The Chief Officer Appointments Sub-Committee convened to interview candidates for the position of Corporate Director of Environment and Sustainable Transport and make a recommendation. The recommendation was scheduled to be subject to consultation with Cabinet members. The agenda also included member declarations of interest.

Appointment of Corporate Director of Environment and Sustainable Transport

The Chief Officer Appointment Sub-Committee was scheduled to interview candidates for the position of Corporate Director of Environment and Sustainable Transport and recommend an appointment.

According to the reports pack, the Chief Officer Appointment Committee had previously met on 5 March 2025 and agreed to convene the sub-committee to undertake the interviews. The membership of the Chief Officer Appointment Committee changed at the Annual Council meeting on 22 May 2025, requiring a new meeting on 12 June 2025 to re-appoint members to the sub-committee. The panel members of the Chief Officer Appointments Sub-Committee remained unchanged, including Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, Councillor Amar Virdee, Councillor Charlene McLean, Councillor Zulfiqar Ali, Councillor Mehmood Mirza, and Councillor Sarah Jane Ruiz.

The council engaged Gatenby Sanderson, an executive recruitment agency, to support the recruitment process. Abi Gbago, Chief Executive, oversaw the recruitment process, supported by Paulette Lindsay-Greenidge, Strategic HR Business Partner. Councillor Sarah Jane Ruiz and Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE were consulted on the recruitment process.

According to the report pack:

A total of thirty-six applications were received, with six candidates longlisted and three candidates shortlisted. Technical interviews took place for longlisted candidates with Venetia Reid-Baptise, the Corporate Director of Residents and Enabling Services at Lambeth Council, together with a representative from Gatenby Sanderson. Candidates who were shortlisted took part in the following Assessment process as follows:

• A Youth Panel
• A Stakeholder Partner panel
• 1:1's with the Chief Executive and the Mayor of Newham

The Chief Officer Appointment Sub-Committee met on 16 June 2025 and interviewed two candidates but were unable to make a determination. The application of one of these candidates was not being progressed. The panel agreed to reconvene to interview a candidate who had been unable to attend the 16 June meeting, along with another candidate who had been longlisted and was participating in the assessment process. The Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider three candidates on 17 July 2025.

The recommendation of the Committee was scheduled to be subject to consultation with every member of the Cabinet for a period of two working days, during which Cabinet members could consider the proposed appointment and raise any objections based on material fact.

Members' Declarations of Interest

Councillors were expected to declare any interests they had in the matters being considered at the meeting. The reports pack included guidance for members on declaring interests, referencing the Members' Code of Conduct in the Council's Constitution.

The guidance distinguished between Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) covered by the Localism Act 2011¹ and Non-Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Non-Pecuniary Interests. Members were advised to declare verbally the existence and nature of any Non-Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Non-Pecuniary Interest.

The guidance also covered the Register of Members' Interests, dispensations, bias, and predetermination. It advised councillors to seek advice if their outside connections may give the appearance of bias or predetermination.