These are links to the Agenda, Reports Pack, Draft Minutes and Video Stream of this meeting.
https://democracy.merthyr.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=159&MId=4812&LLL=0
https://stream.merthyr.gov.uk/council-meetings/full-council-meeting-5th-october-2022/
Minute 255. Let’s look more closely at this.
The Council approves as accurate (subject to any amendments) the Minutes of the following Meetings:
Arising on the Minutes a Member referred to The Constitution and recommended that Minutes of a Meeting be presented to the next Meeting of that Committee. The Monitoring Officer then responded to the Member and gave advise on the proposal.
My Comment
The member did not recommend that minutes of a meeting be presented to the next meeting of that Committee. He recommended that the Council comply with the Constitution for the next suitable meeting to be those Committees and that we go in line with best practice for Governance and Audit purposes and we move that minutes of meetings be presented to the next meeting of the Committee for approval as a correct record. I put this forward as a point of Order.
Another Member then advised that Workshops were being arranged in relation to The Constitution and that this would be an opportunity to discuss this matter.
This audio file is a recording of the Point of Order raised by Councillor Scrivens together with the response from the Monitoring Officer.
The following screenshot is a paraphrase of what Councillor Scrivens actually said.
As a new Councillor I am trying to get an understanding of the Council’s Constitution .
The Constitution states at Section 4.01.18 ……that the Mayor or Chairperson will present the minutes to the next suitable meeting for approval as a correct record of the meeting.
I don’t think that the Full Council is a suitable meeting for the approval as a correct record of the minutes of a Committee meeting.
I think that the next suitable meeting would be the next meeting of the Committee.
For example, the Councillors present at this meeting are being asked to approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet. However, there are only 6 members present who are able to confirm that the minutes are a correct record because no other Councillors were present at the meeting. Also, the Council has lay members that do not attend the Full Council meetings.
Can we recommend that we actually comply with the Constitution for the next suitable meeting to be those Committees and that we go in line with best practice for Governance and Audit purposes and we move that minutes of meetings be presented to the next meeting of the Committee for approval as a correct record.
I put this forward as a point of Order.
The following screenshot is a transcript of what the Monitoring Officer actually said.
The minutes state that The Monitoring Officer then responded to the Member and gave advise on the proposal.
Compare the above minute with the what the Monitoring Officer actually said.
Now, I understand that minutes are not required to be verbatim. But this minute is an exemplar of the Monitoring Officer’s practice of Obfuscation. The minute does not indicate what ‘advice’ was given. There can, therefore, be no accountability for what she said if it was right or wrong.
I have been advised by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales that issues relating to the way in which the Council confirms its minutes, or with the performance of the Monitoring Officer and/or Chief Executive, are likely for its elected members to scrutinise.
I have been advised by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales that “Issues relating to the way in which the Council confirms its minutes, or with the
performance of the Monitoring Officer and/or Chief Executive, are likely for its
elected members to scrutinise“.
So, it is down to you Councillors.
The following screenshots show the Draft Minutes of the meeting.
Merthyr Council Cover-up 