What do the Council Committees do?

The Hague Municipal Council has 5 Council Committees: Governance, Public Space, Urban Development and Social Affairs. There is also a Public Accounts Committee. Municipal Council members represent their political party in a Council Committee when discussing specific subjects, such as employment, spatial planning, sport, welfare or traffic.

During committee meetings Council members can ask technical and factual questions in order to get information. The actual political debate takes place during the Council meeting. The Council Committees prepare for plenary Council meetings by discussing the decisions that the Municipal Council must take.

Number of members in a Council Committee

A committee has 35 members on average. Council members are permitted to serve on several committees. A maximum of 5 Council members from the same political party are allowed to serve on 1 committee. This applies to political parties with 5 or more members. Political parties with fewer than 5 members may have a maximum of 4 members on 1 committee.

What does a Council Committee do?

A Council Committee advises the Council on decision to be taken by the Municipal Council. Committee members discuss the policy of the Municipal Executive and how it will be implemented. No voting takes place in the committee. Voting takes place in the Council. The position taken by a party in the committees often determines how it will vote in the Council.

How does a Council Committee work?

The chair of the committee drafts a provisional agenda for a public meeting of the committee. The committee members may put forward subjects, such as initiative and Council proposals, letters from the aldermen, letters from residents, policy documents and current social issues. An item will be placed on the agenda only if a clear reason is given by the political parties and if the committee agrees to it. The committee can invite aldermen or the mayor to a meeting to explain proposals by the Municipal Executive or to answer questions.

Attending a committee meeting

The meetings of the Council Committees are open to the public. In exceptional cases this part of the meeting will be made private, for example if the affairs of individual citizens are being discussed.

In addition to a public meeting a committee can also meet in order to discuss progress or hold hearings. The meeting dates can be found in the meeting schedule of the Council and Committees. Here you will find the complete agendas and the underlying documents for the meetings.