Agenda item - Chair's Communications

77.1    The Chair advised the Committee that since the last meeting, interviews had been held for the vacant Independent Person & Co-opted Member position and a preferred candidate had been selected. The preferred person was Diane Bushell. The appointment needed to be ratified by Council on 26 March 2015 before Ms Bushell could take up her position on the Committee.

77.2  The Chair noted that this was the last meeting before the elections in May 2015 and thanked all members of the Committee for their work and support. He made particular mention to Councillors Lepper and Smith who were not standing for re-election, and who had both been Mayor and served as Councillors in the city for many years. The Chair added that this would be his last meeting as Chair of the Audit & Standards Committee as he had been in that role for seven years and, whatever the results of the elections would be, he felt that it would be now be appropriate for a new person to Chair the Committee.  Councillor Littman thanked the Chair for his work with the Committee.