Can the Chair of a meeting restrict the number of questions asked by Councillors?

Question

At a recent meeting under the agenda item "Note the minutes of [various committees]" the Chair initially said that we were simply noting the minutes and could not ask any questions.  When this was challenged, the Chair said she would allow only one question per Councillor.  When further challenged the Chair said that if Councillors had further questions they could write to the Chairs of the Committees to seek answers.  However this has proved fruitless - none of the questions I put to the Chairs have been answered one month after they were raised.  Can I challenge the Chair's guillotining of "question time"?

Electors can ask questions to the Council - either verbally or in written form.  However it seems that Councillors can be stifled by a ruling of the Chair of a meeting.

Answer 1

I'm afraid there is no definitive answer to this question. Apart from a few procedural points, such as the casting vote, the statutes do not prescribe the powers and duties of the chair. Moreover, the chair cannot be removed by the council until the end of the year of office.

Based on judicial decisions, one part of the chair's responsibilities is to confine discussion within the scope of the meeting and reasonable limits to time. But what counts as reasonable is obviously open to interpretation. Those present are entitled to seek to influence the progress of business, but there are no hard and fast rules.

The upshot is that you can certainly raise concerns and encourage other councillors to do the same, it may help, but you will not be able to force the issue until the end of the year of office, when you can elect a different chair.

If questions remain unanswered, you might want to rely on the fact that you have the right to request the clerk to create an agenda item. You can use that to force discussion of specific concerns. Provided the proposed item is clear and not unlawful, there are no grounds for refusing such a request.

Comments

Thanks for your very useful comments.  If this came to a head, would a motion of no confidence in the Chair have any enforceable impact?  Could the Chair ignore a no confidence vote?

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A motion of no confidence in a councillor (including the chair) or in the whole council has no direct impact. It may have public relations value, or it may perhaps influence the person(s) censored. But the chair remains in office until the end of the council year, or they resign or become disqualified (for example by becoming bankrupt or receiving a significant prison sentence).