Behind closed doors

Council meetings are held in public, but the law lets a meeting exclude the public for an item that would disclose “exempt information”, and lets some decisions be taken as urgent. These are the meetings on the record since Mon 3 Nov 2025 that did either, with the reason each council gave, in its own words.

9Hastings Borough Council meetings with a private session (10 items), and 3 urgent items minuted

1East Sussex County Council meetings with a private session (1 item), and 1 urgent item minuted

Meeting by meeting

Cabinet, Mon 9 Nov 2026
Hastings Borough Council · still to come
The agenda proposes to take 3 items in private:
- Extension to election printing contract (Part 2)
- Notification of Additional Urgent Items
- Urgent Items (if any)
The reason given: “Exclusion of the public To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items of business listed below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”
Audit Committee, Thu 10 Sep 2026
Hastings Borough Council
The agenda listed to take 1 item in private:
- Cyber Security Audit opinion update
The reason given: “To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items of business listed below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”
Licensing Sub Committee, Wed 9 Sep 2026
Hastings Borough Council
The agenda listed to take 1 item in private:
- Application for a Review of a Personal Licence
The reason given: “Recommendation: To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the item of business below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”
- Paragraph 1: “Information relating to any individual.”
Audit Committee, Thu 2 Jul 2026
Hastings Borough Council
The meeting resolved to take 1 item in private:
- Internal Audit Annual Report and Opinion including Audit Progress Report - Quarter 4 Annex C (Part 2)
The reason given: “That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item of business because exempt information, as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, was likely to be disclosed.”
- Paragraph 3: “Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).”
Charity Committee, Mon 22 Jun 2026
Hastings Borough Council
The meeting resolved to take 2 items in private:
- Foreshore Trust Allocation of Income and Expenditure (Part 2)
- Extension to the Public Convenience Cleaning Contract (Part 2)
The reason given: “That the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items of business listed below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”
Cabinet, Mon 8 Jun 2026
Hastings Borough Council
The meeting resolved to take 1 item in private:
- Extension to the Public Convenience Cleaning Contract (Part 2)
The reason given: “That the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items of business listed below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”
Urgent Items (if any). The minutes: “The meeting noted the Extension to the Public Convenience Cleaning Contract (Part 1 & 2) as an urgent item under the general exception procedure.”
Regulatory Committee, Mon 27 Apr 2026
Hastings Borough Council
The agenda listed to take 1 item in private:
- Renewal of Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) Licence
The reason given: “To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items of business listed below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”
Cabinet, Wed 25 Mar 2026
Hastings Borough Council
The meeting resolved to take 1 item in private:
- Homelessness Prevention and Ending Rough Sleeping Funding and Contract Awards (Part 2)
The reason given: “That the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items of business listed below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”
Urgent Items (if any). The minutes: “The meeting noted the Homelessness Prevention and Ending Rough Sleeping Funding Parts 1 and 2 as urgent items under the general exception procedure.”
Cabinet, Mon 2 Mar 2026
Hastings Borough Council
The meeting resolved to take 1 item in private:
- Units at Brunel Road
The reason given: “That the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items of business listed below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”
Urgent Items (if any). The minutes: “The meeting noted the Hastings Castle and West Hill Café Project Update as an urgent item under the general exception procedure.”
Full Council, Tue 2 Dec 2025
East Sussex County Council
Urgent Decisions. The minutes: “The Chairman informed the Council of an urgent decision taken by the Cabinet at a meeting on 24 September under urgency provisions. 51.2 The report was received and noted.”
Lead Member for Transport and Environment, Mon 10 Nov 2025
East Sussex County Council
The meeting resolved to take 1 item in private:
- Installation of Fire Suppression Systems at Waste Transfer Stations - Exempt Information
The reason given: “It was RESOLVED to exclude the public and press from the meeting for the remaining agenda items on the grounds that if the public and press were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as specified in paragraphs 3 and 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including…”
- Paragraph 3: “Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).”
- Paragraph 5: “Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.”
Cabinet, Mon 3 Nov 2025
Hastings Borough Council
The meeting resolved to take 1 item in private:
- Leisure Centre Management Contract (Part 2)
The reason given: “That the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the items of business listed below because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt’ information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.”

How this page is made

A meeting goes into private session by agreeing an item called “Exclusion of the public” (or “of the public and press”). We read that item in each meeting’s agenda and minutes, quote its reason, and list the items after it on the agenda by their published titles. Where the council names the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 it relies on, the statute’s words for each are shown; often it says only “the paragraphs … referred to in the relevant report”, and then we don’t guess. Urgent items are minuted items headed “Urgent items” or “Urgent decisions” that record something; “there were none” isn’t counted. The counts cover past meetings only, and only the meetings whose agenda or minutes the record holds. The county’s meetings cover all of East Sussex. Nothing here says whether an item should have been private: that is the council’s call under the law, and its reasons are quoted.

Not here yet: which papers came out late. The councils’ systems give each paper a publication date, but the record doesn’t keep it, and the date may be the last time a paper was re-published rather than the first; until it’s kept and checked, we don’t count late papers.