n. Minutes

Council meetings are business meetings and should be focussed on achieving corporate decisions.  Minutes are the official record of decisions and have a special significance in that respect, should a matter come before the courts.  Minutes should not be a verbatim record of meetings. 

Writing up the minutes for a meeting is key as they confirm the resolutions made. This should be done as soon as possible so that the minute taker’s memory is fresh and they can interpret the information available from handwritten notes (or an audio recording) of the meeting.

There are inherent dangers in quoting every word, not least that people may regret their exact wording and want the record to change to reflect what they would have like to have said. This can lead to unnecessary debate and follow-on texts in subsequent minutes. Another problem is the potential for the council to quote a statement that is defamatory, offensive or otherwise inappropriate. 

Minutes should also not routinely record names. If councillor names are frequently quoted there is a danger that the minutes could be used for personal agendas, rather than in the corporate interest. There might also be Data Protection issues should members of the public's names be routinely incorporated. 

So, whilst some background and maybe a brief overview of the matters discussed is helpful, a verbatim record is not advisable. As far as possible, minutes should be formal, neutral and factual records of decisions. 

Well-written minutes are:

• brief, yet informative

• factual, accurate and relevant

• logically presented

• a clear record of resolutions

Draft minutes are often submitted to the Chair of the meeting prior to being circulated for information to all councillors, or members of a committee/sub-committee as appropriate.

The draft minutes of a meeting should be formally approved (with any necessary amendments) at the next meeting.  Once approved, any notes or recording of the meeting should be destroyed.

While all matters dealt with in meetings must be minuted,  councils should avoid disclosing resolutions or other information that are confidential or for some other special reason not in the public interest. NALC's publication  Local Councils Explained, says “Resolutions that are confidential or for some other special reason are not in the public interest to disclose must be recorded in the minutes, without undermining or disclosing the confidential or other sensitive information. For example, the resolution ‘option 2 in confidential report dated 10 July 2014 reference NPC 3 approved’ provides clarity as to the resolution that was made but does not reveal confidential information”.