Guidance On The Submission Of Public Questions At City Council Meetings

View previous responses to public questions

What are Public Questions?

• The public question session is an opportunity at the beginning of each ordinary meeting of the City Council for members of the public to put questions about the Council. It is a key part of the City Council’s commitment to openness and accessibility.
• A few simple rules have been introduced to help the public question session run smoothly and to be of maximum benefit to the public. These are explained in the next section.

How do I ask a Question?

• A question must be submitted in writing to the Committee Services Manager, Corporate Services, The Guildhall, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BT or by completing the online form on the Council’s website, which can be found at (www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/publicquestions&petitions). Dates of meetings and deadlines for the submission of questions are set out below.  
• Your question will be answered by the most relevant Portfolio Holder (that is the Councillor who has special responsibilities for the service or topic to which the question relates) or Committee Chair or Board Chair. The Committee Services section of the Council will co-ordinate this process and ensure that the relevant Councillor is informed of the question being posed to him or her.
• When submitting the question, you should give your name and address and, if possible a contact telephone number or e-mail address (please note, that contact details will not be disclosed without your permission).

Who can ask a Question?

• You should be a resident of the City and appear on the City Council’s electoral roll or, if under 18 years of age, must have a residential address within the City Council area.

What can I ask?

• Questions must be relevant to some matter in which the Council has powers or duties. They should be limited to one subject, but may have more than one part.
• Your question should avoid detailed individual service issues (such as why a particular refuse bin has not been collected). There are other ways of raising this kind of issue. Also, questions must not be such that an answer would be likely to result in the disclosure of confidential information (the Council’s Committee Services staff will explain this to you if the issue arises).
• Questions relating to specific planning or licensing applications will not be accepted.
• Committee Services staff will provide every assistance to any individual wishing to ask a question, including assistance with the wording or writing of the question if requested. Contact details are given below.

Can I ask the Question in Person at the Council Meeting?

• No, a question may not be asked in person at the Council meeting. Your question (as printed) will be read out by the Lord Mayor or his nominee on your behalf. However, you will be invited to the meeting to hear the response given.

Who will respond to my Question?

• Your question will be answered either by the Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader, Portfolio Holder for the relevant service, the Committee Chair or Board Chair. If the subject matter spans the areas of responsibility of more than one Portfolio Holder, Committee Chair or Board Chair the question will be answered by a nominated Member.

Who decides what Questions are answered?

• The Lord Mayor or his Deputy will determine which questions are to be answered at the meeting and the order in which they are taken. If more questions are received than can be answered in the time allocated (up to thirty minutes), written answers will be sent to all questions not dealt with at the meeting and copies of written answers will be available to all Members of the City Council on request.
• Details of all questions received will be made available to City Council members prior to the meeting and details of those to be answered will also be circulated in the Council Chamber at the meeting.
• No discussion will be allowed on any question or answer.
• The minutes of the meeting will record the name of the questioner, what the question was about, the name of the member replying and the response given. Minutes of the meeting are available within ten working days of the meeting being held and can be viewed on the Council’s website. Minutes of the meetings can also be viewed at the City’s Central Library and at the Guildhall Offices.

When does the Council meet?

The full Council generally meets monthly. Dates of the meetings and the deadlines for submission of questions for 2007/08 are displayed below.

Date of Council Meeting	Deadline for submission of questions (by 5pm on the dates given below)
Monday 9 June 2008	Friday 30 May 2008
Monday 14 July 2008	Friday 4 July 2008
Monday 8 September 2008	Friday 29 August 2008
Monday 13 October 2008	Friday 3 October 2008
Monday 8 December 2008	Friday 28 November 2008
Monday 9 February 2009	Friday 30 January 2009
Monday 9 March 2009	Friday 27 February 2009
Monday 11 May 2009	Annual Council Meeting [Currently no questions or petitions can be submitted]

Need Help?

If you have any questions not answered by this leaflet, or you would like to talk to someone about the question session arrangements or would like assistance or advice in submitting a question, the Committee Services staff will be very happy to help.

If so, please contact

Debra La Mola
Head of Democratic Services
e-mail - debra.lamola@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Telephone: 0115 915 4519