I am writing to request recorded information held by Devon County Council (DCC) regarding Councillor Mick Cockerham (Newton Abbot South) for the period May 2025 to present.
Please provide the following information:
1. Recorded Voting Record
Please provide a list of all recorded votes (where names are listed in the minutes) cast by Councillor Mick Cockerham at Full Council meetings and committee meetings during the specified period.
Clarification: If the Council does not maintain a consolidated list of individual votes (e.g., where decisions are made by a show of hands without a named roll call), please confirm explicitly that “no recorded vote data is held” for this Councillor for the requested period.
This information is available on the Devon County Council website.
2. Recorded Spoken Interventions (Minutes Data)
Please confirm if the Council holds records within meeting minutes of spoken interventions by Councillor Cockerham during Full Council or Committee meetings. Specifically, I am requesting instances where the minutes record him as:
– Moving or Seconding a motion.
– Asking a formal question (Member Question).
– Making a statement that is explicitly attributed to him in the text of the minutes.
This information is available on the Devon County Council website.
3. Committee Attendance Log
Please provide the official attendance record for Councillor Cockerham for all scheduled meetings of the following bodies from May 2025 to present:
– Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (Audit and Governance)
– Investment and Pension Fund Committee
– Development Management Committee
– Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee
– Format: Please state the total number of scheduled meetings for each committee and the number attended by the Councillor.
This information is available on the Devon County Council website.
4. Declarations of Interest (Development & Property)
Please provide copies of any updates to the Register of Interests submitted by Councillor Cockerham between January 2025 and January 2026. Specifically, I am requesting any correspondence or declarations regarding the property known as “Berea” (TQ2) or any land/subdivision associated with this address.
Context: This includes declarations made verbally during Development Management Committee meetings regarding planning applications.
This information is available on the Devon County Council website.
5. Allowances and Expenses Claims
Please provide a breakdown of all financial allowances and expenses claimed by Councillor Cockerham for the financial year 2025/2026 to date, separated into:
– Basic Allowance
– Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA)
– Travel and Subsistence (Mileage, etc.)
Regarding Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA), Councillor Mick Cockerham does not currently hold a formally listed “Special Responsibility Allowance” position.
Regarding basic allowances, expenses and travel and subsistence claims, this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act (Information Intended for Future Publication)
Devon County Council can confirm the requested information is held but it is intended for future publication in early April 2026 in the Revenue and Capital Outturn for 2025/26 which will be published on this Devon County Council webpage. Given that the publication date is imminent and in line with accepted practices, it is reasonable to withhold this information.
The Council has considered the public interest in releasing this information and recognises there is a public interest in openness and transparency. However, it is of greater public benefit to ensure that all the information about expenses (above and beyond the information requested here) is disclosed as soon as possible, even if this is at the expense of delaying the publication of the relatively small proportion of that information, ie the information requested by this request, by a number of months. Therefore the balance of public interest weighs in favour of withholding this information from disclosure.