My Chair insists I raise issues in outside meetings, only when the PC has previously agreed

Question

I am engaged in an initiative to ensure that our unitary council includes Active Travel Routes in their future transport plans and at the last meeting I raised a point about provision of a safe crossing of a major road to access a proposed active travel route/shared use path. This had been discussed previously in Parish Council meetings.

One of the other councillors that also attended this online meeting decided that I should be reported to the Chair for raising an issue not agreed by the Parish Council and subsequently I was reprimanded by the chair at the last Parish Council meeting and told that "I represented the Parish Council and was permitted only to say what had previously been agreed"

I disagreed with the Chair, stating that all the issues had been discussed previously in council meetings and that I had introduced nothing new.  I also consider that I represent the electorate and when in open meetings to which I had been invited by the organiser, then I am entitled to raise issues on behalf of the electorate, even if I have not been given prior permission by the Chair or council.

Please advise. Thank you.

Answer 1

When you say "Last Meeting"  was this the last Unitary Council meeting?   If so, you are probably entitled to raise the point as a member of the public.  The only issue would be if you said you were raising it on behalf of the Parish Council, implying the Parish Council wanted it raising by yourself as their representative.  Your chair cannot control what you say as a member of the public or as a Parish Cllr, as long as you make it clear you are doing it on a presonal basis and not expressing the Parish Council's view.

Comments

Thank you Graeme for your answer, the meeting in question was a specific meeting of stakeholders and interested parties to discuss the potential routes and access to the proposed active travel routes, organised by the unitary council. The Parish Council (PC) had not previously chosen to be involved and the progress in this matter has been achieved by the independent initiative. I am recognised, at the meeting, as being a member of that initiative, in addition to being a Parish Councillor.  It is a matter of record that the PC had decided that no further action be taken, based on the initial response from the Unitary and the only reason it has progressed thus far is due to the efforts of the independent intiative (originally myself and one member of the public, now with over 170 members). The PC has indicated that it now supports the intiative, but has made no real contribution other than stating that it is in support.

Answer 2

This is an unusual scenario. If you are formally appointed to an external body as a representative of the council, the expectation would be that you are there to speak on behalf of the council. That doesn't prevent you from expressing your own opinions, as long as you make it absolutely clear each time that you are doing so and don't ignore the council's stated views in promoting your own.

If you are not appointed as a representative of the council, as appears to be the case here, you can say whatever you like, but if others present know you to be a member of the council, my advice would be that you still clarify the source of your response each time. In other words, "The parish council has discussed this matter and their view is that... but personally, I feel that..." or "The parish council hasn't discussed this, but personally, I feel that..."

As a final point, I would advise you against contradicting the views of the parish council in a public forum such as this. As a member of the council, you are a part of every decision validly made, whether you voted for or against it, however that doesn't prevent you from reporting the fact that you didn't vote for a motion. i.e. "The council voted to support the proposal to ... although I didn't vote with the majority on that occasion."