of Part 2 information in this instance had been undermined, and that the public interest justified disclosure. He also relied upon Local Government Association guidance on disclosure in the public interest and maintained that concerns had been raised with the Monitoring Officer at the November meeting.

Councillor Edwards said that she did not consider the information to be confidential in substance, as significant information was already in the public domain and developers were already aware of the relevant matters. She said that publication had not been immediate, that the group had considered whether disclosure was justified, and that the purpose was to enable residents to understand the Local Plan position and to respond to what the group considered to be misleading political material.

Councillor Campbell said that the intention had been to provide clarity in the public interest and not to act maliciously. He said that the Subject Members considered that publication would assist residents in understanding the Council’s Local Plan position  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.