The Leader of Nottingham City Council says he does not apologise for having not resigned from the board of a housing company yet. Labour's David Mellen said he would step down from the board of Blueprint (General Partner) Limited by the end of May after receiving advice about a "perceived" conflict of interest.
Nottingham City Council then said that Councillor Mellen would instead step down once a replacement has been appointed, giving no indication as to when this was likely. Both Councillor Mellen and Labour's Councillor Leslie Ayoola remain active directors of the company.
The issue was raised at a full meeting of the council on Monday (July 10) by Councillor Andrew Rule, who asked why instructions from the Improvement and Assurance Board (IAB) overseeing improvements at the city council had not been "complied with." In terms of why he was stepping down, Councillor Mellen explained in May: "Executive members with perceived conflicts have agreed to step down from boards where there is an actual or perceived conflict."
