Public Questions

Members of the public may raise issues and ask questions at meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel in relation to items on the agenda.

There is a period of 15 minutes at meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee during which members of the public can ask questions about items on the agenda.

Any member of the public who wants to ask a question should ensure that the question:

• is no more than 50 words in length;
• is not be broken down into multiple parts;
• relates to an item included on the agenda; and
• is suitable to be considered.  A question will not be suitable if, for example, it is derogatory to the Council or any third party; relates to a confidential matter; it is about a specific planning matter; or it is substantially the same as a question asked in the past six months.

Questions should be sent to Democratic Services by 1.00pm on the Monday before the meeting (the deadline will be brought forward by a working day if affected by a bank holiday). This will allow a detailed response to be given at the meeting. If advance notice of the question cannot be given the Chairman of the meeting has the discretion to allow questions on matters that are felt to be urgent.

For any further advice on questions to the O&S Committee, or to request a copy of the full Public Questions Procedure Rules, please contact Democratic Services.