"I am a strong believer in local democracy and am really pleased to be involved with the county council's 'Councillor Question Time.'  Being able to communicate with the public can be done in so many new and technical ways, but nothing beats face to face straight talking." Bob Warman

ITV's Broadcaster urges Staffordshire's people to have their say

Staffordshire County Council's staging its very own version of Question Time at Uttoxeter Racecourse on Tuesday June 24th. Called 'Councillor Question Time,' the event gives you the chance to ask the questions you want answered.

Compered by Central News presenter Bob Warman, the event will take place in the Platinum Suite where a specially selected panel will be on hand to answer your questions. On the panel will be:

• County Council Leader, County Councillor John Taylor
• Conservative Leader and Uttoxeter Rural County Councillor Philip Atkins
• Cabinet Member for Economic Prosperity and Sustainable Communities 
• County Councillor John Wakefield
• Chief Executive Ron Hilton
  

The event will now take place monthly, after a pilot event ran successfully at Keele University last year.

At each event, the panel will consist of local members, a Cabinet representative and a senior officer from the county council.  After the event, there will also be a chance to meet and mingle with the panel and enjoy some light refreshments. 

It is envisaged that the Councillor Question Time will last between one hour and 90-minutes and will start from 7pm. Those attending are asked to start arriving from 6pm.  Members of the panel will not have sight of any questions to be asked and those wishing to attend will be allocated tickets on a first come first served basis.

Staffordshire County Council Leader John Taylor said: "Democracy is vitally important and listening directly to the public is an integral part of that process.  The aim of the Councillor Question Time is to gather key councillors and senior officers under one roof and allow members of the public, up to 200 of them, to put them on the spot and ask them any question they want to, whether it's about highways, schools, social services - basically any burning issue they want to grill us on."

TV broadcaster Bob Warman said:  "I am a strong believer in local democracy and am really pleased to be involved with the county council's

'Councillor Question Time.'  Being able to communicate with the public can be done in so many new and technical ways, but nothing beats face to face straight talking.  It's not often that elected politicians put themselves in the position to be quizzed by an audience on any subject.  I think we could be in for a few surprises and I don't expect the panel to get an easy ride."

To attend the event please email us at question.time@staffordshire.gov.uk or telephone 01785 276817 before June 19th. To find out more please go to www.staffordshire.gov.uk/questiontime

Don't want to wait until then, the new user-friendly 'My county councillor' area of our website gives you the opportunity to find out who your county councillor is, what they do for your community and details of how to contact them. Every councillor is contactable and many hold surgeries locally where you can raise any concerns face-to-face. Just click here for more information.