The Chief Officer Appointments Sub-Committee convened to interview candidates for the position of Director of Housing Services. The recommendation of the sub-committee was scheduled to be subject to consultation with Cabinet members. Councillors were also expected to declare any interests they may have in the matters being considered.

Appointment of Director of Housing Services

The Chief Officer Appointments Sub-Committee was scheduled to interview candidates for the position of Director of Housing Services and recommend an appointment. According to the Public reports pack, the recommendation of the sub-committee would be subject to consultation with every member of the Cabinet for a period of two working days, during which time Cabinet members could raise any objections.

The council had engaged GatenbySanderson, an executive search firm, to assist in the recruitment process. According to the Public reports pack:

The Council has been assisted by GatenbySanderson executive recruitment agency in the search arrangements for this role, with a view to determining a suitably qualified pool of candidates. The recruitment process for the position and was supported by the Strategic HR Business Partner, Paulette Lindsay-Greenidge. Councillor Amar Virdee and the Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, were consulted on the recruitment process. Twenty-seven applications were received, with seven candidates longlisted.

Technical interviews for the longlisted candidates commenced on 9 July 2025. Shortlisted candidates would be invited to participate in an Assessment Centre, which would include a Resident Panel, a Stakeholder Partner panel, and 1:1 interviews with Paul Kitson, Corporate Director of Housing and Inclusive Economy.

Declarations of Interest

At the start of the meeting, members were expected to declare any interests they had in the matters being considered, as detailed in the Public reports pack. The Members' Code of Conduct requires members to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) and not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter, unless a dispensation has been granted.

A DPI exists if a decision might reasonably be regarded as affecting the member's well-being or financial standing, or that of their family or someone with whom they have a close association, to a greater extent than the majority of council taxpayers, ratepayers, or inhabitants of the ward or electoral area they represent.

The Monitoring Officer has granted general dispensations to all members until the Annual Council meeting in 2026 for certain interests, including those common to the majority of inhabitants in their ward, interests so remote that they are not likely to prejudice their judgement of the public interest, council housing (unless related to their own tenancy), school meals and/or transport (unless relating to their own child's school), statutory sick pay for members, members allowances, setting Council Tax or precept, agreeing any Local Council Tax Benefit Scheme, interests arising from membership of an outside body to which the authority has appointed or proposes to appoint them, and the Local Government Pension Scheme (unless relating specifically to their own circumstances).