{"document":{"created_at":"2009-09-18T08:47:42Z","document_owner_type":"Meeting","title":["Minutes for Council meeting, Feb 3 2009, 7.00PM","Minutes for Council meeting, Feb 3 2009, 7.00PM"],"body":"
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Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Bath Road, Slough. View directions

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Contact: Kevin Barrett - 01753 875014  \n\t\tBkg Ref: 14011\n\t\t\n\t\t

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PRAYERS At the request of the Mayor his Chaplain the Reverend Derek West said Prayers.

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53.

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One Minute Silence

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Minutes:

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The Council stood for\none minute’s silence in memory of the people recently killed\nin Palestine.

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54.

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Declarations of Interest

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Minutes:

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Councillor Bal\ndeclared a personal interest as a member of his family worked for\nthe Borough Council.

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55.

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Minutes

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Minutes:

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The minutes of the\nproceedings of the Council at its meeting held on 16th\nDecember, 2008 were approved as a correct record and signed by the\nMayor.

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56.

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Matters Arising on the Minutes

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Minutes:

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Councillor Mann\nreferred to minute 40 – Eid Lunch – 17th\nDecember, 2008 and expressed his concern that he had, to date, not\nreceived the written response that had been promised with regard to\nthis event.  Councillor\nMann subsequently withdrew from the meeting.

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57.

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Mayor's Communications

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Minutes:

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None.

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58.

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Questions from Electors under Procedure Rule 9

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Minutes:

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None.

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59.

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Questions from Members re the Thames Valley Police Authority under Procedure Rule 10

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Minutes:

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None.

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60.

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Recommendations of the Licensing Committee of 21st January, 2009 re Alcohol Consumption in Designated Public Places PDF 89 KB

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Additional documents:

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Minutes:

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It was moved by\nCouncillor Matloob,

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  Seconded by Councillor Davis,

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“That the\nrecommendations of the Licensing Committee as set out in the report\nbe approved and adopted.” 

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The recommendations\nwere put and carried.

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Resolved -   That the Council:-

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\n\n(a) \nBeing satisfied that public nuisance or annoyance to members of the\npublic, or a section of the public, and disorder has been\nassociated with public drinking in the areas defined;

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\n\n(b) \nBeing satisfied that the problem will continue unless Orders are\nmade;

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\n\n(c) \nHaving considered the consultation responses received;

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resolves to\nmake Alcohol Consumption in Designated Public Places Orders under\nSections 12 to 16 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (as\namended) in respect of the areas detailed in the plans and\ndescriptions attached to this report as follows:-

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\n\n1. \nTown Centre.

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\n\n2. \nChalvey.

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\n\n3. \nBaylis.

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\n\n4. \nColnbrook.

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\n\n5. \nLangley 1.

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\n\n6. \nLangley 2.

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\n\n7. \nLangley 3.

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\n\n8. \nBritwell.

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\n\n9. \nFarnham Road.

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\n\n10. \nWexham Central.

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\n\n11. \nHaymill.

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\n\n12. \nCippenham Green and Cippenham Meadows.

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61.

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Motions PDF 69 KB

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Minutes:

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Motion A - Electoral Registration

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It was moved by Councillor Dale-Gough,

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 \nSeconded by Councillor Cryer,

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“Since the Government brought in\npostal voting freely on demand, there has been electoral fraud\nperpetrated in many parts of the country by some members of all the\nmajor political parties, as we know in Slough.

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We have therefore investigated what\nactions have been taken in other parts of the country where fraud\nhas been experienced, to attempt to eradicate this problem,\nincluding discussions with the Slough Electoral Registration\nOfficer.

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We call upon The Council to resolve\nthat -

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‘In conducting the 2009 Annual\nCanvass:-

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\n(a)  The\nElectoral Registration Officer issues blank Voter Registration\nForms to each household.

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\n(b)  A new\nRegister of Electors is compiled and published from the forms\nsubmitted.

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\n(c) \nThat the Electoral Registration Officer be requested not carry\nforward names where there has been no response from a\nhousehold.

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\n(d)  That\nany extra resources required by the Electoral Registration\nDepartment are allocated. (This may be the cost of seconding staff\nfrom other departments).’

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This should\nensure that those persons who no longer live in Slough are removed\nfrom the Electoral Register and only current eligible persons are\nincluded on the Electoral Roll.

