The Richmond and Wandsworth Joint Staffing Committee was scheduled to meet on Monday 18 November 2024. The primary item on the agenda was the proposed appointment of a new Chief Executive. The meeting was also scheduled to consider excluding the press and public for certain agenda items.

Proposed Appointment of Chief Executive

The committee was scheduled to consider a report from the Executive Director of Change and Innovation regarding the proposed appointment of a new Chief Executive. The report pack indicates that this item would involve discussions that are likely to contain exempt information, relating to an identifiable individual. The report suggests that the public interest in maintaining the exemption of this information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it, due to its personal nature and the need for frank deliberation.

The Local Government Act 1972 allows for the exclusion of the press and public from meetings when confidential information is being discussed. This is typically done to protect personal data or to allow for open discussion of sensitive matters without public scrutiny. The report pack notes that the information relevant to maintaining this exemption includes that it is personal, relates to an identifiable individual, and that disclosure would inhibit the free and frank provision of advice or the exchange of views.

The agenda for the meeting, available as the Agenda frontsheet 18th-Nov-2024 10.00 Richmond and Wandsworth Joint Staffing Committee, lists the proposed appointment of the Chief Executive as item 3. The Public reports pack 18th-Nov-2024 10.00 Richmond and Wandsworth Joint Staffing Committee provides further detail on the items scheduled for discussion. A separate Shortlisting pack 18th-Nov-2024 10.00 Richmond and Wandsworth Joint Staffing Committee was also made available to attendees.

The members of the Joint Committee present were Councillor Roberts (Chair), Councillor Neden-Watts, and Councillor Frieze, representing Richmond-upon-Thames Council, and Councillor Hogg (Leader of the Council), Councillor Akinola (Deputy Leader of the Council), and Councillor Richards-Jones (Leader of the Opposition), representing Wandsworth Council.