Members were asked to consider whether they had any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they were.

No such declarations were made.

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 23 June 2014

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 June 2014, be approved.

The Chair referred to concerns that had been expressed to him in relation to the volume of the agenda documents and that their late receipt by some Members of the Committee had not allowed them enough time for the content to be studied in sufficient depth for an accurate judgement to be made. He had regard to the need for the matter to be dealt with, without further unnecessary delay and also to the potential for Members and officers to be on leave on the date of a reconvened meeting. However, so as to allow the Committee to be fully informed when reaching a decision on the matter, he believed it was appropriate for the meeting to stand adjourned for a week.

The Conservative Group spokesperson confirmed that he had not received the document pack until Friday evening and prior commitments had not allowed him adequate time to study its content. He indicated that he was not available to attend for over two weeks and, given that he had asked repeatedly since January 2014 for the report to be presented, requested that the Committee reconvene on a date that he was able to attend. Given the complexity of the matter, he was concerned that an adjournment of a week would not allow sufficient time for a nominated deputy with no prior knowledge of the issues to be adequately briefed.

The Chief Executive commented that it was his belief that the documentation circulated to Members vindicated Council officers and, to be fair to those whose integrity had been questioned, he urged the Committee to consider the matter as soon as was possible.

On a motion by Councillor Crabtree, seconded by Councillor Abbey, it was –

Resolved (5:4) – That the meeting stand adjourned until 5.00pm on Tuesday 29 July 2014.

[NB Following the meeting, the Chair and Group Spokespersons reflected upon the need to ensure, as far as possible, that all Members of the Committee should be able to participate in the consideration and debate in relation to the report of the Chief Executive concerning the Business Investment Grant (BIG) and Intensive Start Up Scheme (ISUS) Investigations. It was therefore agreed, subject to the availability of Members and officers, that a further Special Meeting of the Committee would be called for 6.00pm on Tuesday 7 October 2014. In view of this, the adjourned meeting on 29 July 2014 will not proceed, given the requirement to be quorate]