THE majority of Oxfordshire county councillors do not believe council meetings are an effective way of discussing business.

In a survey of members, 13 disagreed that full council meetings were an effective means of debating topics, 10 were “neutral” and just eight agreed.

A total of 27 councillors said changes should be made to improve debate and decision-making. Just one disagreed that changes should be made.

Council officers conducted the survey after councillors asked them to monitor the effectiveness of decision-making arrangements.

The results were presented to the council cabinet at a meeting last night.

Officers concluded the survey showed an overall satisfaction with the governance arrangements.

But 17 councillors in the survey said the cabinet – which was debating the report – did not “engage effectively” with other councillors, six said it did and another six were “neutral”.

Another five councillors said meetings contained too many motions.

Several councillors said officers’ reports on topics were “useful but too long” and suggested one-page summaries in “plainer English”.

Councillors said “most officers are very helpful, but can take too long to get replies to queries”.

Cabinet agreed officers’ recommendation to “consider and endorse the direction of travel of the review”.

 

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