Dear Sir,
I wonder how many of your readers are aware that members of the public are able to place questions to Committees of Stafford Borough Council, which may then be read out and answered by Councillors at official meetings. This is known as the ‘Public Question Time’.
I took advantage of this little-known facility recently when I put a question to the Community Scrutiny Committee, which was to debate the proposal to reduce the number of Councillors and tenants on the Board of Stafford and Rural Homes from five each to just two each, something I found deeply concerning.
I asked whether such a move would change the balance of the board fundamentally and, were it to go ahead, whether it would have been a betrayal of the original concept of equal partnership.
I attended the meeting and read out my question in person, listened to the reply and went on my way. Whether that action helped fuel debate or even tip the balance of opinion, I will never know. However, at a full Council meeting a few days later a majority of Councillors voted to reject the proposals – something almost unheard of, as this means ‘backbench’ Conservatives must have voted against their own leadership.
In the spirit of healthy democracy for our town, I would urge any member of the public who has a question to put to Council committees to contact their Councillors, who should be pleased to help. You never know, it may just make all the difference.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Harris
Stafford and Stone Green Party
Note to the Editor:
The agendas and minutes of the Community Scrutiny Committee can be found here - http://www.staffordbc.gov.uk/demserv/meetings/group/id/7661FBF6-4BCC-47D1-A52B-494C56852062
The agenda containing my question is here - http://www.staffordbc.gov.uk/document/id/402A3E55-C581-4A13-A126-ABDE1E1DE149
And the minutes here - http://www.staffordbc.gov.uk/document/id/0C695662-77E2-4486-8805-164313DD8535
