No way to run a public authority

The last full Council meeting took place on 18 July 2018 - 42 days or 6 weeks ago and yet no minutes of the council meeting have been published to date.  I cannot recall such a long delay in the past.

In fact, for cabinet meetings, the council must publish minutes within 3 days.  It's a pity it's not more efficient with the minutes of full council.

This is no way to run a public authority.  It might be seen as a tedious administrative detail, but minutes perform important functions in an efficient organisation:

1. Meeting minutes offer legal protection and clarity

2. Meeting minutes provide structure

They describe how Council members arrived at reasonable decisions. They record who attended and who was absent along with declarations of interest. 

3. Meeting minutes drive action

Good meeting minutes help drive a plan of action for the Council's senior officers. They clarify how, when, why, and by whom decisions were made. They map out a plan for the action items (which helps get the work done) and they later provide valuable information to those who aren’t able to attend the meeting.

4. Meeting minutes act as a measuring stick

Minutes record meeting decisions, which makes them a useful review document when it comes time to measure progress. They also act as an accountability tool because they make it clear who’s duty it was to perform which action. 

The delay in publication of the minutes is symptomatic of a council that is not firing on all cylinders.