Public participation

We encourage members of the public to participate in our meetings. All relevant issues raised by members of the public will be taken into account when the Council is making its decisions.

Participating in Council and committee meetings

You can participate at our meetings through a:

• question - our procedure rules allow a period of fifteen minutes for an ‘open forum’ for questions to be put to the Council or a committee about any matter on which we have any powers or duties or which affects the district

• petition - you can present a petition at a meeting to express local feeling about an issue or a suggested action that we might take. A petition must contain at least 10 signatures, but the way that a petition is dealt with does depend on the overall number of signatures.

In addition, members of the public are welcome to attend any Council or committee meetings unless personal or confidential business is being discussed. We will try to make sure that all meetings are held in venues that have reasonable access and seating for members of the public. A hearing induction loop is available at our offices in Trinity Road, Cirencester.

Asking questions

Questions can be put by electors within the Cotswold district or a representative of a business operating within the Cotswold district. A question can be rejected by the Chair/proper officer if we have no responsibility for the matter, it is not relevant to particular or it does not affect the district. We will also not consider any question that is defamatory, offensive or frivolous. We will reject any question that requires the disclosure of confidential information.

Meeting processes

The Chair will invite the questioner to put the question to the committee. The questioner must attend the meeting to ask the question and to enable the question and response to be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

Replies to questions

If a full response cannot be given to a question at the meeting, a full written response will be provided within five working days of the meeting. If a follow-up response is required (for example, if information within a question is not available) the questioner will need to provide their email address to Democratic Services in order for this to be arranged.

Petitions

We welcome petitions from those who live, work, or study in Cotswold district and recognise that petitions are one way in which people can let us know their concerns or the strength of public feeling.

All petitions sent or presented to the Council will receive an acknowledgement within 10 working days of receipt. This acknowledgement will set out what we plan to do with the petition.

Submit a petition

Petitions submitted to the council must include:

• a clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition. It should state what action the petitioners wish us to take
• the name and address and signature of any person supporting the petition, which must be not fewer than 10 persons

Petitions should be accompanied by contact details, including an address, for the petition organiser. This is the person we will contact to explain how we will respond. If the petition does not identify an organiser, we will contact signatories to agree who should act in this capacity.  

Our local petitions scheme contains further information about submitting petitions, including some matters which are excluded by law from the scheme.

Details of petitions received, and of our response, will be published on the website. The contact details of the petition organiser will not be placed on the website.

Send paper petitions to Democratic Services at the address at the bottom of the page.

Submit a petition online

An e-petition can also be submitted online, allowing you to reach a wider audience. Once approved, you will be able to log in, view and monitor your petition, they must follow the same guidelines as paper petitions.

Verification number for a constitutional change

Regulations made under the Local Government Act 2000 require every local authority to publish a verification number which is equal to five percent of the local government electorate on 15 February every year.

This figure represents the number of signatures needed on a petition to hold a referendum to decide whether the authority's political structure should be subject to a constitutional change to operate a mayor and cabinet executive or the committee system.

Verification Number for a Constitutional Change - pdf - 61 Kb

Current petitions

There are no current petitions.

Help to participate in meetings

We encourage everyone to participate in our meetings. 

If you require any additional assistance, for example a hearing loop, help with access etc, or concerns about participation, please discuss them with Democratic Services via democratic@cotswold.gov.uk.

Publishing of meeting agendas and minutes

A reasonable number of agenda papers are made available for members of the public attending meetings. Papers are published on our website five working days in advance of the meeting and a copy is available for inspection at our Trinity Road offices in Cirencester, during normal office hours. Minutes of the meeting are made available in the same way as soon as possible after the meeting.

Contact details

Our Monitoring Officer is the officer for all matters about our constitution. Contact the Monitoring Officer using:

• the general enquiry online form
• write to Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1PX.

Democratic Services:

For general queries about participating at Council meetings, please contact Democratic Services via democratic@cotswold.gov.uk.