A deputation is a formal request by a group of residents or community groups to speak at a public council meeting about a matter which is on the published agenda.

If you would like to present a deputation to a Council meeting, your deputation must:

  • relate to an item on the published agenda for the meeting you wish to address
  • be submitted to Committee Services (committee.services@sutton.gov.uk) no later than 10:00 am on the day of the meeting. Except where the meeting takes place in the morning, in which case the request must be received no later than 10:00 am the previous day
  • be from a Sutton resident or organisation and include contact details of the individual, group of individuals or organisation who will be addressing the meeting
  • include at least 10 signatures of Sutton residents who support the deputation 

There are different arrangements for the Planning Committee and Licensing Sub- Committee

What Happens Next

After a deputation is received, the organiser of the deputation will be contacted with information about how the Council intends to respond.

Presenting the Deputation

You can present your deputation yourself at the meeting, or a spokesperson can do this on your behalf. 

You or your spokesperson can speak to the deputation for up to four minutes at the meeting. 

If more than one similar request to speak is received on the same subject, then the residents will be asked to nominate a representative from amongst them to speak on their behalf. If the residents are unable to nominate a single speaker, then the four minute time limit will be divided between the number of speakers.

The published minutes of the meeting will record your name and the group or organisation you represent, but will not record the detailed substance of your speech. 

Further information about the deputations can be found within the Council's Constitution (Section 4, Part 2, 10)

You can find dates of future Council meetings on the meeting calendar. 

For more information, you can contact Committee Services by email, committee.services@sutton.gov.uk or call 020 8770 4990.