Committee Details

The Governance Committee is leading on work to transition to a committee system of governance from May 2022. It is a politically proportionate Committee which will be tasked with oversight of the transitional work and will approve the recommendations to be made to Full Council.

The Committee will be outward facing. The Council will not be working in isolation on this project but will seek input from outside the organisation, ensuring citizens are engaged and are provided with opportunities to help shape this programme of work The Council will also be engaging the professional support of agencies such as the Local Government Association, the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny and Monitoring Officers from other local authorities which have recently transitioned or are about to transition to a Committee system. This will ensure the Council is supported through this period and learns from best practice to ensure that the system implemented in Sheffield responds to the needs of our City.

Attending Meetings

Meetings of the Council have to be held as physical meetings and are open to the public.  Meetings are normally held at Sheffield Town Hall and are webcast.

If you would like to attend the meeting, please report to an Attendant in the Foyer at the Town Hall where you will be directed to the meeting room.  However, it would be appreciated if you could register to attend, in advance of the meeting, by emailing committee@sheffield.gov.uk, as this will assist with the management of attendance at the meeting.  

Please do not attend the meeting if you have COVID-19 symptoms.

PLEASE NOTE: The Public Gallery in the Town Hall Council Chamber can accommodate 50 persons.  Social distancing may not be possible in the Gallery depending on the numbers of members of the public in attendance at the meeting.  An overspill area will be provided in the event that more than 50 members of the public attend - the webcast of the meeting will be live streamed to that room.

We are unable to guarantee entrance to the Public Gallery for observers, as priority will be given to registered speakers and those that have registered to attend.

Alternatively, you can observe the meeting remotely by clicking on the ‘view the webcast’ link provided on the meeting page of the website.

There is an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions and submit petitions under the agenda item 'Public Questions and Petitions'.

The Chair of the meeting has discretion as to how questions and petitions are presented at the meeting and as to whether you are invited to ask your question or present a petition at the meeting or they are read out at the meeting. A response to the question or petition will be given by the appropriate Member or Council officer.   If you are not able to attend the meeting, your question/petition may be referred to the appropriate Member, Council officer or organisation and an answer/response will be provided to you.

Where a submitted question or petition cannot be answered because time does not allow, or where a Member undertakes to provide a written answer/response, the written answer/response will be provided to you and will be published on the Council website.

If you wish to attend a meeting and ask a question or present a petition, you must submit the question/petition in writing by 9.00 a.m. at least 2 clear working days in advance of the date of the meeting, by email to the following address: committee@sheffield.gov.uk.  

 Please note that the Chair of the meeting may not accept petitions or questions which relate to:-

(i) matters not being within the responsibility of the Local Authority or which affects the City or its inhabitants;

(ii) judicial or quasi-judicial matters;

(iii) individual planning/licence/grant applications or appeals;

(iv) named officers or Members of the Council;

(v) confidential matters of the type referred to in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972; or

(vi) matters of an irrelevant, repetitious, defamatory, frivolous or offensive nature or a general misuse of the opportunity.

Please note that meetings will be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the council’s website. See the Council’s Webcasting Notice for more details.

Further information is available on submitting petitions.

Recording is allowed at Governance Committee meetings under the direction of the Chair of the meeting. The protocol on audio/visual recording and photography provides further information.