BEECH PARISH COUNCIL

STANDING ORDERS

Introduction

The following Standing Orders are intended to facilitate the efficient and expeditious conduct and management of the Council’s business. Nothing contained in these Standing Orders supersedes, removes, replaces or reduces any powers, duties, responsibilities and obligations laid down in the several Acts of Parliament and/or Government Orders and Regulations concerning Local Councils.

Meetings

1. Meetings of the Council shall be held at intervals and on days and times as decided by the Council.

2. The Statutory Annual Meeting of the Council shall be held in the month of May but in an election year shall be held within fourteen days of the date that the new Council takes office.

3. The Annual Parish Assembly/Meeting shall be held between 1 March and 1 June inclusive on a day and at a time (but not earlier than 6pm) determined by the Council.

4. The Chairman may call an extraordinary meeting of the Council or a Parish Meeting at any time. In addition if four members sign a requisition that the Council be convened and the Chairman does not do so for seven days any four members may convene.

Chairman

5. The Chairman if present shall preside at the meeting or in his/her absence the Vice-chairman shall preside.

6. In the absence of both the Chairman and the Vice-chairman from the meeting the first business shall be to appoint a Chairman for the meeting and the person so presiding may exercise all the powers and duties of the Chairman in relation to the conduct of the meeting.

Quorum

7. Three members of the Council shall form a quorum.

8. If a quorum of members of the Council is not present when the meeting convenes or if during a meeting the number of members present falls below the quorum all business not transacted at that meeting shall be carried forward to the next meeting of the Council or to such a day as the Chairman may designate.

Order of Business

9. At each Annual Meeting of the Council the first business shall be:

(a) to elect a Chairman and to receive his/her declaration of acceptance of office;

(b) to elect a Vice-chairman;

(d) to appoint representatives to other bodies.

10. After the first business has been completed at the Annual Meeting and after receiving any apologies for absence at other meetings unless the Council so decides for good reason the Council shall consider and approve the signing of the minutes and receive reports of matters arising from those minutes. No discussion shall take place on the minutes except upon their accuracy.

Agenda

11. Any member who wishes to request that an item of business be included in the agenda for a meeting of the Council shall do so to the Clerk not later than ten days before the date of the meeting.

Conduct of Business

12. All business and discussion at meetings shall be conducted through the Chair.

Decisions

13. Every matter requiring decision shall be decided by a majority of those present and voting.

Voting

14. Voting shall be by a show of hands unless and exceptionally a majority of members request a ballot.

15. If any member so requests the Clerk shall record the name of the member so as to show whether the member voted for or against the question.

16. The Chairman or person presiding at the meeting may give a first vote and in the case of an equality of votes may give a second or casting vote even though he/she gave no first vote.

17. Where more than two persons have been nominated for any position to be filled by the Council and of the votes given there is not an absolute majority in favour of one person the name of the person having the least number of votes shall be struck off the list and a fresh vote taken and so on until a majority of votes is given in favour of one person.

Rescission of Previous Decision

18. (a) A decision (whether affirmative or negative) of the Council shall not be reversed within six months except either by a special resolution the written notice whereof bears the names of at least

four members of the Council or by a resolution moved in pursuance of a report or recommendation of a committee or advisory panel.

(b) When a special resolution has been disposed of no similar resolution may be moved within a further six months.

Disorderly Conduct

19. (a) No member shall at a meeting persistently disregard the ruling of the Chairman of the meeting, wilfully obstruct business, or behave irregularly, offensively, improperly or in such a manner as to scandalise the Council or bring it into contempt or ridicule.

(b) If in the opinion of the Chairman a member has broken the provisions of paragraph (b) of this Order the Chairman shall express that opinion to the Council and thereafter any member may

move that the member named be no longer heard or that the member named do leave the meeting and the motion if seconded shall be put forthwith and without discussion.

(c) If either of the motions mentioned in paragraph (c) is disobeyed the Chairman may suspend the meeting or take such further steps as may be reasonably necessary to enforce them.

Matters Affecting Employees of the Council

20. If at a meeting there arises any matter relating to the appointment, conduct, promotion, dismissal, salary or conditions of service of any person employed by the Council it shall not be

considered until the Council or Committee as the case may be has decided whether or not the public should be excluded.

Committees and Advisory Panels

21. (a) The Council may at the Annual Meeting and at any other time and subject to any statutory provision appoint such committees and advisory panels as are necessary.

(b) Advisory committees or panels may comprise a number of councillors and non-councillors or may consist wholly of persons who are non-councillors.

