COXHOE PARISH COUNCIL
STANDING ORDERS
Meetings
1. (a) Meetings of the Council shall be held in
each year on such dates and times and at such place as the Council may
direct. These will normally be on the
second Tuesday of each month and be held at Coxhoe Village Hall.
(b)
Smoking is not permitted at any
meeting of the Council.
The Statutory Annual Meeting
2. (a) In an election year the Annual Parish Council Meeting shall be
held on or within 14 days following the day on which the councillors elected take
office; and
(b)
in a year which is not an election
year the Annual Parish Council Meeting
shall be held on such day in May as the Council may direct.
3. In addition to the Statutory Annual Parish Council Meeting at least
three other statutory meetings shall be held in each year on such dates and
times and at such place as the Council may direct.
4. Notice of each monthly meeting will be made
giving at least 3 clear days notice by the Clerk to each Councillor. The agenda will include the time and place of
business and reports of the Clerk and copies of relevant correspondence will be
included with it. The agenda and
previous month’s minutes will be posted on the notice boards in each village
Chairman of the Meeting
5. The person
presiding at a meeting may exercise all the powers and duties of
the Chairman in
relation to the conduct of the meeting.
6.
Where a statute, regulation or order confers function or duties on the proper
officer of the Council in the following cases, he shall be the Clerk or
nominated officer: -
To receive declarations of acceptance of office.
To receive and record notices disclosing interests at
meetings.
To receive and retain plans and documents.
To sign notices or other documents on behalf of the
Council.
To receive copies of bylaws made by another local
authority.
To certify copies of bylaws made by the Council.
To issue the summons to attend meetings of the
Council.
To keep proper records for all Council meetings.
In addition the Clerk will carry
out the following functions on behalf of the Parish Council
To issue invoices and receive, receipt and bank
payments received.
To let allotments and sign tenancy agreements and
where relevant
authorise free or reduced first year rental on new
tenancies where
allotment in need of considerable cultivation .
To issue cheques, duly signed by authorised
signatories to creditors.
To deal with bank and financial statements.
To deal with financial returns for Audit each year.
Quorum of the Council
7.
Three Members or one-third of the total membership, whichever is the greater,
shall constitute a quorum at meetings of the Council.
8. If a quorum is not present or if during a meeting the number of
councillors present (not counting those debarred by
reason of a declared interest) falls below the required quorum, the meeting
shall be adjourned and any business not transacted shall be transacted at the
next meeting or on such other day as the Chairman may fix.
9. For a quorum relating to a committee or
sub-committee, please refer to Standing
Order 36.
11. If
a Member so requires, the Clerk shall record the names of the Members
who voted on any question so as to
show whether they voted for or against it.
Such a request must be made before
moving on to the next business.
12. (1) Subject to (2) and (3) below the Chairman may give an original
vote on
any matter put to the vote, and in
any case of an equality of votes may give a
casting vote whether or not he
gave an original vote.
(2) If the person presiding at the annual meeting
would have ceased to be a Member of the council but for the statutory
provisions which preserve the membership of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman
until the end of their term of office he may not give an original vote in an
election for Chairman.
(3) The person presiding must give a casting vote whenever
there is an
equality of votes in an election
for Chairman.
13. At each Annual Parish Council Meeting the
first business shall be:-
a)
To elect a Chairman of the Council
b)
To receive the Chairman’s
declaration of acceptance of office or, if not then received, to decide when it
shall be received.
c)
In the ordinary year of election of the Council to fill any vacancies
left unfilled at the election by reason of insufficient nominations.
d)
To decide when any declarations of
acceptance of office which have not been received as provided by law shall be
received.
e)
To elect a Vice-Chairman of the
Council.
f)
To appoint representatives to
outside bodies.
g)
To appoint committees and
sub-committees.
h)
To consider the payment of any
subscriptions falling to be paid annually.
i)
To inspect any deeds and trust
investments in the custody of the Council as required;
and shall thereafter follow the
order set out in the Standing Order 16.
14. At every meeting other
than the Annual Parish Council Meeting the first
business shall be to appoint a
Chairman if the Chairman and Vice Chairman be
absent and to receive such
declarations of acceptance of office (if any) and
undertaking to observe the
Council’s code of conduct as are required by law to
be made or, if not then received,
to decide when they shall be received.
15. In every
year, not later than the meeting at which the estimates for next year
are settled, the Council shall review the pay and conditions of service
of existing
employees. Standing Order 27 must
be read in conjunction with this requirement.
