Pleas to avoid holding Worthing council meetings in the day

At a full meeting on Tuesday (February 22), Worthing Borough Council approved its schedule of meetings for the next year.

However, not all councillors were happy with holding the annual mayor-making ceremony in the middle of the day.

It led to a call from Lib Dem Bob Smytherman (Tarring ward) to avoid day-time meetings and move all meetings to the evening instead.

Emma Taylor (Lab, Heene) also opposed the change.

She said: “Many of the members here do actually have to hold down full-time jobs as well and the amount of annual leave that we already take – because we take our commitments very seriously – is not insignificant.”

This was backed by councillor Hazel Thorpe (LDem, Tarring) who said her children couldn’t attend her mayor-making ceremony because it was during the day.

“Being mayor is an honour and I was really sad my daughter’s couldn’t [attend] because they’re both teachers in different parts of the country,” she said.

Mrs Thorpe said moving the ceremony to the evening would be ‘more inclusive’.

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But council leader Kevin Jenkins, who proposed the meeting time, said it was important to uphold tradition and evening meetings did not suit everybody.

“We are a fully inclusive council, and will continue to be an inclusive council,” he said.

“We are making an assumption here that everybody works Monday to Friday.

“Many people work shift work across a variety of industries and businesses so one model doesn’t suit all.

“I’m fortunate enough to be retired. I personally find 6.30 meetings very difficult.”

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Heather Mercer (Con, Salvington) said: “Sometimes if we commit ourselves to public posts, we have to commit ourselves to what is being on offer.”

Labour councillor Carl Walker (Selden ward) disagreed with this.

“We don’t have to just follow the rules and traditions when people are being disadvantaged,” he said.

“If we’re serious and we want representation on this council, right across the board, economic representation, ethnic representation, representation of people from different ages, we have to accommodate them.”

But Ed Crouch (Con, Marine) said it was important to have the meeting during the day for the sake of tradition, adding that employers should grant time off ‘paid or unpaid’.

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