Lots of decision making goes on in the council.
The choices made aren’t always simple, and this is why we have debates.
You might think it’s all behind closed doors, but read on and see how simple it is to find out what’s going on.
How do I find out what’s coming up for debate?
You can find the issues that are going to be debated and decided upon by the council, by looking online at our Forward Work Programme.
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The Forward Work Programme is published and updated every month, and gives information on every matter likely to be discussed in the following four months.
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Who does the debating?
Often it’s the Executive Board or Full Council deciding on issues, but it can also be the Scrutiny Committees.
You can also find out which lead member will be involved with each debate, and how to contact them if you want to know more, on the Forward Work Programme.
Not sure what we’re on about with all this boards and committees talk?
Not to worry.
You can find out how the council is split into boards and committees, by reading our previous article here.
How can I watch the debates?
Currently you can watch all the Full Council and Executive Board debates live on our webcast page.
If you miss one, you can still watch it back.
Each webcast recording is uploaded within 48 hours after the meeting has happened and is available for 6 months after.
Only want to watch certain parts?
You can easily skip through, using the index points that jump to specific parts of the meeting.
You’ll also be able to watch all the Scrutiny Committee debates via the webcast, starting from January next year.
Did you know Executive Board meetings are also open to the public?
Often you can sit in on their meetings, which take place in the Guildhall (usually on Tuesdays at 10am).
Sometimes this isn’t possible though, when sensitive information is involved.
Where can I find the minutes?
Read up on the key points of each meeting on our website, either by looking up the most recent meetings, or by using the search tool instead.
Using the advanced search to look up the topic, you can select the minutes under the ‘document type’ drop down.
Want even more specific results? You can narrow down by the committee, date and ward too.
So there you go – if you weren’t before, you can now be well and truly in the loop of your local council debates.
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