The Richmond and Wandsworth Joint Staffing Committee met to discuss the proposed appointment of a new Chief Executive. This item was considered in private and members of the press and public were excluded from the meeting while it was discussed.

Proposed appointment of the Chief Executive

The committee was scheduled to consider a report about the proposed appointment of a new Chief Executive for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils.

The report itself was not included in the meeting pack that was made available to the public, and the meeting took place in private. The agenda for the meeting states that:

“under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, members of the public and the press be excluded from the meeting whilst the following items are being considered, because it is likely that exempt information as described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act would be disclosed to them if they were present; and it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”

[Note: In the circumstances of this case, matters which are considered relevant to maintaining the exemption in the public interest include: the information is personal and it relates to an identifiable individual; disclosure of the information would inhibit (a) the free and frank provision of advice or (b) the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation.]

The Local Government Act 1972¹ sets out the rules under which local authorities in England may operate.