Purpose

To seek approval under the Council's urgent decision arrangements to move Full Council from 25 November to 2 December 2026 and Employment Committee from 2 December to 25 November 2026, to support the recruitment timetable for the new Chief Executive.

Decision

RESOLVED That the Chief Executive, exercising the relevant powers of Full Council and Employment Committee under paragraph 6.4.1 of the Scheme of Delegation to Officers, approves the following changes to the meeting programme:

(a)   Full Council: from Wednesday 25 November to Wednesday 2 December 2026.

(b)    Employment Committee: from Wednesday 2 December to Wednesday 25 November 2026.

Reasons for the decision

Moving Full Council back by one week will allow additional time for the recruitment process to conclude before the recommendation for appointment of the new Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service is considered.

Bringing Employment Committee forward will avoid a clash with the revised Full Council date and minimise disruption to diaries. No agendas have yet been issued for either meeting and all planned business can be accommodated on the revised dates.

An immediate decision is needed to confirm the recruitment and meeting timetable, notify councillors and officers and arrange the preparation and publication of reports. Waiting until the currently scheduled Full Council meeting on 25 November would leave the change to that meeting unresolved until the day it is due to take place.

Alternative options considered

Retain the existing dates. This would not provide the additional time sought to conclude the recruitment process before Full Council considers the recommendation for appointment.

Convene an extraordinary meeting of Full Council and a special meeting of Employment Committee solely to determine the date changes. The Mayor and the Chair of Employment Committee have respectively confirmed that they do not consider it appropriate to convene such meetings.

Move Employment Committee to a later date. Bringing it forward to the date currently reserved for Full Council is preferred to minimise disruption to diaries and accommodate the planned business.