The Tower Hamlets Council Appointments Sub-Committee convened to discuss longlisting candidates for the Director of Regeneration and Development position. The meeting was scheduled to cover procedural items such as electing a chair and declarations of interest, before moving into a closed session to discuss the candidates. The sub-committee was expected to agree on a longlist of candidates to invite for first-stage interviews.

Director of Regeneration and Development Longlisting

The central item for consideration was the longlisting of candidates for the Director of Regeneration and Development role. The post had been advertised on the council's website, recruitment websites such as Penna Exec Search, and in publications such as the Municipal Journal and Inside Housing. According to the public reports pack, the recruitment consultants, Penna, prepared a report with recommendations on which candidates to progress to the next stage. This report, including CVs and supporting statements from all candidates, was provided in appendix 1 of the reports pack.

The report pack included a recommendation that the sub-committee agree to invite the longlisted candidates for first-stage technical interviews. The document also noted the importance of filling the Director role on a permanent basis to create stability, rather than continuing with interim arrangements.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors were asked to declare any interests, including Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) or Non-DPI Interests, as outlined in the note from the Interim Monitoring Officer. The Local Government Finance Act 1992 Section 106 states that councillors in council tax arrears of at least two months are restricted from voting.

The note outlined different types of interests:

• Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI): These relate to employment, sponsorship, contracts, land, licenses, corporate tenancies, and securities. Failure to disclose or register a DPI is a criminal offence.
• Non-DPI Interests: These relate to gifts or hospitality, council appointments, nominations to bodies, or membership of any body exercising a public function or influencing public opinion. Councillors must declare the nature of the interest, but may stay in the meeting room and participate unless a reasonable person would think the interest significant enough to impair their judgement.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The committee was expected to consider a motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting. This was because the agenda contained exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, relating to information about individuals and their financial or business affairs.