Which meeting you can speak at depends on the decision to be made.
Speaking on Cabinet decisions at Overview and Scrutiny Committee
The more important cabinet decisions have pre-decision scrutiny at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Meetings take place three weeks before the Cabinet meeting. The public are encouraged to speak at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee so that views are heard in enough time for them to be taken into account before decisions are made.
If a report on the decision is listed on the forward plan of upcoming Cabinet decisions to go to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee you can only speak there and not at Cabinet.
You can listen live to a Cabinet meeting or access a recording.
Public speaking at Cabinet
If an item isn't being discussed at Overview and Scrutiny Committee you can speak at Cabinet. This means that for every decision being made there is a chance for members of the public to speak.
Allowing people to give their views early on at the pre-decision stage of the process means the Cabinet have more time to think about what has been said before it makes decisions.
Ask to speak at Overview and Scrutiny Committee or Cabinet
Everyone needs to follow the same process to speak, no matter which meeting you've been given permission to speak at.
Once an agenda for the meeting is published you must contact democratic services or call 01227 862 009, no later than 12:30pm the working day before the meeting.
You'll need to give the following information:
- your name and email address or phone number
- the name of the agenda item you want to speak on
- if you're speaking on behalf of an organisation or group - the name of it