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22nd November 2008

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Deputation Guidance Notes

DEPUTATIONS AT MEETINGS

Contents:

• General Notes
• Meetings of the Council
• About Deputations Generally
• Procedure
• Staff to Contact on Deputations

1. Deputations can appear before meetings of the Council, the Executive, Overview and Scrutiny Boards, and Regulatory Committees (with the exceptions detailed below).
2. With the exception of those wishing to appear before the Council Meeting itself, a deputation can only appear in connection with something on the Agenda for a particular meeting.
3. The purpose of the deputations procedure is to allow deputees to address the Committee orally.  Deputees will not therefore be able to put any documents or written material to the Committee at the meeting as there is no practical opportunity for members or officers to study this without delaying and disrupting the conduct of the meeting.
4. Notice of the wish to be received as a deputation must be given in writing to the Democratic Services Team Leader (at the address given at the end of these notes).  With Council Meetings, that notice has to be delivered not later than the Thursday of the week before publication of the Council Summons. With other meetings, that notice must be with the Democratic Services Team Leader not less than one working day before the start of the meeting (other than when the meeting is on a Monday, when notice has to be in the previous Thursday).  "One working day before the start of the meeting" means 48 hours.
5. In all cases, the notice must briefly specify the subject on which the deputation wishes to speak.
6. Acknowledgement of the request for a deputation will be made whenever practicable, but given the timescale at 4 above, this may not always be possible.  You will be advised as soon as practicable whether or not the request to be received as a deputation has been agreed.
7. Deputations will not be heard where it is known beforehand that (i) the views of the deputation accord with what the officers might be recommending, (ii) that no members oppose that view and (iii) there are no deputations wishing to appear to put the contrary view.  Additionally, it is open to the Chairman concerned to decide to deal with the matter in another way.
8. If there has been a deputation at the previous meeting or within six months of any previous appearance on the same or similar topic (irrespective of whether or not the member(s) of the deputation might be different) then no such new deputation will be received until that time limit has expired. "same or similar topic" does not apply to applications for planning permission considered by the Development Control Committee. If a deputation appears before any one of the meetings open to deputations as listed at paragraph 9 below, that deputation will not be permitted to appear before any one of the other listed meetings on the same or similar subjects until a period of six months has elapsed since the first appearance before any one of the listed meetings.
9. The meetings open to deputations are:-

• The Council of the Borough of Havant
• The Executive
• Overview and Scrutiny Boards
  1. Strategy and Regeneration
  2. Environmental and Community 
• Standards Committee
• Development Control Committee and
  • Urgent Matters Sub-Committee
• Licensing Committee and
  • Urgent Matters Sub-Committee
• Staffing Matters Committee

   10.  The meetings not open to receipt of deputations are:-

• Any Sub-Committee of the Staffing Matters Committee that might be dealing with grading appeals and any disciplinary matters
• Any Committee or Sub-Committee set up to deal with Benefit Review matters

1. The procedure and processes for the receipt of deputations at meetings of the Council is sufficiently different to that for other meetings for comment to be made. Otherwise the general notes that follow are relevant.
2. The subject of the deputation need not relate to a matter before the Council. It can also be on a matter which relates to a function of the Council.
3. Notice has to be given by the Thursday of the week before publication of the Council Summons.
4. Members of a deputation must be Local Government electors for the Borough of Havant and bona fide representatives of groups or organisations working or represented locally and recognised s such by the Council.
5. There is a limit on the total time allocated for deputations at any one meeting. Currently, this is thirty minutes.
6. Ordinarily, deputations are heard fairly soon after a meeting commences. All deputations are heard in succession. The subject matter (if the deputation is in respect of something actually before the Council) will probably be debated much later in the meeting.

1. A deputation can consist of one but not more than two persons.
2. It is for the members of a deputation to decide who will address the meeting.  Where it is two persons, both may speak if they wish.
3. The maximum time allowed for any one deputation to address the meeting is five minutes in total.  No questions are allowed to be asked of the deputation.
4. If there is more than one deputation wishing to appear on a specific matter, the total amount of time allowed for speaking remains five minutes.  This means (for example only) that if there is one deputation in favour of a matter, it may speak for five minutes, but if there are two wishing to speak against, those two would have to agree between themselves as to how they will divide up the five minutes in total that is available.
5. Clearly a point could be reached where there were a number of people wishing to make a deputation pro or con a particular matter. Given that only five minutes is available to either side, the various deputations would wish to consider appointing no more than two spokespersons in order to make maximum use of the overall time available. As notification of a request to appear as a deputation can be left until only just before a meeting (see A3 above), in all probabiltiy, the "pooling of resources" will have to be discussed and agreed on the day. (This is not to preclude the Council agreeing that a particular matter is so controversial that the question of deputations for that matter would be dealt with in another way.)

1. Ordinarily, all meetings commence at 5 pm.  All meetings take place in Committee Room 1 (or with the Council, in the Council Chamber).
2. Although it is the intention and wish of members that deputations be heard as soon as possible after commencement of the meeting, a period of time up to a maximum of one hour is allowed at the beginning of every meeting, other than at Council Meetings, for "uncontroversial" matters to be dealt with first.  These "uncontroversial" matters may or may not include confidential items (in respect of which persons will be asked to leave the meeting whilst any discussion takes place).
3. This period of one hour is only ever exceeded if when that time is up, a matter mentioned under 2 is still being discussed, in which case the receipt of deputations starts when the debate on that particular matter is finished.
4. This means that it is possible that the meeting (again, excepting at Council Meetings) will not commence hearing deputations until 6 pm.

HOWEVER, all meetings may, if they wish, vary the order of their business so that deputations (and any consequent debate on the subject matter) can be taken earlier in the order of business and before 6 pm.

Accordingly, whilst every effort is made to be as helpful as possible, it is very difficult to give a precise indication to the members of a deputation as to the time when the matter in which they have an interest will be reached other than to say that deputations will be heard at 6 pm but may be heard earlier. The Democratic Services Officer concerned (a list of names and telephone numbers is attached at the end of these notes) may be contacted on the day of the meeting in an effort to clarify the situation, but otherwise the members of a deputation are asked to be in attendance in Committee Room 1 at least fifteen minutes before the normal starting time. (ie. At 4.45 pm).
A warning note - if the subject matter of a deputation has been debated and decided upon by the time a deputation arrives, it will not then be possible for the deputation to appear.

1. The deputation will be shown from where speeches will be made in the Council Chamber or Committee Room 1 and where to sit prior to and after delivery of the deputation.
2. Other than at Council meetings (see B.6 above) when the particular item is reached on which there may be a deputation or deputations, the subject matter will be dealt with in the following manner and order:-

1. The exception to 7 above would be where the matter is one where a resolution excluding the public during the debate has been passed.  In such instances, only 7(b) would take place, with any debate taking place later in the meeting without the public being present.
2. The members of a deputation may, if they wish, remain in the public gallery until that matter is dealt with (provided it is not a confidential matter when both the press and the public are excluded),