Can a member of the public raise a point of order?

Question

I suspect the answer is no - our standing orders only permit members of the public to speak during the public speaking part of the meeting. However, there could be some tucked-away law that permits raising a point of order by the public that I'm not aware of and it's just not included in the standing orders for simplicity.

Answer 1

Model SOs para 1 p & a allow for a Cllr to raise a point of order otherwise para 3 k applies where only 1 person may speak at a time
There is no other provision for anyone other than a Cllr to raise a point of order and any attempt to do so ‘could’ fall under disruptive behaviour if it unreasonably disrupts the business of the meeting
I’ve seen Clerks raise a point of order which of course is incorrect.
Personally, I welcome public interaction so long as it is reasonable, constructive and adds value.

Answer 2

There is nothing in the 1972 act that dictates how meetings are conducted and so there would not be any legislation about how points of order are raised and by whom.  Council meetings are meetings in public and not public meetings and so there is no right to participation by the public.  However, as Cox'n states, being flexible is a good, positive thing as long as you have a strong Chair to maintain order.

Comments

I remember the time when a member of the public interrupted a meeting to point out that there were more votes cast than there were Councillors present
It took two subsequent counts to get the vote correctly recorded as one Councillor was for then against then abstained, sometimes you can’t make it up

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Priceless!  Love it!!