At this week’s meeting of the Town Council, I made a proposal that the Council should adopt the practice of publishing draft minutes of meetings. I was very disappointed that this was overwhelmingly rejected.

The aim of the proposal was to make it easier for members of the public to understand and engage with the work of the Council. Currently members of the public have to wait until the next meeting to discover what was decided at the last one.

Publishing draft minutes which are awaiting approval by the Council is recognised as good practice by Government, being a requirement for smaller bodies, along with the National Association of Local Councils.

I called for the Council to publish draft minutes within 4 weeks of the meeting or at the time of the summons for the next meeting, whichever is earlier.

There were quite valid concerns expressed that draft minutes may contain inaccuracies. I believe we should trust the public and press to appreciate that, when minutes are published with a disclaimer that they are draft and not yet approved, there are limitations with the degree to which they can be relied upon.

I spent several months attending Council meetings as a member of the public before standing for election and that has given me a good understanding of, like this issue, some of the barriers that exist to public engagement.

Sadly, when it was put to a vote, of those present only Councillor David Shelton and myself voted in favour. I requested that the votes on the proposal be recorded and so they will appear in the minutes of this week’s meeting.

I will continue to try to work to improve the openness of the Town Council and make it easier for residents to understand and get involved in the work of the Council. I hope there may be future opportunities for me to make the case for this change.