Is it appropriate for a previous parish council chair to request a statement to be minuted and the council comply?

Question

A formal complaint was made by a local resident to the Monitoring Officer regarding exclusion of the public by the then Chairperson, who had not followed due process in taking that action. It took an inordinate amount of time (three months) for the complaint to be processed, and during that period the Chairperson did not stand for election. The Monitoring Officer then decided that there was no point in continuing as the person was no longer a councillor and the case was discontinued.    The previous Chair has now read out a statement at a parish council meeting to the effect that the Council is taking no action against her and the matter is now closed, and requested that the statement be minuted. That statement is now recorded in the parish council minutes. The person who initially complained is now a parish councillor.

Answer 1

It is very much a matter of judgement.

The only requirement is that decisions of the council must be recorded in the minutes, along with matters such as apologies for absence, statements of interest and so on. There's a lot to be said for recording matters that crop up without being decided on, so that there is something to prompt a follow up. This includes matters raised by members of the public.

On the other hand, it's may not be desirable to record opinions or personal statements. Often, a generous policy of acceding to requests to make a record is best. The problems come if the minutes become a forum for pursuing a dispute, with conflicting statements being recorded. It's best to avoid this.

In the end, it is up to the council, when approving minutes to decide whether to strike out something that is not needed as a record of a meeting and is not conducive to the running of the council.