You can ask one question of a Member of the Cabinet or a Chairman of a Committee at ordinary meetings of the council.
Public questions cannot be asked at special council meetings.
When to submit your question
The Chief Executive must receive your question by 12noon, seven working days before the day of the meeting.
View the deadlines for submitting questions
Information to include
You must give your name, address, and the name of the Member of the Council the question is for.
If you are unsure, you can ask for advice about asking a question at a council meeting online.
Or post your question to: Chief Executive, c/o Democratic Services, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR.
If your question is accepted for consideration, it will be sent immediately to the member who is expected to answer.
Reasons questions may be rejected
The Chief Executive may reject a question if it:
- is not about a matter for which the council has responsibility or which does not affect the area
- is frivolous, defamatory, offensive, racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise improper
- is substantially the same as a question which has been put at a meeting of the council in the past six months
- requires the disclosure of confidential or exempt information. We will explain why, if your question is rejected
If your question is rejected, we will explain why.
Ask a question at a council meeting
Publishing your question
The Chief Executive will enter each question in a book open to public inspection and will send a copy of the question to the member the question was asked to.
Rejected questions will include reasons for rejection.
If the question has been rejected because it is considered frivolous, defamatory, offensive, racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise improper, only the fact that a question was received and that it was considered so will be entered.
Copies of all questions will be circulated to all members in the agenda for the meeting and will be made available to the public attending the meeting.
Both your question and a summary of the response will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting unless you do not attend to ask your question. View the agenda and minutes of council meetings.
Attending council meetings
Council meetings are usually held at 7pm on a Thursday (the January 2024 meeting will be held on a Wednesday) at the St George’s Centre, Pembroke Road, Chatham Maritime.
If you cannot attend the meeting, it has been agreed for the January 2024 meeting that you can send a representative to ask the question on your behalf. Alternatively, if this is not possible, the question will be put at the meeting on your behalf and a response provided - subject to the time limits for this agenda item.
If you're attending a council meeting, arrive 15 minutes before the start. You will be met by a member of staff and shown to your seat.
At the meeting, the Mayor will invite you (or your representative) to put your question to the member named. If you're attending the meeting in person, you can then put one short supplementary question arising from the response at the meeting and to receive a reply to this supplementary question. This provision will not apply if you do not attend the meeting in person.
After the meeting, you will be sent a link to the minutes of the meeting, once published. This will include a written summary of the response to your question or questions. You can also view the meeting on our website.