Sticking to the rules on public questions at town council meetings

How the public can ask questions at town council meetings has been in the spotlight, as councillors have given a reminder of the rules. However, some local people say that the process of being able to ask the council a question makes it restrictive and denies openness by the town council.

During a recent town council economic development and planning meeting, the chair, cllr Saffi Rabey, reminded the council and public that under the council’s agreed standing orders, members of the public can only ask questions relevant to that meeting’s agenda, not general questions.

Cllr Rabey said, “In future, we are going to have to enforce the standing order, then any questions will have to come to the relevant committee.”

The standing orders were adopted by the town council in September 2021 and, to allow the meeting to progress, each member of the public can speak for no longer than three minutes and the public participation part of the meeting should not exceed 15 minutes.

Following the meeting, people raised their concern. Writing on his blog, cllr Graham Ellis said the existing rules were ‘fair enough’ but would restrict members of the public to only be able to ask the council questions on any topic at the annual town meeting, which takes place once a year.

Former town councillor, Sue Mortimer said, “Since my resignation, the questions I have been asking [at town council meetings], some of which are time sensitive, are more relevant to ask a town clerk or the mayor, but when I did ask these questions as a councillor, I did not get the answers.

“I ask the councillors, by reinforcing the rule, where is the openness of our council? Is this going to help the authority be more transparent to our local community? I think it is time for a U turn!”

A member of the public said, “I had thought that the town council was supposed to work for us, and address our concerns. It seems that we can now only raise our concerns at meetings if the council are discussing the topic anyway.”

Another person said, “If the public don’t call in/check the website or even understand which committee deals with which issue to even know where to look, I also wonder if this will prevent further engagement.”

Following the criticism, cllr Jon Hubbard has put forward a motion which he says will clarify the procedure. Cllr Hubbard proposes that members of the public would be able to ask questions about any issues of council business at a full town council meeting, restricted to three minutes. At committee meetings, subjects should be restricted to areas covered by the committee, or passed on to the correct committee.

He suggests that where possible, all questions should be submitted in writing at least five days before the meeting takes place. He also wants the opportunity for councillors to ask questions, which would be subject to the same rules as those for members of the public.

Melksham mayor, cllr Simon Crundell said, “The practice of only permitting questions from the public on matters that are specifically covered on the agenda of the meeting they are attending, is an existing town council standing order and is therefore not a change in policy.

“However, by convention, and to encourage public participation and transparency, councillors and officers have always opted to allow questions and comments relating to any matter that a member of the public wishes to raise, regardless of whether it is on that meeting’s agenda or not.

“Councillors are now looking to amend standing orders to reflect current practice. Should an adequate response not be readily available due to the relevant parties not being present at that particular committee meeting, then a written statement will be prepared and issued at a later date.”

The next full town council meeting will be held on Monday 29th April where cllr Jon Hubbard’s motion is expected to be discussed