Have Your Say: Ask a Question
At each meeting of the council assembly and executive anyone who lives and works in Southwark can ask one question of the leader of the council, an executive member, or the chair of a committee.
Asking a question is simple, but the rules are different depending on which meeting the question is raised at.
What kind of question can be asked?
Any question that is relevant to Southwark can be asked. It must go through the procedure outlined below.
Asking a question at council assembly.
This section outlines how to ask a question at Council Assembly.
Before the meeting
Check the meetings schedule by consulting the council diary or by calling 020 7525 7228.
Post or email your question to Lesley John no later than nine clear working days before the day of the meeting.
Make sure you include details of
- The question you want to ask
- The name or position of the councillor to whom you want to pose the question (if you don't know who it is, ask the Constitutional Team for advice)
- Your name and contact details.
Questions should be no longer than 50 words long.
Please see the additional information section below about public questions below for information about the scope of questions.
We will confirm that we have received your question, advise you who is likely to answer it, and send you details of what happens before, during and following the meeting.
At the meeting
You can attend the meeting. When it is your turn to ask your question, the Mayor will invite you to come forward. If you are unable to attend the meeting, the Mayor may ask your question on your behalf.
You will receive a written response to your question at the meeting, after which you will be invited to ask a further question in person on the same issue.
There are 30 minutes allocated for public question time. When the time limit has expired, any remaining written replies will be taken as read. Questions will be dealt with in the order in which they were received.
The council meeting may refer a matter raised by a question to the executive or the appropriate committee or sub-committee.
Asking a question at executive meetings
Before the meeting
Check the meetings schedule by consulting the council meetings diary or by calling 020 7525 7221 /
020 7525 4395.
Post or email your question to Everton Roberts or Paula Thornton no later than three clear working days before the day of the meeting.
Make sure you include details of
- The question you want to ask
- Your name and contact details
- The name or position of the executive member to whom you want to pose the question (if you don’t know who it is, ask the Constitutional Team for advice).
Questions should be no longer than 50 words long.
If time allows, we will advise you who is likely to answer it, and send you details of what happens before, during and following the meeting.
Please see the additional information section below about about the scope of questions.
At the meeting
You will need to attend the meeting. When it is your turn to ask your question, the chair will invite you to come forward and ask your question to the relevant executive member.
Supplemental questions will be at the discretion of the chair.
There are 15 minutes allocated for public question time. Questions will be taken in the order in which they were received until the allocated 15 minutes is up.
Any question which cannot be dealt with during public question time, either because of lack of time or because of the non-attendance of the member to whom it has been put, will be dealt with by a written answer from the relevant executive member.
Additional information about public questions
A register of questions is kept by the constitutional team and is open for public inspection. For further information on the register please contact the constitutional team.
The chair may reject a question if it
- is not about a matter for which the Council has responsibility or which affects the borough
- is defamatory, frivolous or offensive
- is substantially the same as a question which has been put at a meeting of the council assembly in the past six months or three months for executive meetings
- requires the disclosure of confidential or exempt information
- concerns a planning or licensing application
- raises a grievance for which there are other established processes for resolution
- relates to an investigation (whether completed or not) by, or ruling of, the Standards Board for England, the standards committee or the Adjudication panel, in so far as those comments relate to the behaviour or conduct of an individual member or members.
Contact Us
Lesley John
Tel: 0207 525 7228
Fax: 0207 525 7284
Email: lesley.john@southwark.gov.uk
Town Hall,
Peckham Road
London
SE5 8UB
Everton Roberts
Tel: 020 7525 7221
Fax: 0207 525 7284
Everton.Roberts@southwark.gov.uk
3rd Floor
Town Hall
Peckham Road
London
SE5 8UB
Paula Thornton
Tel: 020 7525 4395
Fax: 0207 525 7284
paula.thornton@southwark.gov.uk
3rd Floor
Town Hall
Peckham Road
London
SE5 8UB
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