Havering Council Administration Announces Launch of Borough’s First Citizens Panel

Havering Council’s administration has announced plans to introduce the borough’s first Citizens Panel, aimed at giving residents a stronger voice in shaping local decisions and policies.

The announcement was made during last night’s council budget setting meeting, where Deputy Leader of the Council, Gillian Ford, spoke about the progress made under the council’s Community Engagement Strategy.

The strategy was originally agreed by Cabinet in March 2024 and is intended to expand the ways residents can engage with the council and influence decision making.

According to the administration, a number of initiatives have already been introduced as part of the strategy. These include dedicated consultations specifically for children and young people, increased support for the borough’s Green Forum, and the development of a council Advertising Strategy.

The council has also held public budget consultation evenings and increased engagement between Cabinet Members and community groups, care providers, schools and partner organisations across the borough. The planned Citizens Panel is described as the next step in that approach, creating a structured group of residents who can provide feedback and insight to help inform council policy and decision making.

Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Ford said the administration had sought to change how both councillors and residents engage with the council.

“Under the previous council, even the voice of councillors was quashed, and we wanted to change that,” she said.

“We gave opposition Members the Chairs of the Overview and Scrutiny Sub Committees who determine their own work programmes, and we enabled the Constitution allowing pre-scrutiny, which was never enacted under the previous administration.”

She added that the aim of the Citizens Panel is to strengthen community involvement in council decision making.

“We wanted to bring the voice of the community back into the Council for robust decision making, and the launch of the Citizens Panel will be another way where we can do that. We will be providing further details in due course.”

Further information about how the panel will operate and how residents can take part is expected to be announced by the council in the coming weeks.

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.