The clerk who writes the minutes is using them to make her own views heard

Question

The clerk was told at an HR meeting that it had to go back to full council meeting to have the payment to join the slcc approved due to the HR not being able to approve payment at the council meeting the clerk said she was not prepared for her salary to be discussed in an open meeting that is why she wanted it to be in a closed HR meeting ( the cost of the membership for the joining of slcc goes by the clerk gross wages) at the HR meeting it was approved that the clerk membership be renewed put full council had to approve payment  the chair of the full council explain again that HR could not approve payment and she should know that is why it had to come back to a council meeting. In the minutes of the council meeting the clerk has put what she said about the reason she wanted it to be a an HR meeting but as left out everything the chair explained to her , surely the chair can ask for the minutes to be amended

Answer 1

Minutes are a record of decision with minimal additional information other than to give context to the decision.  In this scenario, if I've understood it properly, the HR committee would discuss the proposal and resolve to recommend to full council that the subscription be paid (assuming of course that was what was agreed).  At full council, there would be a recommendation from the HR committee to recommend payment with a decision taken.  Whilst full council can question the recommendation, I would not have expected the recommended course of action to be discussed in detail - that is what the committee meeting is for - but if discussion started to stray into personal or confidential areas, a motion to move into confidential session could be proposed as it is one of the proposals that can be moved without prior notice.
It is not the clerk's role to make decisions about the terms of reference of any committee as that is the job of the council and if that committee has no authority to approve payments, that authority cannot be delegated on the whim of the clerk or indeed anyone.  Similarly, the minutes should reflect the decision taken by both bodies and nothing else unless absolutely necessary.

Answer 2

So move that they be amended then.
It’s for the chair to decide what goes in the minutes - not the clerk.
There is absolutely NOTHING confidential or ‘sensitive’ about a councils decision to subscribe, or otherwise, to the SLCC.
The discussion, the motion, the vote and, obviously, the cost of SLCC membership (which is already open source public info) is in no way sensitive.
Anyone that suggests it should be in closed session is an idiot.