Questions from members – changes to Standing Orders

Report: 11
Date: 28 November 2002
By: Clerk

Summary

This report recommends changes to Standing Orders to enable MPA members, in exceptional circumstances, to ask questions at Authority meetings.

A. Recommendation

1. That provision be included in Standing Orders as proposed in paragraph 2 below.

B. Supporting information

1. At present there are two ways for Authority members to ask relevant questions at full Authority meetings:

• in relation to issues appearing in the minutes of committees being presented to the Authority for information. In this event, members can ask questions, without notice, of the Chair of the relevant committee.
• as part of the Commissioner’s update, members regularly ask questions of the Commissioner about MPS matters

2. Members may feel that, like some local authorities, there should be a facility for members to ask questions relevant to the Authority’s business. This was considered by the Co-ordination & Policing Committee at its meeting on 18 November, when the following process was recommended:

• that provision for members formally to ask questions of the Chair of the Authority or Committee Chairs should be used by members only in exceptional circumstancces when other channels have failed
• questions should be received by the Clerk in writing 10 working days before the Authority meeting (the same as for questions from members of the public)
• the questions will be responded to by the relevant committee Chair, or by the Chair of the Authority if a question does not fall readily within the terms of reference of one committee
• if not specified by the member asking the question, the Clerk to be authorised to decide which committee Chair (or the Authority Chair) should respond
• the Clerk also to be authorised, in consultation with the Chair of the Authority, to decide that a question should not be accepted, for instance if it is not relevant to Authority business, uses inappropriate language or if the answer would divulge exempt information
• questions will be asked in the order that they were received
• the number of questions which may be asked by any one member at each meeting shall be limited to two
• the time allocated for members’ questions at each Authority meeting shall not exceed 10 minutes. Any questions not answered within this time will be replied to in writing. Any questions received under this process will be placed at the end of the Authority agenda
• The member asking the question may ask one supplementary question, which must relate to the subject of the original question. One further supplementary question may be asked by another member, which must also relate to the subject of the original question.

C. Equality and diversity implications

None

D. Financial implications

No specific financial implications

E. Background papers

• Report to Co-ordination & Policing Committee, 18 November 2002

F. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile, MPA Head of Secretariat

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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