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Home: Council full menu: Constitution

Kirklees Council's Constitution: Summary and explanation part 8

Vanessa Redfern - December 2010
vanessa.redfern@kirklees.gov.uk

Summary and explanation part 8: Citizens' rights
Citizens have a number of rights in their dealings with the council. These are set out in more detail in Article 3. Some of these are legal rights, whilst others depend on the council's own processes. The local citizens' advice bureau can advise on individuals' legal rights.

Where members of the public use specific council services, for example, as a parent or carer of a child at school or as a council tenant, they have additional rights. These are not covered in this Constitution.

Citizens have the right to:
  • Vote at local elections if they are registered;
  • Contact their local councillor about any relevant matters of concern to them;
  • Be treated equally and have equal opportunity with other citizens;
  • Obtain a copy of the constitution;
  • Attend meetings of the council and its committees, except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed;
  • Participate in council meetings as indicated in paragraph 3 above;
  • Contribute to investigations by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and scrutiny panels;
  • Find out, from the Cabinet's forward plan, what major decisions are to be discussed by the Cabinet or decided by the Cabinet or Officers, and when;
  • Attend meetings of the Cabinet, particularly where key decisions are being discussed or decided, except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed;
  • See reports and background papers and any record of decisions made by the council and the Cabinet;
  • Complain to the council about a problem with a council service - a leaflet and form are available which explain how this can be done;
  • Complain to the Ombudsman if they think the council has not followed its procedures properly. However, they should do this only after using the council's own complaints procedure.
  • Complain in writing to Kirklees Council Standards Committee if they have evidence which they think shows that a councillor has not followed the council's code of conduct;
  • At the time of the external audit of the council's accounts, inspect those accounts and make their views known to the external auditor.
The council's procedures also allow members of the public to present deputations or ask questions at council or Cabinet meetings.

A statement of the rights of citizens to inspect agendas and reports and attend the meetings (the Access to Information Procedure Rules) is set out in Part 4 of the Constitution and is available on request from the Decision Support Unit, Civic Centre III, Huddersfield.
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