Please find attached the undernoted additional item to be considered at the meeting of the Council on Thursday 28 February at 10.00 am.

Undernote referred to Resolution to Exclude Press and Public

It is recommended that the Council pass the following resolution:- "That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, as amended, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act".

Paragraph 1 Information relating to a particular employee, former employee or applicant to become an employee of, or a particular office-holder, former office-holder or applicant to become an office-holder under, the authority.

15.Chief Executive: Appointment as Non-Executive Board Member of Scottish Charity – Report by Deputy Chief Executive (copy attached).'

We have written about the alleged abuse of the council staff in attempting to use this section of the 1973 act to exclude members of the public and press from particular items to be heard at council.

Let us look at what they are attempting to prevent to public from listening to from the public gallery at council HQ.

Chief Executive: Appointment as Non-Executive Board Member of Scottish Charity

This item clearly relates to the Chief Executive, who is Lorraine McMillan.

She has either or is hoping to be appointed as a non executive board member of a Scottish Charity.

Fine so far, she is permitted to do that, non executive directors are not paid a salary, only expenses.

All they require to do is take time off from their normal full time work to undertake the part time work of a non executive director.

No problem so far.

However............

The legislation that the council staff are using to remove the press and public from the public gallery relates only to council staff and council matters.

the section quoted above, by the council must be read in conjunction with the remaider of the act.

Is only applicable to information that relates to the local authority.

Not information that relates to an individual who wishes to engage with an outside charity.

In our opinion the legislation has clearly been misused on this occasion and should only be invoked when it relates to the local authority, ie, someone applying for council employment, internal council matters and not an employee wishing to take a days leave once a month.

In our opinion yet another example of ERC misusing legislation.

In our opinion, this legislation can only be used for internal local authority matters.

In this case we have a Chief Executive wanting to be a non paid member of a external charity, nothing to do with ERC.

Therefore the legislation and exemption are being misused, in our opinion.