Calderdale councillors could be given an extra three minutes more time to talk during meetings if they agree!

Sometimes these debates are curtailed because they run out of time under council rules.

The change will allow them to talk for a bit longer – a maximum nine more minutes in a 90-minute time limited period, down on five minutes currently allowed to sum up a motion but more time overall – if councillors approve it at a full council meeting.

It was not lost on councillors that the 90-minute time limit for the three council motions was introduced to stop debates going on endlessly.

Both Coun Peter Caffrey (Con, Northowram and Shelf) and Coun Diana Tremayne (Lab, Todmorden) commented that if speakers were more pertinent it wouldn’t be such an issue.

But councillors heard some members were complaining they were not able to contribute to debates.

Coun James Baker (Lib Dem, Warley) said it was the time for closing responses he was concerned about.

Members agreed with a Coun Silvia Dacre (Lab, Todmorden) suggestion that the current 90 minutes plus allowing three minutes each motion to enable summing up was reasonable.

And the council’s Governance and Business Committee, recommending it, agreed that, if adopted, they will review it to assess whether the new procedure is working.

Currently each of three main party groups are allowed to submit a motion for debate.

Forty minutes per debate is allowed, with a maximum of 90 minutes in total, meaning the third motion often has to be curtailed.