Agenda item

Item deferred from last meeting for further discussion

Recommendation:

That for the next round of Local Forum meetings: January 2010 an item should be put on the agenda for discussion, should Forums continue and if so in what format.

›    Action Note

Posters for the Grantham Forum should be placed in Grantham Members pigeonholes for that Member to distribute.

›    Action Note

The Principal Democracy Officer to make a list of issues discussed by the Forums for reference

Following on from the previous meeting’s discussion at which Local Forums were discussed at length the CHPI asked were the Forums purposeful, did they engage with local communities as they should or should they be removed or reformed.  He referred again to the reasons they were originally set up which was for the three layers of local government, county, district and town/parish to talk about issues affecting communities relevant to the area.  Did Forums still have a place or could we look to combine with other partners who provided forms of engagement such as the Police Neighbourhood beat panels.

A discussion followed in which Members said that without publicity for the Forums it didn’t matter what was on the agenda or who was speaking if people were unaware that it was happening.  It was felt that further publicity for the Forums was essential and one of the Grantham Members suggested that for the Grantham Forum posters should be placed in each Grantham Member’s pigeon hole for distribution by that Member to which the other Members agreed.  Other Members felt that now there were other avenues available to the public to get information and maybe the Forums weren’t as critical.

The CHPI informed the Group of proposals that the Council undertook to engage the public such as the resident’s survey and new initiatives that were due to take place shortly to engage the public such as a stall on the Christmas market at Grantham and Stamford to promote cleaner, greener and safer issues, where recycling will be promoted along with community safety.  Depending upon the success this could be a more effective way of engaging the public.

A further discussion followed on the type of issues discussed at Forums, the effectiveness of the three tiers of local government meeting together and the involvement of the public at forum meetings.   The CHPI asked the Principal Democracy Officer (PDO) if it was possible to have a list of the issues each Forum had discussed for reference to which the PDO replied yes. Further comments were made about the role of Parish and Town Council meetings and it was suggested that at the next round of Forums, the Forums  be asked for their views on whether they wish to continue, and if so what format would they like to Forums to follow.  The Principal Democracy Officer suggested that perhaps instead of having a Rural North and South Forum that two Parish Council Conferences were held a year one in the north and one in south as these formats seemed to find favour with the Parishes.  The issue to be discussed again following the responses received from the January Forums.