16. After the first business
has been completed, the order of business, unless
the Council decides otherwise on the ground of urgency or expediency in
the light
of invited speakers, shall be as follows:-
a)
To accept any apologies for
absence from the meeting.
b)
To open the meeting to the general
public and accept any questions from them.
c)
To receive any declarations of
interest from Members for any item included in the agenda.
d)
To read and consider the Minutes;
provided that if a copy has been
circulated
to each Member not later than the day of issue of the summons to attend the
meeting, the Minutes may be taken as read.
e)
After consideration to approve the
signature of the Minutes by the
person presiding and
the Clerk as a correct record. Each
page of the minutes will be numbered consecutively and will be initialled by
the person presiding.
f)
To deal with business expressly required by statute to be done.
g)
To dispose of business, if any, remaining
from the last meeting and receive a progress report from the Clerk on any
issues remaining
h)
To receive various reports from
the Clerk previously circulated
i)
To receive all communications
received by the Clerk since the last
meeting.
j)
To receive and consider reports
and minutes of committees and partnership groups.
k)
To authorise the sealing of any
documents.
l)
To consider updated financial
information provided by the Clerk.
m)
To receive any requests for
financial assistance from various bodies and organisations.
n)
If necessary, to authorise the
signing of orders for payment.
Urgent Business
17. A motion to vary the order of
business on the ground of urgency or expediency:
a)
May be proposed by the Chairman or
by any Member and, if proposed by the
Chairman, may be put to the vote
without being seconded, and
b)
Shall be put to the vote without
discussion.
18. Every resolution or recommendation shall be
relevant to some subject over which
the Council has power or
duties, which affects its area.
19. No questions not connected
with business under discussion shall be asked
except during the part of the meeting set aside for questions.
20. A person to whom a question has been put
may decline to answer.
21. No discussion of the Minutes shall take
place except upon their accuracy.
Corrections to the Minutes shall be made by resolution and will be
detailed in the Minutes of the current meeting.
a)
An amendment to any agreed resolution shall be either:-
i) To leave out words.
ii) To leave out words and
insert others
iii) To
insert or add words.
b) An amendment shall not have the
effect of negating the resolution before the Council.
c)
If an amendment be carried, the
resolution, as amended, shall take the place of
the original resolution and shall
become the resolution upon which any further amendment may be moved.
d)
A further amendment shall not be
moved until the Council has disposed of every
amendment previously moved.
e)
The mover of a resolution or of an
amendment shall have a right of reply.
f)
A motion or amendment may be
withdrawn by the proposer with the consent of
the Council, which shall be
signified without discussion, and no Member may speak upon it after permission
has been asked for its withdrawal unless such permission has been refused.
g)
When a resolution is under debate no other
resolution shall be moved except the
following:-
i.
To amend the resolution.
ii.
To proceed to the next business.
iii.
To adjourn the debate.
iv.
That the question be now put.
v.
That a Member named be not further heard.
vi.
That a Member named leave the meeting.
vii.
That the resolution be referred to a committee.
viii.
To exclude the public and press.
ix.
To adjourn the meeting.
22. a) The ruling of the Chairman on a point of order or on the
admissibility of a
personal explanation shall not be
discussed.
b)
Members shall address the
Chairman. If two or more Members wish to speak,
the Chairman shall decide who to
call upon first.
c)
Whenever the Chairman speaks
during a debate all other Members shall be
silent.
23. a) All Members must observe
the Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council in April 2002, a copy of
which is annexed to these Standing Orders.
b)
No Member shall at a meeting
persistently disregard the ruling of the
Chairman, wilfully obstruct
business, or behave irregularly, offensively, improperly or in such a manner as to bring the Council
into disrepute.
c)
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. If a Member reasonably believes another Member is in breach of the code
of conduct, that Member is under a duty to report the breach to the Standards
Board (
d)
If either of the motions mentioned
in paragraph c) is disobeyed, the
Chairman may adjourn the meeting
or take such further steps as may reasonably be necessary to enforce them.
24. (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 2 Members of the Council, or by a resolution moved in
pursuance of the report or recommendation of a committee.
(b)
When a special resolution or any other
resolution moved under the
provisions of paragraph (a) of
this Order has been disposed of, no similar resolution may be moved within a
further six months.
25. 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.
26. If at a meeting there arises
any question 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 has decided whether or not the press and public
shall be excluded. (See Standing Order
No. 55.)
27. Any resolution
which, if carried, would, in the opinion of the Chairman, substantially
increase the
expenditure upon any service which is under the management of the
Council, or reduce the
revenue at the disposal of the Council, or which would involve
capital expenditure,
shall, when proposed and seconded, stand adjourned without
discussion to the next
ordinary meeting of the Council at which time full consideration
may be made
28. Orders for the payment of money shall be
authorised by resolution of the Council and signed by two Members from the
four authorised signatories.
29. (a) A
document shall not be sealed on behalf of the Council unless its sealing
has been authorised by a
resolution.
(b)
Any two Members of the Council named in a
resolution moved under the
provisions
of paragraph (a) of this Order may seal, on behalf of the Council, any document
required by law to be issued under seal.
30. The Council may at its Annual Meeting
appoint standing committees and may at any other time appoint such other
committees as are necessary, but subject to any statutory provision in that
behalf :-
a)
Shall not appoint any member of a
committee so as to hold office later than
the next Annual Meeting.
b)
May appoint persons other than
Members of the Council to any Committee;
and
c)
May subject to the provisions of
Standing Order 24 above at any time
dissolve or alter the membership
of committee.
