Councillors in North Tyneside missed nearly 300 meetings in total last year with illness, work clashes and family commitments blamed for the absences. 

Councillors amassed a total of 298 absences from recorded meetings between January 2023 and January 2024.

This figure accounts for all political parties and groups represented within the council, totalling 60 councillors. 

However, North Tyneside’s Labour Group has defended the record of councillor attendance at committee meetings citing conflicts with full-time employment, family responsibilities, and cases of illness, which is expected will cause more councillors to stand down this year. 

Here are the number of meetings each councillor missed:

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A North Tyneside Labour Party spokesperson said: “There are many reasons a councillor may need to miss a meeting such as long-term and short-term illnesses, family bereavement, childcare and work commitments. During this period we have had a number of councillors away from the council with life-changing long-term illnesses which has led to councillors having to stand down both in May 2023 and will do again in May 2024. 

“When you take the above away from the numbers of meetings missed, coupled with people missing meetings for short-term illnesses and family commitments as well as North Tyneside Labour Group having a majority of councillors who work full time, this goes some way to explain the absences. 

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The Northern Echo:

“20 years ago employees would release councillors for meetings but that simply is not the case now. Statistical aggregation like this fails to take into account individual circumstances. The group’s chief whip monitors and enforces attendance and any individual issues are picked up there. Councillors who have been unable to attend a meeting for six months all have dispensations.”

A survey from the Local Government Association found that 84% of councils supported the introduction of online or hybrid meetings to help councillors balance work commitments with council business. In addition, 64% of councils claimed their councillors with childcare commitments would benefit from similar arrangements. 

The North Tyneside Tory opposition, however, criticised the Labour administration’s record and questioned its value for money for council taxpayers. Leader of the North Tyneside Conservative opposition, Coun Liam Bones said: “These figures are a damming indictment of some Labour councillors who are missing over 50% of their meetings and still claiming their full allowance.”