The Appointments Sub-Committee met to discuss shortlisting candidates for the role of Director of Regeneration and Development. Councillor Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning (Statutory Deputy Mayor), was scheduled to chair the meeting. Councillors were also expected to confirm the minutes of the previous meeting and consider whether to exclude the press and public from the meeting.

Shortlisting for Director of Regeneration and Development

The main item on the agenda was the shortlisting of candidates for the Director of Regeneration and Development position. According to the Shortlist report for the selection of the Director of Regeneration & Development, recruitment consultants Penna had prepared a shortlist report, recommending candidates to progress to the next stage of recruitment. The report noted that interim arrangements were in place while recruitment to the permanent position was ongoing.

The position had been advertised on the council's website, the Penna Exec Search website, the Municipal Journal, Guardian Jobs, Inside Housing and social media, and a targeted executive search had been undertaken by Penna.

The Sub-Committee was asked to agree on a shortlist of candidates to be invited for final interviews. The report stated that a previous Appointments Sub Committee (ASC) meeting had taken place on 29 July 2025, where a longlist of candidates was considered and technical interviews were arranged for selected candidates. The reports from these technical interviews were to be included in Appendix 1 of the Shortlist report for the selection of the Director of Regeneration & Development.

The report outlined the reasons for the decisions, referencing the Appointments Sub Committee's terms of reference:

To make appointments to Chief Officer and Deputy Chief Officer posts in accordance with the council's Constitution and the agreed Recruitment and Selection procedure.

The report also noted that members could only sit on the ASC if they had received training on recruitment and selection.

Alternative options to recruitment were considered, but rejected on the basis that continuing with interim arrangements would not create the necessary stability.

The report also noted the council's commitment to equality, stating:

The Council's commitment to equalities includes an undertaking to achieve a workforce that can best serve and reflect the community at all levels in the organisation and such considerations will be part of the recruitment process. All posts are recruited to on merit.

Other Business

The agenda for the meeting also included:

• Declarations of Interest: A note from the Interim Monitoring Officer ¹ was attached, reminding members to declare any interests, including Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) ² as defined in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
• Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Councillors were scheduled to confirm the minutes of the Appointments Sub-Committee meeting held on 29 July 2025.
• Exclusion of the Press and Public: The committee was expected to consider a motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting due to the confidential nature of the information to be discussed, as defined in the Local Government Act 1972.
• Exempt Minutes: The Sub-Committee was scheduled to confirm the exempt minutes of the 29 July 2025 meeting.