Policy for Public Participation at Parish Council Meetings
Chapel St Leonards Parish Council
Policy for Public Participation at Parish Council Meetings
Chapel St Leonards Parish Council meets and makes its decisions in public and is committed to community engagement. It therefore warmly invites members of the public to attend meetings and contribute within the public forum.
Members of the public are asked to respect the fact that this is a meeting to conduct council business and interruptions during council business are not permitted.
There is no Public Participation session held before the Council AGM or Special Parish Council Meetings.
1. Public participation will be at the start of the meeting for 15 minutes. These may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman. Individual contributions should last no longer than 3 minutes. The Clerk will not take notes of the meeting.
2. Any elector within the Parish may put a question to the meeting about a matter for which the Council has responsibility or which affects the parish. Electors seeking a response at the meeting must give the Clerk notice of the question at least 5 working days before the meeting. This period of time gives the Council more time to prepare an answer to the question raised. It should be noted that the council is only allowed to make decisions on topics that are publicised on the agenda. The council cannot therefore enter into any substantive discussion on a question raised.
Some questions from Electors may be of a more confidential nature i.e. the question is pertinent but the elector may prefer anonymity. Some electors may not feel comfortable to openly question the Council in front of other people. In such circumstances either an appointment can be made to visit the Council office during office hours, or the elector can post a letter to the Clerk at least 5 working days before the Council meeting.
3. Where notice of a question has been given, a reply may be given orally at the meeting by the Chairman or a person nominated by the Chairman
4. Where practical the Chairman may respond to the question, or request that the item is added onto the next agenda, no further discussion on the question will take place.
5. The Chairman can request a member of the Public to leave the meeting, or close the public participation session if the resident is causing a disturbance
ADOPTED OCTOBER 2021