No time for Public Questions

Epsom and Ewell RA councillors continued to reject a Lib Dem plan to allow questions from local residents at meetings of the Borough Council. This is despite the success of "public question time" at Surrey County Council's Local Committee.

Our latest proposals for increased public involvement included allowing questions to be submitted in writing for a trial period. The Lib Dems have been instrumental in opening up various council committees to the public since 1999. Residents now regularly make use of public speaking arrangements at the Planning Committee, where they can speak in favour of (or against) any planning application.

We have done reasonably well considering there was outright opposition to any public involvement only a few years ago, but there is still this further step Epsom & Ewell councillors should take now.

Currently the public can only address a committee when their comments are directly relevant to an item already on the agenda. The Lib Dem plan would allow residents to draw the attention of all 38 assembled councillors to any matter over which the Council has control. This would put the agenda back in the hands of the public rather than the political parties.

However, the RA councillors took the view that allowing residents to speak directly to the whole council would be an admission that their political system has failed.