The new Penzance Citizens Panel is now ready, having selected the 15 member panel.
The new Penzance Citizens Panel is now ready, having selected the 15 member panel at random to reflect the population profile of the town, with a spread of ages, gender balance and housing tenure (social housing, private rental, home owner).
There is also a complete agenda for all five citizen panel sessions and you can see details of by visiting the Penzance Citizen website.
The Penzance Citizens Panel will listen to a range of speakers, ask questions and assess evidence. They will then deliberate among themselves in order to arrive at a set of conclusions and recommendations based on what they have heard. Elected representatives will also be invited to speak.
“The process is as important as the outcome,” said Gavin Barker, the volunteer project manager, “it is about putting ordinary people in the driving seat and allowing them a real say. It is similar to a court jury process that weighs evidence before arriving at a verdict but with one key difference: the aim is to understand an issue in depth and propose solutions rather than to blame or finger point”.
The citizens panel will run for five sessions over 5 to 6 weeks. At the end of it a report will be written setting out the recommendations of the citizens panel and this will be submitted to elected councillors at Penzance Town Council and Cornwall Council. It will also be submitted to Derek Thomas MP and local political party branches. A full response will be asked for in each case.
For further information, contact:
Gavin Barker, Volunteer Project Manager, Citizens Panel 07717 297 932 [email protected]
Andrew Yates: Chair, Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum [email protected]
Paul Green: Project Manager CIPF [email protected]
