Remember earlier this week, a member of the public stood up at the beginning of the Isle of Wight Council Cabinet meeting and said he thought that the meeting was unlawful as it hadn’t been properly notified to the public?
The following morning VB put the story out and got in touch with the council’s press office to ask what the council’s view was, now they’d had a chance to reflect on it.
We received their their reply yesterday and reproduce it below in full for your delectation.
Isle of Wight Council Director of Corporate Services Davina Fiore said “At the start of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, a member of public complained that the meeting was not lawful, as no notice of the meeting had been posted on the notice board outside County Hall.
“The Local Government Act 1972 requires that notice of the time and place of our meetings shall be posted “at the offices of the Council” for five clear days before the meeting.
“While we do usually put such a notice on the notice board outside, that did not happen on this occasion. However, in accordance with our usual practise, a copy of the agenda showing the time and place of the meeting was on public display in the reception area at County Hall. This meets the legislative requirement that a notice of the time and place of the meeting “be posted at the offices of the Council.
“The confusion may have arisen because the requirements for parish councils are slightly different. They only need to display a notice for three clear days before the meeting, but it needs to be in some conspicuous place in the parish.
“The meeting was therefore lawful and as there were at least 22 members of the public present (excluding members and members of staff), we can show that the public were aware of the meeting.”
