Low attendance for Council meeting

FOLLOWING a Canal & River Trust Council meeting in March, a review of attendance levels is to be carried out, writes Allan Richards.

This is because over a third of Council members failed to attend the meeting held at Dudley in the West Midlands. The trustees blame nominated council members and have decided that a review is to be carried out by the CaRT's Trustees & Council Appointments Committee.

Non attendees—Council members

Just 22 out of 34 Council members attended its last Council meeting. Council members who did not attend were:

Alison Ward, Welsh Local Government
Charlotte Atkins, Chair Central Shires Partnership
Charles Trotman, Country Land & Business Association
Chris Bailey, Employee Representative
Chloe Donovan, Co-optee, National Council for Voluntary Youth Services
Mark Lang, Chair All Wales Partnership
Mark Penny Chair North East Partnership
Martyn Brunt, Sustrans
Paul Owen, British Canoeing
Rafid Al Khaddar, Society for the Environment
Tony Matts, Boating Business Representative
Walter Menzies, Chair Manchester & Pennine Partnership

Trustees failed to attend

However, the minutes record just four trustees found the time to attend the full Council meeting with one attending part of it. What the minutes don't record is that six trustees—Jane Cotton, Manish Chande, Ben Gordon, Steve Shine, Simon Thurley and Allan Leighton—failed to attend.

A poorer attendance record than Council members!

Nothing new

Poor attendance at Council meetings is nothing new. At the previous Council meeting in September 2014 which included CaRT's second AGM, about one third of members and half the trustees failed to attend.

Yet CaRT's trustees criticised Council members for their poor attendance, but should surely put their own house in order regarding attendance before criticising the Council members.

Better still, perhaps the trustees should review if the Council is making any meaningful contribution to the governance of the Trust.