Councillor contributing in a committee meeting of which they are not a member

Question

We have a Councillor who wishes to make a proposal to our Environment Committee to start a new project. However, they are not a member of that Committee. 

Under these circumstances they would be treated as a member of the public and there is various guidance both in our SOs and from NALC as to what they can and cannot do. 

The issue is that those SOs could constrain the Councillor in being able to fully explain/justify the proposal; they would be able to answer questions, but not respond in a dynamic way during a discussion (for example to correct misunderstandings). 

Fully appreciate that they would not have a vote, but we face enough challenges with not having enough "active" councillors (ie those that come up with ideas and work to get them implemented) that these constraints could firstly restrict the quality of the debate with the proposal not being fully communicated or understood and secondly potentially deter/discourage the Councillor from coming up with other initiatives. 

To my mind there is a difference between a non-member councillor/member of the public asking a question or raising an issue in a meeting, and a non-member councillor trying to get an initiative accepted by the council. 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we might make this easier / viable ? 

I guess the Chair could suspend the meeting for the duration of the debate, allowing the member to contribute fully, then resuming the meeting for the conclusion/formal vote - although this would be very dependent upon the Chair and could be interpreted differently in other committees. 

Or could we make an addition to Standing Orders - something along the lines of "If a Councillor wishes to make a proposal to a committee, subcommittee or working party that they are not a member of then for the duration of the agenda item covering their proposal they will be permitted to take full part in any debate. They will not, however, be entitled to vote".

Would appreciate any suggestions. 

"Sometimes councillors wish to attend meetings of committees (or sub-committees) to which they have not been appointed. This is a perfectly legitimate practice as councillors have the same rights to attend committee (or sub-committee) meetings as members of the public. However, where councillors attend meetings of committees (or sub-committees) to which they have not been appointed, they will not enjoy all the rights they enjoy as councillors. 

Answer 1

I wouldn't agree with that interpretation of standing orders or legislation. It is normal and acceptable to allow people who have a special role (such as being an officer of a related council) to join in discussion of an item where they have a contribution to make. That would seem to apply in this case. Just do it.

Answer 2

On the assumption that this proposal has the potential to benefit the community and the councillor does not stand to make any personal gain then I would either a) invite him to the meeting and crack on, or b) if that doesn't give you enough comfort then just pass a council resolution allowing him to become a member of the committee in question.  He can always resign once the project is sorted.

I'm with Counterpoint.

Answer 3

Unless you have a council that is particularly restrictive in its interpretation of the rules, I would expect that it is totally normal for a councillor to make such a contribution. This question normally only gets asked when it comes to a meeting which is expected to go into a closed session, which I would imagine would not be the case for a simple proposal.

The councillor could always lay a written motion ahead of the next full council meeting and you could have a full discussion then in a structured way.

Answer 4

Thanks all. A more "common sense" approach has been agreed