Informal meeting

Question

The notice of summons to Councillors to a forthcoming Extraordinary meeting of my local Town Council includes this: "Informal Meeting - [Date and time specified]. All Councillors welcome for an informal discussion on the background information to the Extraordinary meeting. There is no agenda, any issues of concern can be raised by Councillors." To be clear: this informal meeting is to be held a few days ahead of the Extraordinary meeting. And I might add that the public is being excluded from the Extraordinary meeting, using the Admissions to Meetings Act (Public Bodies) 1960, simply on the grounds that the business is 'confidential'.
What is the status of this 'Informal meeting'? Do the public have the right to attend? should it be minuted?

Answer 1

You are welcome to attend the so called "Informal" meeting even if it is (as I suspect) legally dubious.  . Everyone has a right to attend any Council meeting unless a notification of exclusion is provided.  As far as the "Informal  meeting" is concerned, with no summons or agenda I suspect legally that no resolutions  or decisions can be passed.  Furthermore if any Cllr has a poor attendance record, missing the  "Informal Meeting" would not count as a further instance of  non attendance.

Answer 2

If there is no agenda, how can the Council use the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act?

Comments

There are 2 meetings: an Extraordinary meeting (which is using the Admissions to Meetings Act (Public Bodies) 1960 to make the business confidential), and before that an 'Informal meeting' which is to be 'an informal discussion on the background information to the Extraordinary meeting'. I'm interested in the status of the informal meeting.