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It is accepted\nthat this motion will have resource implications for Electoral\nServices.”

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At the request\nof the Mayor, the Council’s Returning Officer summarised the\nexisting electoral legislation and the measures available to the\nCouncil to combat fraud.

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An amendment\nto be moved by Councillor Swindlehurst\nwas tabled.  The Mayor\nruled that the amendment was not in order under the Council’s\nprocedure rules as it was, in his view, effectively a new\nmotion.  Councillor\nSwindlehurst withdrew the proposed\namendment.

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The motion was\nput and lost by 15 votes to 19 votes with 1 abstention.

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Resolved\n-   That the motion be\nrejected.

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Motion B\n– Electoral Registration and Elections Training

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It was moved\nby Councillor Bains,

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  Seconded by Councillor\nSwindlehurst,

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“This\nCouncil notes that:

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  • \nThe coming month sees the\nstart of Criminal Court proceedings against a group of individuals\nalready found by an Election Court to have been part of an\norganised postal vote fraud and personation offences in the Slough Local Elections\n2007.
    • \n
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  • \nThe voting fraud scandal in\nCentral Ward has undermined local residents’ confidence in\nthe electoral process and in the security of postal voting, and has\ndone untold reputational damage to our\ntown.
    • \n
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  • \nConcerns remain as to the\nadequacy of personal identifier checks and the overall security of\nthe postal vote system nationally.
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  • \nThe 2009 elections will be\nthe first elections not already under way since the publication of\nthe Slough Election Court judgement and it is important that we\nwork to ensure electors can have confidence that the electoral\npractices of local political groups and parties are proper, and\nthat the results of elections in this town have integrity and\nreflect the fair and free votes of genuine electors taking part in\nthe polls.
    • \n
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As a result this Council resolves\nto:

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  • \nInstruct the Elections\nOffice of Slough Borough Council to conduct a review of the\nCouncil’s elections administration arrangements and\nprocesses, to ensure the Council is making full use of the further\npowers granted in the 2006 Elections Administration Act –\nparticularly the increased signature and identity checking\npowers.
    • \n
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  • \nReview and enhance the\ntraining and briefing offered to prospective candidates, political\nparties, their volunteers and election agents - to ensure the\nrelevant individuals are fully aware of the law and good/bad\npractice in the conduct of their campaigns, and to ensure that this\ntraining takes place earlier in the year, before campaigning gets\nunder way, as well as being covered in the Council’s\nelections briefing at the start of the nomination\nprocess.”
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In seconding\nthe motion Councillor Swindlehurst\nproposed, and it was accepted by the mover of the motion, that the\nfollowing amendment be incorporated:-

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In the first\nbullet point of the resolution insert ‘reporting within four\nmonths’ after “processes” in the third line and\nat the end of the first bullet point of the resolution add\n“and make recommendations to Group Leaders for\naction”.  The\namended motion was put and carried by 22 votes to 5 votes with 7\nabstentions.

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Resolved\n-  This Council notes\nthat:-

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  • \nThe coming month sees the\nstart of Criminal Court proceedings against a group of individuals\nalready found by an Election Court to have been part of an\norganised postal vote fraud and personation offences in the Slough Local Elections\n2007.
    • \n
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  • \nThe voting fraud scandal in\nCentral Ward has undermined local residents’ confidence in\nthe electoral process and in the security of postal voting, and has\ndone untold reputational damage to our\ntown.
    • \n
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  • \nConcerns remain as to the\nadequacy of personal identifier checks and the overall security of\nthe postal vote system nationally.
    • \n
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  • \nThe 2009 elections will be\nthe first elections not already under way since the publication of\nthe Slough Election Court judgement and it is important that we\nwork to ensure electors can have confidence that the electoral\npractices of local political groups and parties are proper, and\nthat the results of elections in this town have integrity and\nreflect the fair and free votes of genuine electors taking part in\nthe polls.
    • \n
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As a result\nthis Council resolves to:-

