The Personnel Committee - Member Appointment Panel of Kent Council was scheduled to convene on Tuesday, 20 January 2026. The primary focus of the meeting was to conduct interviews for the role of Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health. The meeting was also scheduled to address standard procedural items.

Interviews for Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health

The meeting agenda indicated that the panel was scheduled to conduct interviews for the position of Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health. This item was designated as an exempt item, meaning the press and public were likely to be excluded from this part of the proceedings. The report pack notes that a briefing was scheduled for 10:00 am, followed by interviews commencing at 10:30 am. Benjamin Watts, the Deputy Chief Executive, was listed as a point of contact for this item. The report pack for a previous meeting on 11 November 2025, which is available as Minutes of Previous Meeting, shows that a similar process was undertaken for the appointment of a Director Adults and Integrated Commissioning, where Helen Gillivan was appointed to the post.

The Public reports pack 20th-Jan-2026 10.00 Personnel Committee - Member Appointment Panel.pdf for this meeting would have contained information for the panel members regarding the candidates. The Agenda frontsheet 20th-Jan-2026 10.00 Personnel Committee - Member Appointment Panel.pdf outlines the membership of the Personnel Committee - Member Appointment Panel, which comprises five members from Reform UK: Ms L Kemkaran, Ms S Emberson, Mr C Hespe, Miss D Morton, and Mr M Mulvihill. Additionally, there is one member from the Conservative party, Mr A Kennedy, one from the Liberal Democrats, Mr C Sefton, and one from the Green and Independent group, Mr S Jeffery. Ms L Kemkaran is listed as the Chair of the panel.

The agenda also included standard procedural items such as apologies and substitutes, declarations of interests, and the minutes of the previous meeting. A motion to exclude the press and public was also scheduled, in accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, due to the likely disclosure of exempt information.