Herefordshire Council poised to go into secret session - again (From Hereford Times)
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Herefordshire Council poised to go into secret session - again
12:31pm Friday 13th April 2012 in Hereford City
THE “last chance” scrutiny debate of Hereford’s £90 million retail plan could soon go into secret session.
Meeting at Herefordshire Council’s Brockington HQ, the council’s overview and scrutiny committee has, this morning, identified nine “issues” it has with the terms of the deal as approved by the council’s cabinet last Thursday.
The committee was told it would have to go behind closed doors where its debate of those issues came up against any requirement to preserve commercial confidentiality - the same clause cabinet cited for holding much of its debate of the deal in secret.
Members are now expected to extend their meeting into an afternoon session.
The meeting itself is effectively the last chance opposition groups have to argue against the terms of the deal.
If the deal comes through scrutiny it will be secured by cabinet with the authority for a final go-ahead probably given to a single senior council officer.
There are no plans to put the variations on the deal to a special meeting of the full council for a free vote.
