FI16903

Request

1. A list of all meetings (including in-person, virtual, or telephone) attended by Cllr Gordon Cowan where any of the following applied:

• The meeting involved discussions relating to Licensing, Port Health, or Transport (including public transport schemes such as Fast Track).
• A lead officer or senior officer from any of these portfolio areas was in attendance.

2. Details of any meetings within this time period that were scheduled with the relevant officers in these areas but were subsequently cancelled.

3. Information on any recurring or regular meetings (e.g. weekly, fortnightly, monthly) added to Cllr Cowan’s diary between 17th May 2025 and 8th July 2025, specifically relating to these portfolio areas. If a date that these meeting were created I would be interested to know when.

4. Similarly, please confirm if any regular meetings with officers in these service areas have been added to his diary since 8th July 2025.

5. For each meeting identified, please provide (where available):

• The date and format of the meeting (e.g. in person, MS Teams, phone call).
• Names and roles of attendees.
• The subject matter discussed.
• Any associated documentation, such as agendas, minutes, briefing papers, or presentations.

6. Copies of any internal communications (including emails, memos, or Teams messages) between Cllr Cowan and the lead officers within these portfolio areas that relate to strategic decisions, operational matters, or policy development.

7. In instances where no formal minutes were taken, please confirm whether any alternative records exist, such as summary notes, email follow-ups, or calendar entries, and provide copies where applicable.

Response

1. As follows:

Date	Lead/Senior Officer in Attendance	Area of Responsibility
27 May 2025	Yes	ICT and Transport
12 June 2025	Yes	Fastrack
17 June 2025	Yes	ICT and Transport
24 June 2025	Yes	ICT and Transport
25 June 2025	Yes	Licensing

There have been no Portfolio Holder meetings for the period requested in respect of Private Sector Housing, Public Protection, Environmental Protection, Environmental Crime and Port Health matters. 

In addition to the above, the Environmental Protection and Crime Manager has advised that he was in attendance at Leadership Forum and Cabinet on 7 July 2025 where Councillor Cowan was also in attendance.

2. None were cancelled.

3. As follows:

• ICT and Transport: Meetings as above set out in respect to question 1.  Monthly meetings all scheduled – these were created at the introduction meeting on 27 May 2025.
• Fastrack: Arrangements for the monthly meetings with the Dover Fastrack Project Manager were commenced during that period of your request but not finalised until after that period.
• Licensing: Monthly meetings have been set up and were created immediately after the meeting on 25 June 2025.

4. As follows:

• ICT and Transport: No, not since 8 July 2025 (arranged prior to this date)
• Fastrack: Yes
• Environmental Crime: Yes, in progress.
• Licensing: No, not since 8 July 2025 (arranged prior to this date)

5. As follows:

Date/Format	Attendees	Subject Matter	Documentation
27 May 2025 in person	Cllr Gordon Cowan and Head of Technology and Resilience	Introduction as new Portfolio Holder for ICT and Transport (Emergency Planning)	None held
12 June 2025 in person	Cllr Gordon Cowan, Director of Housing Finance and Assets and the Head of Parks, Open Spaces and Countryside (Operations) [Fastrack Project Manager]	Project briefing on Fastrack, covering the history of the project, resolution of outstanding defects and negotiations with the contractor regarding settlement of the account.	Emails (exempt from disclosure as per FOI request FI16091 which has already been sent to you)
17 June 2025 in person	Cllr Gordon Cowan, Head of Technology and Resilience, Community Safety, Resilience and Digital Manager and Technology and Security Manager	Introduction to managers of service area and update on projects in these areas (regular portfolio meeting)	None held
24 June 2025 in person	Cllr Gordon Cowan, Head of Technology and Resilience and Community Safety, Resilience and Digital Manager	EES and website update, and response to Council question	None held
25 June 2025 on Teams	Cllr Gordon Cowan, Head of Legal and Licensing and Licensing Manager	Structure and frequency of future meetings and answer to Council question.	None held.
7 July 2025 in person	Cabinet Members, Corporate Management and various officers (including the Environmental Protection and Crime Manager).	Leadership Forum – Cabinet Report regarding adoption of a new Public Spaces Protection Order.	None held.
7 July 2025 in person	Cabinet Members, Corporate Management and various officers (including the Environmental Protection and Crime Manager).	Leadership Forum – Cabinet Report regarding adoption of a new Public Spaces Protection Order.	The Cabinet meeting agenda and minutes are available on the Council's website

6. As follows:

• ICT and Transport: These are attached.
• Port Health and Public Protection: These are attached.
• Fastrack: This is attached apart from those which are exempt from disclosure as set out in the response to FOI request reference FI16901) 

Please note that some information has been redacted as it is considered personal data and therefore exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act.  The Council considers the names and contact details of individual members of staff to be personal data.  The names of staff working in public authorities are personal data as defined by Article 4(1) of GDPR and also Section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the release of this data would contravene the data protection principles.  

7. As follows:

• ICT and Transport: Calendar entries are regular monthly portfolio holder meetings.
• Licensing: Calendar entries are regular monthly portfolio holder meetings.

Attachments

Attachment