(c) Subject to the provisions of Order 18 the Council may dissolve or alter the membership of a committee or advisory panel.

(d) The Chairman and Vice-chairman shall be ex officio members of every committee and advisory panel.

Code of Conduct

22. (a) All councillors shall observe the code of conduct adopted by the Council on 1 October 2007, a copy of which is annexed to these Standing Orders.

(b) Councillors with a prejudicial interest in relation to any item of business being transacted at a meeting may be permitted to exercise the same rights as a member of the public under adopted

paragraph 12(2) of the code of conduct contained in the Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2007 (SI No. 1159) ie. i) to make representations, ii) to answer questions and (iii)

to give evidence relating to the business being transacted but must, thereafter, leave the room.

(c) If any member has an interest as defined in Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in any contract, proposed contract or other matter he/she shall declare it and while it is under

consideration by the Council withdraw from the meeting.

(d) If any member has an interest as defined in Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in any matter arising at a Council or Committee or Advisory Panel meeting he/she should declare it and if

it is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice your judgement of the public interest should withdraw from the meeting while the matter is under consideration.

(e) The Clerk shall record in the Minutes and a book to be kept for the purpose particulars of any notice given by any member or any officer of an interest and the book shall be open at any

reasonable time for public inspection.

Canvassing of and Recommendations by Members

23. (a) Canvassing of members directly or indirectly for any appointment under the Council or for any tender or contract of the Council shall disqualify such candidate or person.

(b) A member of the Council shall not solicit for any person any appointment under the Council or any tender or contract or recommend any person for such appointment or promotion or tender or contract.

Unauthorised Activities

24. No member of the Council shall in the name of the Council or on behalf of the Council :

(a) Inspect any lands or premises which the Council has a right or duty to inspect; or

(b) Issue orders; or

Inspection of Documents

25. (a) All minutes kept by the Council shall be open for inspection of any member of the Council.

(b) Electors of the parish may by appointment inspect minutes kept by the Council and may copy or make extracts from them.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

26. All requests for information held by the Council shall be processed in accordance with the Council’s policy in respect of handling requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Admission of the Public and Press to Meetings

27. Meetings shall be open to the public and press unless their presence is prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted or for other special reasons. The public’s and press’ exclusion from part or all of the meeting shall be by a resolution which shall give reasons for their exclusion.

28. The Clerk shall afford to the press reasonable facilities for taking their report of any proceedings at which they are entitled to be present.

29. If a member of the public interrupts the proceedings at any meeting the Chairman may after warning order that he/she be removed from the meeting.

Public Participation at Meetings

30. The Council shall make appropriate arrangements for electors of the parish to ask questions of or make representations to the Council.

31. A record of a public participation session at a meeting shall be included in the minutes of that meeting.

Confidentiality

32. No member of the Council or of any Committee or Advisory Panel shall disclose to any person not a member of the Council any matter declared to be confidential by the Council the Committee

or Advisory Panel as the case may be.

Complaints

33. The Council shall deal with complaints of maladministration allegedly committed by the Council or by any member or officer in a manner recommended in the Code of Practice issued by the

National Association of Local Councils in July 2003.

Proper Officer and Responsible Finance Officer

34. The Clerk to the Council shall be the Council’s Proper Officer and Responsible Finance Officer (RFO) and shall carry out any function or duty conferred on the Proper Officer by statute,

regulation or order.

35. The Clerk shall issue statutory notices and summonses of meetings in accordance with statutory provisions and by Councillors’ preferred means to their residences including delivery, post or

electronically.

Financial Management

36. The Council shall make appropriate orders for the conduct and management of its financial affairs and for the supervision and audit of accounts.

37. A review of these orders and their effectiveness shall be made annually.

Variation Revocation and Suspension of Standing Orders

38. Any or every part of these Standing Orders except those concerning matters laid down in Acts of Parliament and which are therefore compulsory may be suspended by resolution in relation to

any specific item of business.

39. A resolution permanently to add, vary or revoke a Standing Order shall when proposed and seconded stand adjourned without discussion to the next ordinary meeting of the Council.

40. A motion to permanently add to or to vary or to revoke one or more the Council’s standing orders not mandatory by law shall not be carried unless two-thirds of the councillors at the meeting of

the Council vote in favour of same.

Standing Orders to be Given to Members

41. A copy of these Standing Orders shall be given to each member by the Clerk upon delivery to him/her of the member’s declaration of acceptance of office.

Approved by the Council ____21 June 2010________________

Chairman: ___Edward Neish__________________________________ Date: ___19 July 2010_____________