Key Facts 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 they can be presented as evidence.  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 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. Names of members of the public should not be recorded because they may exercise their right under the Data Protection Act/GDPR for the records to be amended to delete their name and other identifiable details and as previously stated once approved and signed as an accurate record the minutes should be permanent record. 

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, they 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

• who was present during the meeting

• who and what interests were declared,

• councillors who left the meeting or returned due to a declared interest while a specific item was discussed.

Once the draft minutes have been prepared they are often submitted to the Chair of the meeting concerned to check. Once the Chair has commented on the minutes and changes, if any are made, the draft minutes may be circulated for information only to all councillors, or where the minutes relate to a meeting of a committee or sub-committee to the members of the committee or sub-committee.

The draft minutes of a meeting should be formally approved (with any necessary amendments) at the next meeting.   After the draft minutes are approved, the contemporaneous notes or the 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”.