Agenda item

Report of the Director of Legal and Democratic Services (LDS/23/13), presenting an updated public participation scheme, to reflect updated working practices and the views of the Governance Working Group, attached.

RESOLVED that the changes to the Public Participation guidance, attached at appendix 1 to the Report, be endorsed, and recommend that Council adopt accordingly for publication on the website and make the necessary amendments to the Constitution.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Legal and Democratic Services (LDS/23/13), which presented an updated public participation scheme, which reflected updated working practices and the views of the Governance Working Group.

The Report highlighted that the Council’s public participation guidance had been in existence for a number of years, with the ability for members of the public to engage with the democratic processes of the Council.

It further reported on the changes to the scheme over the years to increase democratic engagement, such as the ability to submit questions to the Cabinet and Council (introduced in 2014). At the same time, revised arrangements were made so that the public may make oral representations at meetings of the Council.

In 2016, the facility for public speaking at Scrutiny Committees was introduced, initially for a trial period of 12 months but permanent after the trail period had ended.

The guidance on Public Participation formed a dedicated work strand of the Governance Working Group. This was initially discussed at its meeting on 7^th August 2023 as well as the Centre for Governance Scrutiny’s four principals of good scrutiny.

The main changes proposed to the scheme including a number of amendments which reflected more modern meetings and working practices, for example the ability to attend some meetings virtually.

The Committee noted there were no changes proposed to the deadline on submitting representations or questions, as the benchmarking data showed that the Council had reasonably long deadlines when compared to others.

A number of other small changes had been proposed, for example the ability of Members and / or Officers to respond to any points made by the public, particularly if clarification was required and also improved sign posting towards which Committee would be best suited for questions and or representations, furthermore, highlighting that Scrutiny was not a decision-making body.

Whilst this proposal was not directly aligned to the Council’s Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025, it supported the commitment of being a trusted and inclusive Council that heard the voices of communities, listened, learned and made good decisions.

In summary, the Committee noted that the revised public participation guidance had not significantly changed, for example deadlines remaining the same and no public engagement opportunities had been withdrawn. The updates sought to clarify the expectation at meetings in terms of responses and also reflect more modern working practices.

Members expressed concern that the ability of right of reply should not turn into a debate with public participation at meetings. It was further clarified that the public were informed by Committee Clerks that if large numbers of speakers registered or numerous questions were received, then the time limit allowed may expire before they could be heard. The guidance highlighted that if questions could not be dealt with in the timescale, then a response would be sent via email.

It was MOVED by Councillor Hart, SECONDED by Councillor Brazil, and

RESOLVED that the changes to the Public Participation guidance, attached at appendix 1 to the Report, be endorsed, and recommend that Council adopt accordingly for publication on the website and make the necessary amendments to the Constitution.