Public Speaking at Committee Meetings
Guidance Notes for Speaking to Council and Committees of South Shropshire District Council
Introduction
South Shropshire District Council has introduced a scheme for members of the public to come and speak or put pre-notified questions to Office-Holders at most Council and certain Committee Meetings.
The Council wants local people to take a real part in the decision-making process. Councillors want to know what you think so that they can consider your views when making choices that will affect you.
So, if you feel strongly about a Council matter, you are welcome to come and make a statement or put a pre-notified question to Councillors. You can also present them with a petition (full Council meetings only) and let them know how you feel by making a statement about that issue.
There are a few issues which the law says cannot be discussed in public, but you will have a chance to have your say on the majority of Council business.
To make the scheme as effective as possible for everyone, there are guidelines to help you plan your visit to the Council. These may, in certain circumstances, be changed by the Chairman of the Council or of the Committee you are speaking to, but please follow them and we shall do our best to arrange a time for you to come and speak.
Officers are available to offer guidance about which meeting it would be best to speak at, whom you should address, and any other details you may like assistance with. Once we receive your Notice to Speak, we shall contact you to confirm that your point can lawfully be made and to arrange for you to attend
Which Meetings May I Speak At?
Council meetings open to the public (except the Annual Meeting of the Council) and public meetings of the following committees:
- Full Council
- Community Safety Accessibility and Equalities Policy Panel
- Executive Committee
- Policy Committee
- Scrutiny Committee
Separate schemes exist for:
- Development Control (Planning) Committee,
BVPN 70 Notes on public speaking at Development Control Committee - Licensing and Appeals Committee
- Licensing Committee
- Standards Committee
What Can I Say?
You can ask a pre-notified question and seek a reply, make a statement, or present a petition, which will normally need a minimum of ten signatures, and give a short explanation of the petition. You may speak about things concerning policy or principle but the issue must not be one that has to be treated confidentially.
Who Do I Say It to?
Your question, statement or petition (full Council only) may be presented to the Leader and/or Deputy Leader, Executive Committee Lead Members, or the Chairmen of the Policy or Scrutiny Committees
However, you will not be allowed to address Council Members on any of the following topics:
- the employment of Council staff;
- any topic where there is a right of appeal;
- any subject which, in the Chairman's opinion, is confidential, or where the Chairman feels it would be better dealt with in writing, or something which s/he regards as offensive, frivolous or defamatory.
Who Is Allowed to Speak?
We want this scheme to be open to as many members of the public of South Shropshire as possible, but we are unable to arrange for you to speak if you:
- are a Council employee (or representative of a Council employee) who wishes to speak about your contract of employment;
- have any contract with the Council and wish to speak about that contract;
- are an elected member of another Council and wish to speak about that Council;
- are an elected member of this Council; or
- neither live nor work in the District.
How do I Arrange to Speak?
On-line Applications
If you know which meeting you want to speak at, please use the following link to find the appropriate Committee Meeting:
Complete the on-line form and submit the form so it reaches us at least two clear working days before the meeting (three in the case of Full Council).
Applications by Post
Please send us the attached Notice to Speak form, giving us as much information as you can. We shall arrange with you when you can come and make your point. You may e-mail or fax the information, but please remember to give all the details requested on the Notice to Speak form.
If you know which meeting you want to speak at, please return the form so it reaches us at least two clear working days before the meeting (three in the case of Full Council). When we receive your Notice we'll check that your request does not fall into one of the exempted categories.
If we receive more than one Notice saying roughly similar things, we shall give you details of other would-be speakers so you may appoint a spokesman from among you. The sooner we receive your Notice to Speak, the more chance you will have of speaking. If your subject is not permitted, we shall contact you and tell you why.
What Will Happen at the Meeting?
Thirty minutes will be allocated to deal with all contributions from the public and responses from Councillors. As long as time permits, you will be invited to speak soon after the beginning of the meeting, unless your question, statement or petition directly concerns an item on the meeting's agenda. When this occurs the Council/Committee may decide that it would be helpful to defer your contribution and hear it immediately before consideration of that item. Alternatively, the Chairman may agree to advance that item so you are not kept longer than necessary. You will be allowed three minutes to put your case. If you have asked a question you may, if you wish, ask one further question, or make another statement, after the person you addressed has answered you, as long as it has to do with your first contribution.
Copies of your question/statement will have been circulated to all the Committee members and will also be available for members of the public at the meeting.
Normally the Chairman, or the Office-Holder you named in your Notice To Speak, will answer your question. The Councillor concerned may ask an Officer to reply if the question is about a technical or legal issue. If your question cannot be immediately answered due to lack of time or the relevant information not being available, or the Member to whom it was addressed being absent, then you will receive a written answer within five working days.
We shall normally be able to tell you before the meeting whether the person you plan to address will be able to answer your question or statement. But occasionally they may decide to refer the matter to a more appropriate Committee, or they may need more time in order to give you a complete answer.
Before the meeting starts, you will be given an information sheet with guidelines to help you and the Councillors get the most out of your visit.
Petitions
Petitions are probably worth a further note of explanation. These may be dealt with during the time set aside for questions and statements but if insufficient time is available, may, at the discretion of the Head of Administration and Legal Services, be dealt with before that.
Petitions can only be considered at meetings of the full Council, they will not be debated by the Council, other than to refer them to the Executive Committee, Policy Committee or Scrutiny Committee as appropriate.
Further Information
For further information contact Commitee Services.
Related documents on our site:
| Document Name | Speaking at Committee Meetings Form |
| Document Narrative | Application to Speak at a Committee Meeting |
| Download Time | about 5 seconds over a normal 56K modem |
All documents are provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), if you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader a free copy can be downloaded from www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.
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Subscribe to changes to this page here.Author: Eric Williams. Last Updated: 6/11/2007.
