sub committees are formed by the main committee to carry out work on specified matters within the remit of the main committee. They report back to the committee who then process matters to the council ( if they do not have the necessary powers to act). A sub committee have the same obligation as a committee to announce their meeting which must be open to the public, give the requisite notice of such a meeting, issue agendas for the meeting and publish minutes of that meeting. There has been much movement in recent years to short circuit these requirements by employing pseudo sub committees ( and even committees) in the guise of "working parties" to whom no such requirements are compulsory. Now whether this is intentional to sidestep openness and transparency is of course a matter for debate. A check of the definition in standing orders or the good councillor guide will highlight what a committee, sub committee and working party are designed to achieve will clarify this loophole employed by some councils.
