Public Speaking

Public speaking at Planning Committee

If you wish to have your say at a Planning Committee, please read the Planning Applications - Public Speaking Protocol, and register your interest with our Democratic Services Team at democraticservices@rushcliffe.gov.uk or phone 0115 9148 349 or 0115 9148 277.

Information about citizen’s questions can be found in the questions and answers below.

Citizen’s Question is the opportunity at the beginning of each meeting of the Council’s Cabinet and each ordinary meeting of Full Council for citizens to ask questions about the council or the services it provides. It is a key part of the Borough Council’s commitment to transparency, openness and accessibility in the democratic process.
The question session lasts for 15 minutes and is open to residents who live in the Borough or business owners who have a business address in the Borough but are not Rushcliffe residents (this opportunity is not extended to employees of businesses in the Borough who are not residents).
The following guidelines have been introduced to help Citizen’s Questions run smoothly and to be of maximum benefit to the public.

Questions for Citizen’s Questions need to be submitted in advance of either the Cabinet or Council meeting at which you would like to ask your question. Please see the table at the bottom of the page for a list of meeting dates and deadlines for submitting your question.
Your question must be submitted in writing to Democratic Services, by email: democraticservices@rushcliffe.gov.uk or by letter to Democratic Services, Rushcliffe Borough Council, Rushcliffe Arena, Rugby Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7YG.
You need to give us your name, address (or that of your Borough based business) and e-mail (please note that your contact details will not be disclosed without your permission).

There is a limit of one question per citizen at each meeting.
Your question 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) as there are other ways of raising this kind of issue.
Questions relating to specific planning or licensing applications cannot be accepted as there are other ways of raising these e.g. objecting to the application.
Questions may be rejected by the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader (at Cabinet) or the Mayor (at Council), for the following reasons:

The question relates to an issue that is not a Council responsibility
The question is defamatory, vexatious, or offensive
The question is similar to or has already been asked in the last 6 months
Where a response would disclose confidential or exempt information
Where a response would relate to matters currently under investigation
Where a response would relate to a matter where Council has a quasi-judicial or regulatory role.

Officers in our Democratic Services team will provide every assistance to any individual wishing to ask a question, including assistance with the wording or writing of the question if requested. For further information email democraticservices@rushcliffe.gov.uk or telephone 0115 9148481.

Yes, you may attend a meeting to present your question in person. You will be limited to the wording of the question as it has been submitted. If you prefer, your question can be read out by the Leader (at Cabinet) or the Mayor (at Council). However, you will be invited to the meeting to hear the response given. The meeting usually follows the order as printed in the agenda, but the Leader (at Cabinet) or the Mayor (at Council) may alter the order of the agenda at the meeting.

Your question will be answered by the most relevant Portfolio Holder (that is the Cabinet member who has special responsibility for the service or topic to which the question relates) or one of our Scrutiny Committee Chairmen. The Leader (at Cabinet) or the Mayor (at Council) will ask the most appropriate person to respond to your question.
The Leader (at Cabinet) or the Mayor (at Council) will determine which questions are to be answered at the meeting (in accordance with the guidelines for questions above). If more questions are received than can be answered in the time allocated (up to fifteen 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 Borough Council and published on the Council web site.

No discussion will be held 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 Councillor answering the question and details of the answer given. Minutes are available after the meeting and can be viewed on the Council’s website and at the Council offices.

If you have any additional questions, or you would like to talk to someone about the Citizen’s Questions arrangements, Democratic Services staff will be very happy to help on 0115 9148481 or email democraticservices@rushcliffe.gov.uk

Deadlines for questions motions and petitions to Council
Date of Council Meeting	Deadline for submission of motions/petitions (by 5pm)	Deadline for submission of Cllr and Citizens questions (by 5pm)
Thursday 18 July	Thursday 4 July	Monday 15 July
Thursday 26 September	Thursday 12 September	Monday 23 September
Thursday 5 December	Thursday 21 November	Monday 2 December
Thursday 6 March	Thursday 20 February	Monday 3 March
Thursday 22 May	Not applicable	Not applicable

Deadlines for questions motions and petitions to Cabinet
Date of Cabinet Meeting	Deadline for submission of Cllr and Citizens questions (by 5pm)
Tuesday 11 June	Thursday 6 June
Tuesday 9 July	Thursday 4 July
Tuesday 10 September	Thursday 5 September
Tuesday 8 October	Thursday 3 October
Tuesday 12 November	Thursday 7 November
Tuesday 10 December	Thursday 5 December
Tuesday 14 January	Thursday 9 January
Tuesday 11 February	Thursday 6 February
Tuesday 11 March	Thursday 6 March
Tuesday 8 April	Thursday 3 April
Tuesday 13 May	Thursday 8 May

Have Your Say