The Chief Officer Appointments Committee of Durham County Council met on 24 November 2025. Items on the agenda included the appointment of a Corporate Director of Children and Young People's Services, as well as the minutes from a prior meeting. Due to the confidential nature of some items, a resolution to exclude the public was also on the agenda.

Corporate Director of Children and Young People's Services

The committee was scheduled to discuss the recruitment longlist for the Corporate Director of Children and Young People's Services. This was listed in the agenda for the meeting as Part B, meaning that it was considered that the meeting would not be open to the public whilst this item was discussed, because it would involve the consideration of exempt or confidential information. The Public Reports Pack included a report of the Chief Executive on this matter, spanning pages 5-226.

Exclusion of the Public

The agenda included a resolution relating to the exclusion of the public during the discussion of items containing exempt information. This is likely related to the discussion of the recruitment longlist for the Corporate Director of Children and Young People's Services, as this was marked as Part B on the agenda, indicating its confidential nature.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The agenda included the minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2025. According to the minutes of that meeting, the committee considered a report of the Head of Human Resources and Employee Services relating to the formal interview for the post of Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services. The committee resolved to offer the post of Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services to Michael Laing.