Any person, individually or in a group, can express a view to one of the Council's committees, or to a meeting of Council itself, on an item of business on the agenda for the meeting. You do this by making a 'deputation' request to be heard at a particular meeting.
How can I make a deputation?
Once the agenda for a meeting has been published (normally 13 days before a meeting), applications for a deputation in relation to an item of business on the agenda have to be made in writing (by letter or email) to the Chief Governance Officer:
Any deputation request must be submitted no later than 12 noon on the second last working day before the meeting and should specify the matter on which you wish to be heard.
You can ask to address the committee on your own, or with others (up to a maximum of 5 people).
If you make a deputation request, an officer from Democratic Services will contact you to discuss the deputation process.
Please note that if you make a deputation request, your request including your name, will be included within the agenda paperwork which is published online as part of the report pack for that meeting.
What happens next?
On the day of the meeting, the committee/Council will consider the request and decide whether or not to hear the deputation. This decision is normally taken immediately before consideration of the item of business to which the request relates. This means that, unless the convener or the committee/Council takes a decision to vary the order of business on an agenda, you will need to wait until the relevant point of the agenda to find out if the committee agrees to hear your deputation and, as appropriate, be heard.
Making your deputation
Council and committee meetings are hybrid meetings meaning that you can attend the meeting in person or join remotely online. A Committee Officer will contact you ahead of the meeting to find out which you prefer.
If the Council or the committee agrees to hear your deputation request, you will be invited to join the meeting. You will have a maximum of 10 minutes to address the Councillors (however if a number of deputations are received on the same subject, the convener may vary the time available).
After you've spoken, Councillors have up to 10 minutes to ask you questions based on what you've said. After any questions have been asked, the convener will thank you for your contribution and ask you to return to the public seating area (if you are at the meeting). You can then stay to hear the debate and decision in relation to the item.