Basildon Council - Decision making

Decision making - how you can get involved. It is now easier for you to get involved in the decision-making process.

Under the current Political Structure we tell you about the new structure and explain how it works.

One of the reasons for bringing in a new structure was to bring the Council more in touch with local people and allow the public to have more say in what the Council does and the decisions it makes.

It should now be easier for you to get involved in the decision making process and the way we make decisions should be more open. It should also be clearer why decisions have been made.

So how can you get involved?

Why not come to our meetings
-	Our meetings are listed on this website (see, ‘Councillors and Meetings’). They are open to the public and press. You are entitled to see the agendas for meetings, setting out the issues to be discussed, and the minutes, which set out what happened at earlier meetings and what decisions were made.
Make comments, ask questions.
-	Our meetings are not public meetings in the sense that you have a right to speak at any time. But they are held in public, and the Chairman (who is in charge of the meeting) may allow you to express your opinion or ask questions on request.
Suggest a matter for Overview and Scrutiny
-	Overview and Scrutiny plays a key part in the decision making and policy development processes at Basildon District Council. We welcome your suggestions regarding issues you feel require examination by overview and scrutiny Suggest a matter for Overview and Scrutiny.
Attend Council meetings
-	All 42 Councillors attend the full Council meeting, where they discuss the Council’s policies and strategies and decide the Council’s budget and discuss various other matters affecting the District. You can attend this meeting and ask questions of the Councillors who represent you. You need to send in any questions in advance, and these will be answered at the meeting, or a reply sent in writing if the time for questions runs out. For details see Our Constitution, Part 4, Page 117, Paragraph 11 If you are at the Council meeting you can ask another related question to make things clearer if you need to do this. Questions should be sent to: The Chief Executive Basildon District Council The Basildon Centre St Martin's Square Basildon, Essex SS16 1DL
Speak to your Councillor
-	Details of the Councillor who represents you can be found on this website (see; ‘District Councillors’ ), you can contact them to raise things which concern you. For more details of any of the ways of getting involved, please get in touch with: Democratic Services Manager Telephone: 01268 294422 e-mail democraticservices@basildon.gov.uk