You can ask one question to a Cabinet Member or a Chairperson of a Committee at Full Council and Cabinet meetings.
When to submit your question
Deadlines for submitting a question are different for Full Council and Cabinet meetings.
Full Council
For a question at a Full Council meeting, you'll need to submit your question no later than 12pm on:
- Monday 13 April 2026 for the Full Council meeting on Thursday 23 April 2026.
Questions must relate to matters which Full Council are responsible for.
We do not have public questions at:
- the Full Council budget meeting
- the Annual Council meeting
- special council meetings.
Cabinet
You can ask one question to a Cabinet member at Cabinet meetings.
For a question at a Cabinet meeting, you'll need to submit your question no later than 12pm on:
- Thursday 5 February 2026 for the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 10 February 2026
- Thursday 5 March 2026 for the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 10 March 2026
- Tuesday 31 March 2026 for the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 7 April 2026
- Wednesday 29 April for the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 5 May 2026.
Questions must relate to Cabinet meeting agenda items, or matters which the Cabinet are responsible for.
How to submit a question
You can send us your question by using our online form.
In the form, you'll need to tell us:
- your name
- your address
- the name of the Member of the Council the question is for, including which meeting you would like your question to be submitted to.
Ask a question at a Full Council or Cabinet meeting
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 to you why.
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.
Attending full Council and Cabinet meetings
Full Council meetings are usually held at 7pm on a Thursday at the St George’s Centre, Pembroke Road, Chatham Maritime. Cabinet meetings are usually held at 7pm on a Tuesday at the same location.
There will be 40 minutes set aside for dealing with public questions at Full Council meetings and 20 minutes set aside for dealing with questions at Cabinet meetings.
If you cannot attend the meeting, 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 meeting to ask a question, arrive 15 minutes before the start. You'll be met by a member of staff and shown to your seat.
At the meeting, you (or your representative) will be invited 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'll be provided with a copy of the response to your question. You can also view the meeting online.