The Senior Appointments Committee of West Northamptonshire Council met on Wednesday 11 June 2025 to discuss the appointment of an Executive Director of People. The meeting was scheduled to begin with standard housekeeping items, before moving to exclude the press and public from the remainder of the meeting.

Appointment of Executive Director of People

The main item on the agenda was the appointment to the Chief Officer role of Executive Director of People. According to the report pack, the appointment process is governed by section 9.5 of the council's constitution, specifically the Staff Employment Rules. These rules stipulate that the Senior Appointments Committee is responsible for overseeing the arrangements for filling the vacancy of a Chief Officer.

The report pack states that the Senior Appointments Committee must:

• Draw up a statement specifying the duties and salary of the officer concerned and any qualifications or qualities to be sought in the person to be appointed.
• Make arrangements for the post to be advertised.
• Send a copy of the statement to any person on request.
• Select a shortlist of qualified candidates and interview them.

Following interviews, the Senior Appointments Committee will decide on the most suitable person for the position. The Assistant Director HR¹ will then be notified of the chosen candidate, and will inform each member of the Cabinet². The Leader of the Council³ then has five working days to raise any objections to the appointment on behalf of the Cabinet.

The report pack recommended that the Senior Appointments Committee consider the appointment of the Executive Director. However, it also noted that if the panel believed there was no suitable candidate, the post would have to be re-advertised.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The agenda included a motion to exclude the press and public from the remainder of the meeting. This was justified on the grounds that there was likely to be disclosure of exempt information as defined by Section 100(1) of the Local Government Act 1972⁴. The specific exemption cited was Paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.