Councillor's absence extended for six months

[dutchman]

Cllr Sucha Bains has not attended any meeting since June 24 due to ill health



A Coventry councillor who has not attended a meeting for almost five months due to illness has had a leave of absence extended.

Cllr Sucha Bains last attended a meeting on June 24 in his role as deputy chair of the audit and procurement committee.

Under government legislation, any councillor who fails to attend any meeting for six months ceases to be a member of the authority, unless an exemption is granted prior.

In the calendar year alone, he has only attended four out of 21 meetings of which he is appointed to due to illness.

An Extraordinary General Meeting of full council unanimously granted a six-month extension of his leave on Tuesday, November 19.

Failure to have agreed the extension would have seen Cllr Bains ousted from his role on December 24 under the Local Government Act 1972.

Cllr Bains, a former Lord Mayor is a Labour councillor for Upper Stoke and a long-serving member of the council, having first been elected in 1990.

A council spokesman said last week that his absence was “due to poor health”.

[rebbonk]

This is wrong. The man is not doing his job and ought be removed from his position.

I'm sorry to hear of his health issues, but he has a responsibility to those that elected him and his positions on various committees. He's not fulfilling either.