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  • \nInstruct the Elections\nOffice of Slough Borough Council to conduct a review of the\nCouncil’s elections administration arrangements and processes\nreporting within four months, to ensure the Council is making full\nuse of the further powers granted in the 2006 Elections\nAdministration Act – particularly the increased signature and\nidentity checking powers and make recommendations to Group Leaders\nfor action.
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  • \nReview and enhance the\ntraining and briefing offered to prospective candidates, political\nparties, their volunteers and election agents - to ensure the\nrelevant individuals are fully aware of the law and good/bad\npractice in the conduct of their campaigns, and to ensure that this\ntraining takes place earlier in the year, before campaigning gets\nunder way, as well as being covered in the Council’s\nelections briefing at the start of the nomination\nprocess.
    • \n
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Motion C – Fair Funding\nCampaign

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It was moved by Councillor Plimmer,

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  Seconded by Councillor\nMunkley,

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“In light of the current fiscal\nchallenges, due to the recession and the ongoing issue of unfair\nfunding, this Council resolves to:-

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\n(1) \nRestart the media campaign to achieve Fair Funding for the people\nof Slough as the current situation is untenable.

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\n\n(2) \n  Ask Cabinet to\nexamine past Labour motions in the last four years, which are not\ncurrently implemented if they are fiscally viable in light of the\ncurrent fiscal situation of the Council.”

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It was moved as an amendment by\nCouncillor Anderson,

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  Seconded by Councillor\nSwindlehurst,

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That the motion be amended to read:-

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“In light of the current\nfinancial challenges due to the recession and the ongoing issue of\nunderfunding this Council resolves\nto

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Restart the media campaign to achieve\nFair Funding for the people of Slough as the current situation is\nuntenable.

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\n\n(1) \nContinue the focussed and\nprofessional campaign to ministers and the UK Statistics Authority\nto ensure that we achieve Fair Funding for Slough in the\nfuture.

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\n\n(2) \nAsk Cabinet to examine past\nLabour Motions in the last four years (which are not currently\nimplemented) where they formed part of the Manifesto and see if\nthey are viable in light of the current financial\nsituation.

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The amendment\nwas put and carried by 19 votes to 13 votes with 2\nabstentions. 

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The motion, as\namended, was put and carried by 20 votes to 14 votes with no\nabstentions.

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Resolved\n-   In light of the current\nfinancial challenges, due to the recession and the ongoing issue of\nunderfunding this Council resolves\nto:-

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\n\n1. \nContinue the\nfocussed and professional campaign to Ministers and the UK\nStatistics Authority to ensure that we achieve fair funding for\nSlough in the future.

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\n \n2. \nAsk Cabinet to examine past Labour motions in the last four years\nwhere they formed part of the Manifesto and see if they are viable\nin light of the current financial situation.

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62.

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Questions from Members under Procedure Rule 10

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Minutes:

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Questions from Members\ntogether with the responses received from relevant Chairs and\nCommissioners were tabled.

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Minutes of the Cabinet and Committees

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Cabinet of 27th November, 2008

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Cabinet of 4th December, 2008

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Planning Committee of 22nd\nDecember, 2008

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Overview & Scrutiny Committee of\n15th January, 2009

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Minutes:

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The minutes of the\nmeetings of Cabinet and Committees held since the last ordinary\nmeeting of the Council were received as follows:-

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Cabinet of\n27th November, 2008.

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Cabinet of\n4th December, 2008.

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Planning Committee of\n22nd December, 2008.

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Overview and Scrutiny\nCommittee of 15th January, 2009.

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","document_owner_id":16286,"updated_at":"2010-07-08T21:04:19Z","url":"http://www.slough.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=168&MId=2529&Ver=4","id":12166,"raw_body":null,"openlylocal_url":"http://openlylocal.com/documents/12166-Minutes-for-Council-meeting-Feb-3-2009-7-00PM","document_type":"Minutes","precis":"\nAgenda Frontsheet\n PDF 105 KB \nAgenda reports pack\n PDF 4 MB \nPrinted minutes\n PDF 91 KB \nVenue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Bath Road, Slough. View directions\nContact: Kevin Barrett - 01753 875014  \nBkg Ref: 14011\nItems\nNo.\nItem\nPRAYERS At the request of the Mayor his Chaplain the Reverend Derek West said Prayers.\n53.\nOne Minute Silence\nMinutes:\nThe Council stood for\none minute’s silence in memory of the people recently killed\nin Palestine.\n54.\nDeclarations of Interest\nMinutes:\n...","status":null}}