Executive Board in a Bit of a Rush?

Saw a tweet from one of the Post reporters earlier that the Executive Board meeting today was all done in 17 minutes bar an 'exempt item'.

Executive Board is really the meeting where the vast majority of bigger decisions are made. This meeting had three 'key' decisions, one of which is a £13m pool development at Harvey Hadden, the schools budget for the year and a review of gambling policy. Quite a work rate you might think.

Look a bit further down the agenda and you get a possible clue to this apparent ability to make decisions so quickly

"PORTFOLIO HOLDERS ARE REMINDED THAT THERE WILL BE A PRE-MEETING IN THE LEADERS ROOM AT 1.00PM"

Now then, Executive Board is only actually made up of the Portfolio Holders (opposition parties can send a non-voting representative but, for obvious reasons rarely bother).

So why have a meeting of the Executive Board in the Leader's Room for up to an hour before the official meeting of the Executive Board? Because of course, the public don't have access to the pre-meeting, they can only go and watch the official meeting.

Now I'm sure I'm just being Mr cynical conspiracy theorist but is it not just possible that the idea behind this arrangement is to make sure the real decision making and discussion happens in private and, once the story's straight, go on to a public rubber stamp meeting.

I doubt it's any different to how things go with any other council which has a party with such a large majority but it's not great is it?