Limits on public questions brought in by Tories set to be removed by new Labour administration
By Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Barnet Council is set to scrap limits on public questions during meetings as part of a plan to boost transparency and engagement.

Residents will be allowed to ask unlimited written questions, and a 30-minute period will be introduced at the start of meetings during which councillors and officers will provide answers.

In 2019, the council’s then-Conservative administration agreed to restrict public questions to one per person for each agenda item, combined questions and comments and only allowed 100 words for each enquiry. In addition, no more than two questions were allowed per agenda item.

The Tories claimed the changes would allow more people to ask questions. But Labour warned residents would be “gagged” and accused the Conservatives of trying to dodge scrutiny on key issues such as the council’s deals with outsourcing firm Capita.

The move, which was designed to save the council £42,000 per year, also sparked anger from regular questioners and bloggers who quizzed councillors and officers during meetings.

The new Labour council leader Barry Rawlings pledged to change the so-called “gagging rules” when he appeared on BBC Radio London’s Eddie Nestor Show on Wednesday.

Responding to public questions submitted to a meeting of the constitution and general purposes committee on Thursday, Cllr Rawlings said he had asked for a “wide review of the council’s approach to community engagement” to deliver on a manifesto pledge to “put communities and sustainability at the heart of what the council does”.

But he agreed to act sooner on public questions and moved a motion during the meeting to roll back the restrictions imposed by the Conservatives. He said he wanted to allow people to ask as many questions as they wanted, but there would be a 30-minute time limit for oral answers at the start of meetings. Further written answers could be provided after meetings at the chair’s discretion.

Cllr Rawlings acknowledged there had been a “real difficulty” with officers’ time being taken up answering questions that were often “very similar”. He pointed out that during one committee cycle during a three-month period before the Covid-19 pandemic there were more than 500 questions for officers to answer, including 146 from one person.

The committee agreed the leader’s proposal, and the final wording of the changes to the constitution will be circulated to members before being sent to full council for approval.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.