Chichester residents will be able to find out more about the work of the council thanks to changes to policy discussion meetings – called panel meetings – which will shortly be made public.
Last June, Cabinet approved measures to hold as many panels as possible in public. Only meetings which discuss confidential information that cannot be legally shared with the public will be held in private, with the decision normally being made by the Chair of each panel.
Panels to be held in public are the Boundary Review; Chichester District Parking Forum; Development Plan and Infrastructure Panel, Economic Development Panel; Environment Panel; and, the Housing, Communities, Culture and Sport Panel.
Meetings will take place in person apart from the Boundary Review panel, which will usually be held online.
Where panel meetings do take place in person, the public will be able to come and watch any items which are not listed as containing exempt information.
“Panels are made up of a mixture of councillors and officers, and their role is to make recommendations to other committees to help inform their work and decisions,” explains Councillor Adrian Moss, Leader of Chichester District Council. “Unlike committees they do not have a public question time function, but play an important part in shaping the council’s work.
“Making these meetings public as much as possible will give residents greater visibility of the work being carried out for the benefit of our local communities. As a result, this will give confidence in how decisions are made; who makes them; what they take into account; and, how the council is listening, weighing up evidence and working to be effective for the community.”
The meetings (including online meetings) will also be webcast live on the council’s website at: https://chichester.nucast.live/ which is another element of how the council has been working to be as accessible to everyone as possible.
People can find a list of upcoming meetings at: https://chichester.moderngov.co.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1