Clerk put Code of Conduct on agenda closed session

Question

The Clerk has put Code of Conduct on our next meetings agenda under a closed session. Should Cllrs be allowed to know in advance of the meeting what will be covered in this session?

Answer 1

Quite a few answers here:

https://towncouncillor.com/4510/what-are-reasons-exclude-public-from-parish-council-meetings

And here:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/67/section/1

You can only have a closed session after a vote by the council to go into a closed session.  If you are not told the reasons why it is necessary, and you personally agree with them, don't vote in favour.  The vote has to be a majority as always but if nobody explains why it is necessary - it should follow that nobody would vote to support it.

Answer 2

They should know by virtue of the agenda papers, but the cllrs would have to resolve to make the item discussed in a closed session.

Comments

A bit more info. The clerk has put a separate agenda item for closed session. The following agenda item is ' discuss Cllrs code of conduct'. It's a challenging and disruptive Council. The Chairman and his Vice are staying put until Sept when we can meet face to face. Q. Should Cllrs be given more information? I sense an explosive meeting.

---

Yes more info. I can only assume a council member is thought to have breached the code of conduct, if not the why has a closed session been called. Ultimately it is down to the monitoring officer from the Principal Authority to investigate alleged breaches of the code, not the Parish Council.

---

Agenda and all supporting documents should be published - publicly - prior to any meeting.

The subject (or reason) for a closed session should be clearly stated - but not such detail as to disclose anything that should be "closed."

Far too common to see "closed session" with no justification and no detail.