4.3 A Member of the Shadow Authority may ask the Leader, or any other member of the Shadow Executive, a maximum of three questions, on materially different topics, at a meeting of the Shadow Executive, on any matter in relation to which the Shadow Authority has powers or duties, or which affects the area of the Shadow Authority, and which relates to an Executive function.
4.4 A Member wishing to ask a question must submit the question in writing to the Monitoring Officer at monitoring.officer@westsurrey.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the day of the meeting.
The length of any such question is limited to a maximum of 150 words.
4.5 Any such questions may be rejected by the Monitoring Officer if it appears to them that it is
· Defamatory, frivolous, vexatious or offensive,
· Not about a matter for which the Shadow Executive has powers or duties,
· Is substantially the same as a question which has been put at a meeting of the Shadow Executive within the last six months,
· It requires the disclosure of confidential or exempt information,
· It refers to legal proceedings taken or anticipated by or against the Shadow Authority, or
· It would more appropriately be dealt with by the Shadow Authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Data Protection Act 1988 as amended.
If a question is rejected by the Monitoring Officer, the member shall be advised of the reason for rejection.
4.6 A question relating to an urgent matter not otherwise included on the agenda may be asked provided that:
(a) the consent of the Leader has been obtained; and
(b) the text of the question has been provided to the Monitoring Officer by noon on the day of the meeting.
4.7 An answer to a question from a member, may be given verbally at the Shadow Executive meeting, by reference to published material or information readily available to Members, or in writing, within 5 clear working days of the meeting.
4.8 Questions shall be put and answered without debate
4.9 Questions will be taken in the order in which they are received by the Monitoring Officer, subject to the provision that all members who submit such a question shall have their first question dealt with before any additional questions from them are considered.
4.10 There shall be a total time limit of 30 minutes at a meeting of the Shadow Executive for taking questions from members. Questions shall be taken in the order in which they are received, except that the Chair may choose to take similar questions together. If the 30 minutes expires during a supplementary question or answer, the Chair may allow the supplementary question to be heard and responded to.
4.11 At the meeting, the member is able to attend either in person or remotely to put their question and has the right to ask one supplementary question without notice to the same Member. The supplementary question must arise directly from the original question or the reply. The member has a maximum of 1 minute to put their supplementary question and the Member responding has a maximum of 2 minutes to respond verbally or may respond within 5 clear working days of the day of the meeting.
If the member is not able to attend the meeting either in person or remotely, the question may be read out by an Officer.
4.12 The question and any written response will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.