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In August 2021, invitations to two discussion groups about Council decision making were sent to a sample of Participate Panel members. Twelve Panel members attended one of two ninety-minute discussion groups, which were held online and facilitated by Council staff. Both discussion groups began with a short presentation on decision making processes in Cheshire West and Chester Council. Discussions then focussed on peoples’ awareness of decisions that the Council are considering, how they would like to find out about such decisions and what opportunities they would want to be engaged in and influence those decisions.
In addition to the discussion groups, questions were included in the ‘Our Place’ survey sent to all Panel members, asking about their perceptions of Council decision making. These questions covered how Panel members felt about influencing decisions about their local area, the extent to which the Council acts on the concerns of local residents, and how well informed they felt about the services and benefits the Council provides.
Below is a summary of the key messages from the discussion groups and survey questions:
Survey respondents expressed mixed views about whether they feel they can influence decisions about their local area
Public awareness of upcoming future Council decisions is often poor
Whilst communication about decision making is a key issue, different people wish to be informed about different things in different ways, and whilst information is usually available, people need to know to look for it and have the skills and tools to do so
Residents and stakeholders alike felt that they themselves, and the general public had an incomplete understanding of how the Council works
There was feeling that the public currently has too reactive a role in Council decision making and there should be greater emphasis on consultation and engagement to inform decision making
These key messages informed the review of the Council’s Constitution, which is the document that sets out how the Council takes decisions. The resultant proposed changes to the Constitution were considered by Full Council on 16 December, where locally elected Councillors voted to adopt the new Constitution from the 1 April 2022. The papers from the Council meeting are available here at Agenda item 10, which includes the new Council Constitution document considered at the meeting. The analysis of the consultation went to Audit and Governance Committee and is available here.
Going forward, there will be a communications campaign on local democracy, when the new Constitution launches in April, which will explain how to get involved in Council decision making. This will use a variety of approaches, to ensure more public awareness and engagement with local decision making processes.
In August 2021, invitations to two discussion groups about Council decision making were sent to a sample of Participate Panel members. Twelve Panel members attended one of two ninety-minute discussion groups, which were held online and facilitated by Council staff. Both discussion groups began with a short presentation on decision making processes in Cheshire West and Chester Council. Discussions then focussed on peoples’ awareness of decisions that the Council are considering, how they would like to find out about such decisions and what opportunities they would want to be engaged in and influence those decisions.
In addition to the discussion groups, questions were included in the ‘Our Place’ survey sent to all Panel members, asking about their perceptions of Council decision making. These questions covered how Panel members felt about influencing decisions about their local area, the extent to which the Council acts on the concerns of local residents, and how well informed they felt about the services and benefits the Council provides.
Below is a summary of the key messages from the discussion groups and survey questions:
Survey respondents expressed mixed views about whether they feel they can influence decisions about their local area
Public awareness of upcoming future Council decisions is often poor
Whilst communication about decision making is a key issue, different people wish to be informed about different things in different ways, and whilst information is usually available, people need to know to look for it and have the skills and tools to do so
Residents and stakeholders alike felt that they themselves, and the general public had an incomplete understanding of how the Council works
There was feeling that the public currently has too reactive a role in Council decision making and there should be greater emphasis on consultation and engagement to inform decision making
These key messages informed the review of the Council’s Constitution, which is the document that sets out how the Council takes decisions. The resultant proposed changes to the Constitution were considered by Full Council on 16 December, where locally elected Councillors voted to adopt the new Constitution from the 1 April 2022. The papers from the Council meeting are available here at Agenda item 10, which includes the new Council Constitution document considered at the meeting. The analysis of the consultation went to Audit and Governance Committee and is available here.
Going forward, there will be a communications campaign on local democracy, when the new Constitution launches in April, which will explain how to get involved in Council decision making. This will use a variety of approaches, to ensure more public awareness and engagement with local decision making processes.
