Agenda item

That this Council:-

(a)       believes it is important to improve the way that the Council engages with local people;

(b)       notes the Meet the Cabinet Programme introduced by the present Administration last year which provided an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions to Cabinet members and to raise issues in their local communities;

(c)        recalls that the meetings were well received and thanks all members of the public who attended the meetings;

(d)       welcomes this new way of engaging with local people;

(e)       further welcomes that the present Administration will be repeating the Meet the Cabinet initiative this year starting in October;

(f)         further welcomes that the present Administration are not only extending the initiative but enhancing it by introducing a “Question Time” style format where the first 30 minutes of the meeting will be chaired by the Community Assembly Chair and will be spent discussing an issue that matters to local people, providing a greater opportunity for members of the public to engage with the Council; and

(g)       notes that the topics for debate in each area will be set by the concerns of local people and calls on all local people who wish to raise an issue to be debated in their area to contact their local Community Assembly.

RESOLVED: On the Motion of Councillor Harry Harpham, seconded by Councillor Geoff Smith, that this Council:-

(a)       believes it is important to improve the way that the Council engages with local people;

(b)       notes the Meet the Cabinet Programme introduced by the present Administration last year which provided an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions to Cabinet members and to raise issues in their local communities;

(c)        recalls that the meetings were well received and thanks all members of the public who attended the meetings;

(d)       welcomes this new way of engaging with local people;

(e)       further welcomes that the present Administration will be repeating the Meet the Cabinet initiative this year starting in October;

(f)         further welcomes that the present Administration are not only extending the initiative but enhancing it by introducing a “Question Time” style format where the first 30 minutes of the meeting will be chaired by the Community Assembly Chair and will be spent discussing an issue that matters to local people, providing a greater opportunity for members of the public to engage with the Council; and

(g)       notes that the topics for debate in each area will be set by the concerns of local people and calls on all local people who wish to raise an issue to be debated in their area to contact their local Community Assembly.

(Note: Councillors Robert Murphy and Jillian Creasy voted for Paragraphs (a), (b) and (g) and abstained on Paragraphs (c) to (f) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)