Local Democracy On The Road
The City of Cardiff Council is taking the authority’s main decision-making body out and about to mark next week’s Local Democracy Week.
Next week’s Cabinet meeting, which is usually held in City Hall, will be held at Central Library Hub in a bid to engage more people in local politics and make council business more accessible to residents.
Local Democracy Week takes place between Monday October 10 and Sunday October 16 and is an opportunity for local authorities to promote and foster democratic participation at grassroots level.
The meeting will be held in the Creative Suite on the fifth floor of the library hub on Thursday, October 13 at 3.30pm. Among the items to be discussed are the City Council’s Transport Strategy, Housing Strategy for 2016-2021 and Annual Complaints report.
Leader of the City of Cardiff Council, Cllr Phil Bale, said: “Cabinet Meetings are always open for members of the public to attend and I would actively encourage citizens of Cardiff to come along and find out more about how the Council works and how decisions that may affect them are made.
“The aim of holding our Cabinet meeting at Central Library Hub is to connect more with citizens and we hope that people will join us in the Creative Suite there.
“While the meeting in Central Library Hub will mark Local Democracy Week, we also intend to take our Cabinet meetings over the next few months out to different venues across the city to ensure we are giving residents a chance to engage with the City Council.
“At a time when we are continually having to make difficult decisions about the services we provide it’s essential that the public are engaged with us and the business we do on their behalf. Demand pressures on our services continue to grow while our budgets continue to shrink. We want residents to understand and to feel a part of the decisions which are being made. ”
Cabinet Member for Skills, Safety and Engagement, Cllr Dan De’Ath, said: “Local Democracy Week is the perfect time to take Cabinet ‘on the road’ to raise awareness of how the City Council operates, what the roles and responsibilities of Cabinet Members are and how people can get involved in the process.
“Over the years, the City Council has marked Local Democracy Week in different ways – one year, the Cabinet attended a summit with Cardiff Youth Council to find out and debate the issues that are important to young people and to engage the future generation in local democracy.
“I’m looking forward to next week’s meeting at Central Library Hub and hope to see residents there.”
Cardiff Youth Council has produced a short film on local democracy which the Council will be promoting throughout Local Democracy Week.
Chair of the Youth Council, 16-year-old Xinyu Ye, said “Young people have the right to have their voice heard in society but they need to be informed about how this can happen. It is important they understand how local democracy works, hopefully the film we have made will help young people to feel more empowered.”
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