Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council believes that Local Government should be as open and accessible as possible. As part of its aim to achieve this objective, the Council's Constitution gives members of the public the opportunity to ask questions of Members at ordinary meetings of the Cabinet.

 

Questions can be asked irrespective of whether the matters in question are on the agenda for the meeting.  However, the items raised should relate to matters of policy or principle, rather than to private or personal issues.  If you have a personal question and you either have been unable to get an answer from the relevant Council Service Section or else you are not happy with the answer provided, you are encouraged to make a formal complaint or contact your Local Councillor with the details.  Information leaflets about the Council's formal complaint procedure are available from the Council's main offices, and Local Councillor details may be found on the Council's website.

 

Advance notice must be given of questions.  However, priority will be given to questions of which advance notice has been given.  Provided  five clear days written notice is given (excluding Saturdays and Sundays and the day of the meeting), an answer is guaranteed - either orally at the meeting, or in writing within five days after the meeting if time does not allow an oral answer to be given.  Each Questioner must give their name and address.  Details of the dates and times of the ordinary meetings of the Cabinet can be found clicking here and a list of Members with their Portfolios showing the Council functions for which they are responsible are set out here.  

You will need to submit a Question Request Form in order to submit a question to a Cabinet Meeting.

 

THE RULES:

 

To help meetings run smoothly and enable as many people as possible to participate, the following rules will govern the period in which questions can be put.  These are set out as follows:

 

(1)  Question time will be limited to ordinary meetings of the Cabinet.

 

(2)  A maximum period of 15 minutes will be set aside for all questions and answers at the start of each Cabinet meeting.  The Leader may at his/her discretion extend that time for the purpose of answering the last question put before the expiry of the 15 minutes.

 

(3)  No person may submit more than two questions at any one meeting and no more than two such questions may be asked on behalf of one organisation.

 

(4)  Questions which do not receive a response through lack of time will be given a written reply. 

 

(5)  If the number of questions involved appear to exceed the time available, the Leader will decide the order in which the questions can be taken and who will be permitted to speak.  However, priority will be given to questions of which notice has been given in advance of the day of the meeting.

 

(6)  Every question shall be put and answered without discussion, although the Leader may permit the Questioner to ask a supplementary question.  However the supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or the reply.  The Leader may reject a supplementary question on any of the Grounds in Rule 7 below.

 

(7)  The Leader will have the right to stop persons from speaking at any time if he/she considers the questions to be defamatory, improper or outside the duties and responsibilities of the Cabinet or requires the disclosure of confidential or exempt information.  The Leader will also have discretion in handling the question period and his/her discretion will be final on all matters.

 

(8)  If you want to ask a question, you must attend the relevant meeting and arrive at least 10 minutes before the starting time, so that the Leader knows you are present and ready to ask you question.

Please make yourself known to the Leader or one of the Officers.

 

(9)  You need not give notice of your question in advance of the date of the meeting, but you must complete the appropriate form and hand it to the Leader or a member of staff immediately prior to the start of the meeting.  It is important to include your name and address on the form in case it is necessary to send you a written reply.

 

(10)  Groups of residents or members of organisations should nominate a representative to present the views of the group/organisation.

 

(11)  Questions cannot be asked/made in respect of: