Set out below is the scheme that allows members of the public to speak at Cambridge City Council meetings. If you have any questions on the scheme, please contact the Council’s Committee Section at The Guildhall, telephone (01223) 457011 or 457012 or 457015.

To which bodies does the right to speak apply?

Meetings of the full Council, all committees, sub-committees and working parties; with the exception of:

• Planning Committee (see below) and Licensing Committee, which have their own schemes for public speaking rights;
• Any working parties which are not open to the public;
• Homelessness Appeals Committee, which allow speaking rights to interested parties, Employment Appeals Sub-Committee and Taxi Regulatory Sub-Committee.

 Is it a right to ask questions or to make statements?

 Both.

How should questions or statements be addressed?

At Council meetings, to the Chair of the relevant committee, or to the relevant member of the Executive, as determined by the Mayor. At Committee meetings etc., to the Chair of the meeting. However, in both cases, the Chair may invite another member or an officer to respond.  Questioners/speakers should begin by saying whether they are representing a person, a firm or an organisation, or whether they are speaking on behalf of themselves.

Are questions and/or statements confined to matters on the agenda or permitted on all matters within the Committee's (or other body’s) areas of responsibility?

Questions may be asked, and statements may be made, in respect of all matters within the Committee’s or other body’s areas of responsibility.

Is there a requirement for advance notification of a wish to speak or ask a question?

If the question or statement concerns a matter which is on the agenda for the meeting in question, then the speaker or questioner should register their intention to speak with the Committee Manager before the start of the meeting. If it concerns a matter which is not on the agenda, then notice of the question or of the subject matter must be given to the Committee Manager by 10.00 am on the working day preceding the meeting.

Are there time limits?

Yes.  Three minutes per speaker or questioner, with a further two minutes for a supplementary question or response. There is an overall time limit for public questioning and statements of 30 minutes, to include the time taken by responses to questions and statements. Each limit is extendable at the Chair’s discretion.

Are there rules about the nature of questions and statements?

The scheme includes the following restrictions:

• Questions and statements should not contain offensive or defamatory expressions;
• Questions and statements should not relate to the conduct of individual Council employees or to personnel matters (e.g. disciplinary proceedings or grievances);
• Questions and statements should not divulge confidential or exempt information.

The Chair may refuse to reply to a question, and may refuse to refer the question to another member or to an officer in his/her discretion. Examples of circumstances in which it might be appropriate to decline to reply to a question include:  

• Where an answer would involve divulging confidential or exempt information. (In appropriate cases, a written response may be possible with the consent of individuals whose personal information is being protected);

• Where the question concerns actual or potential legal proceedings involving the Council;
• Where responding to a question would involve a disproportionate use of resources in compiling an answer;
• Where there has been insufficient time to research an answer before the meeting.

The Chair may refuse to permit a question or a statement if it (or something similar) has already been put or made to another meeting of a Council committee or other body. The Chair may also discourage repetition and limit rights of address if more than one member of the public wishes to make a similar point. The Chair may determine the order in which questions and statements may be put. 

When in the meeting are questions or statements made?

This is left to the discretion of the Chair but, ordinarily, questions and statements will be dealt with at the beginning of the meeting. However, where a statement or a question relates to a matter on the agenda it may be appropriate for it to be put immediately preceding the consideration of the item by the committee or other body.  

Can there be any debate on questions or statements?

The Chair may comment on a response to a question or a statement if it has been referred by him/her to another member or to an officer but there is to be no general debate. If a question or statement relates to an item on the agenda, points arising from it may be pursued when the item is under consideration. If an item is not on the agenda, members are entitled to request its inclusion at a future meeting.

What if there is any dispute about procedure or the interpretation or application of these rules?

The Chair’s decision is final.  

Planning Committee

How This Works

 Members of the public, or applicants or their agents, who want to speak about an application which is to be considered at a meeting of the Planning Committee, can do so if they have

 #                    (in the case of members of the public), submitted a written representation in relation to the application and

 #                    notified the Committee Manager, see Contact below for name and phone number, by 12.00 noon on the day before the meeting.

Meetings of the Committee are held in Committee Rooms 1 and 2 on the First

Floor of the Guildhall. Speakers will be asked to make their representation from the committee table and a microphone will be available to them.

Each speaker will be allowed three minutes in which to make their representation. The Chair will tell the speaker when the three minutes has elapsed and the speaker must stop when requested to by the Chair. The Chair has discretion to extend this time limit.

If more than one person wants to make a representation about the same application, then they should chose someone to act as a spokesperson. When several people wish to speak on the same application but have different points of view, the Chair may agree to those speakers making representations expressing those different views.

The Chair will ask the speaker to come to the table at the beginning of the discussion of the report on the relevant application and will then invite them to speak following the officer's introduction to the report on the application.

The speaker should address the Chair of the Committee, which is the normal convention for committees.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Meetings of the Planning Committee are held on Wednesdays on a 4 weekly cycle throughout the year. They begin at 9.30am. A list of meetings is available from the Contact shown below and the website.

The membership of the Committee is available on the Council’s website or by phone from the contact given below.

Ward Councillors may also attend and speak on applications relating to their ward. Councillors are consulted on planning applications relating to their wards as a matter of course.

Where members of the public are to speak on an application, the Chair will bring those applications to the beginning of the agenda for the meeting.

The Chair will decide the order of the agenda.

Reports are prepared by the relevant Planning Case Officer on applications that are put to the Committee for consideration.

Copies of the reports prepared by the officers on applications are available either to read at the Guildhall or can be obtained by contacting the Committee Manager for the committee. They are also available on the Council’s website (see below for address)

CONTACT

Meetings and Procedure

Contact the Committee Manager for the Planning Committee, John Blunt, Phone no:           01223 457012

Fax no:             01223 457029

Email:  john.blunt@cambridge.gov.uk.

Details of planning applications

Contact Planning Enquiries 01223 457200