Policies & Procedures

Little Hale Parish Council

Public Participation Policy

Members of the public have a statutory right to attend meetings of a Parish Council as observers.

They have no legal right to speak unless the Parish Council Chairman authorises them to do so.

LITTLE HALE Parish Council has set out 10 minutes for public participation prior to the the beginning of each meeting when members of the public are invited to speak.

LITTLE HALE Parish Council Standing Orders state that

• The session will be limited to a maximum of 10 minutes

• The time for each member of the public to speak is 2 mins. Therefore, the council can only accommodate a maximum of 5 people wishing to speak prior to any one meeting.

Members of the public wishing to speak are requested to summarise as much as possible to ensure they stay within their allocated 2 minutes. If there are fewer people wishing to speak, the individual time of 2 minutes will only be extended at the Chairman’s discretion.

On occasion the Chairman can extend the total time available if he/she deems this necessary.

Neither Councillors nor the Clerk should be put under pressure to respond immediately to comments made under participation. Members of the public do not have the right to force items onto the agenda nor to insist on how matters are recorded in the minutes.

A question raised by a member of the public during a public speaking session shall not require a response and there should be no debate or discussion between the Council and the public.

A brief record of topics raised will be included in the minutes of that meeting.

All persons present at a meeting will treat others with respect; all statements, complaints, or criticisms must be made politely; relate to the facts of the matter and not be personal in nature.

If matters raised are not on the agenda these can be used to form part of the agenda for a future meeting at the discretion of the Council. Members of the public are welcome to stay for the remainder of the meeting as observers, but will not be able to join the discussion unless invited to do so by the Chairman. If any member of the public has a point to make or question but does not wish to speak then a written statement must be received by the clerk at least 3 clear days prior to the meeting. Statements received within three clear days of the next meeting will be deferred to the meeting following the next scheduled meeting. The Chairman has the right to say that any question or statement is inappropriate and will not be accepted.

Adopted September 2024