Guide: A guide to committee meetings
- Introduction
- Part 1The County Council
- Part 2Committees
- Part 3Member Groups
- Part 4How can I find out when a meeting is to be held?
- Part 5Who attends meetings
- Part 6Can I attend a meeting?
- Part 7What is an Agenda
- Part 8Can I get hold of copies of an Agenda?
- Part 9What happens at the meeting?
- Part 10Can I take part in meetings?
Part 4
How can I find out when a meeting is to be held?
The County Council is required by law to give a minimum of 5 days’ notice of most meetings and allow access to certain types of information. The dates and times of most of the Committees are shown in the Council’s Calendar of Meetings.
Visitors should report to County Hall Reception who will direct you to where the meeting is taking place. The calendar may not include the dates of all such meetings or of working parties/task groups, as some are arranged at short notice, as and when required. If you are interested in a meeting that does not appear on the calendar, please contact the Democratic Services and Scrutiny Secretariat:- Tel: 01392 382264 or email: members.services@devon.gov.uk
Copies of agenda and reports of the Cabinet, Scrutiny and main Committees are also published online It is difficult to say how long a meeting will last or when a particular matter will be discussed.
If you are interested in a matter that is to be discussed at a meeting it is best to come along for the start of the meeting. That might mean you will have to wait a while to hear the matter in which you are interested but that is better than missing it altogether.
As mentioned before there may be occasions when you will have to leave a meeting because something has to be discussed in private – but that and the reasons why will be made clear to you.