31.The Chairman and Vice-Chairman
of the Parish Council, ex-officio, shall be voting members of every committee.
32. Every committee shall at its first meeting before proceeding to any
other
business, elect a Chairman and may elect a Vice-Chairman who shall hold
office
until the next Annual Meeting of the Council, and shall settle its
programme of
meetings for the year.
Special Meetings
33.
The Chairman of a committee or the Chairman of the Council may summon an
additional
meeting of that committee at any time. An additional meeting shall also be
summoned on the requisition in writing of not
less than a quarter of the members of the
committee. The summons shall set out the business
to be considered at the special
meeting and no other business shall be
transacted at that meeting.
34. Every committee may appoint sub-committees
for purposes to be specified by the committee.
35. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the
committee shall be members of every
sub-committee appointed by it
unless they signify that they do not wish to serve.
36.
Except where ordered by the Council in the case of a committee, or by
the
Council or by the appropriate
committee in the case of a sub-committee, the quorum of a committee or
sub-committee shall be one-half of its members.
37. The Standing Orders on rules of
debate and the Standing Order on interests
of Members in contracts and other matters shall apply to
committee and sub-committee meetings.
38. (1) The Council may create
advisory committees, whose name, and number of members and the bodies to be
invited to nominate members shall be specified.
(2)
The Clerk shall inform the members of each
advisory committee of the
terms of reference of the
committee.
(3)
An advisory committee may make recommendations
and give notice
thereof to the Council
(4)
An advisory committee may consist wholly of
persons who are not
Members of the Council.
39. Members of committees and sub-committees
entitled to vote, shall vote by a
show of hands, or, if at least two
members so request, by signed ballot.
40. Chairmen of committees and
sub-committees shall in the case of an
equality of votes have a second or casting vote.
Presence of Non-Members of
Committees at Committee Meetings
41. A Member who has proposed a resolution, which
has been referred to any committee of which he is not a member, may explain his
resolution to the committee but shall not vote.
42. 1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of
this Standing Order or by statute,
all
accounts for payment and claims upon the Council shall be laid before the
Council.
2)
Where it is necessary to make a
payment before it has been authorised
by the Council, such payment shall
be certified as to its correctness and urgency by the Clerk as the Responsible
Financial Officer (RFO). Such payment shall be authorised on behalf of the
Council by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Council.
3) All payments ratified under
sub-paragraph (2) of this Standing Order shall be separately included in the
next schedule of payments before the Council.
43. The Responsible Financial Officer shall
supply to each Member as soon as
practicable
after 31 March in each year a statement of the receipts and payments of the
Council for the completed financial year. A Financial Statement prepared on the
appropriate accounting basis (receipts and payments, or income and expenditure)
for a year to 31 March shall be presented to each Member before the end of the
following month of May. The Statement of Accounts of the Council (which is
subject to external audit) shall be presented to Council for formal approval
before the end of the following month of September.
44. The council shall approve written estimates
for the coming financial year at its meeting before the end of the month of December.
45. If a Member has a personal interest, as defined by the Code of
Conduct adopted by the Council in April 2002, then he shall declare such
interest as soon as it becomes apparent, disclosing the existence and nature of
that interest as required.
46. If a Member who has declared a personal
interest then considers the
interest to be prejudicial, he
must withdraw from the room or chamber
during consideration of the item
to which the interest relates.
47. The Clerk may be required to compile and
hold a register of Member’s
interests in accordance with
agreement reached with the Monitoring
Officer of the Responsible
Authority and/or as required by statute.
48. If a candidate for any
appointment under the Council is to his knowledge
related to any Member of or the holder of any office under the Council,
he and the
person to whom he is related shall disclose the relationship in writing
to the Clerk.
A candidate who fails so to do shall be disqualified for such
appointment, and, if
appointed, may be dismissed without notice. The Clerk shall report to the Council
any such disclosure. Where a
relationship to a Member is disclosed, Standing
Orders 45 and 46 shall apply as appropriate.
49. The Clerk shall make known the
purpose of Standing Order 48 to every
candidate.
50. (1) Canvassing of Members of the Council or
of any committee, directly or indirectly, for any appointment under the Council
shall disqualify the candidate for such appointment. The Clerk shall make known the purport of this
sub-paragraph of this Standing Order to every candidate.
(2) A Member of the Council or of any
committee shall not solicit for any person
any appointment under the Council
or recommend any person for such appointment or for promotion; but,
nevertheless, any such Member may give a written testimonial of a candidate’s
ability, experience or character for submission to the Council with an
application for appointment.
51. Standing Order Nos. 48 & 50 shall apply to tenders as if the
person making the
tender were a candidate for an appointment.
52. A Member may for the purpose of his duty as
such (but not otherwise), inspect any document in possession of the Council or
a committee, and if copies are available shall, on request, be supplied for the
like purpose with a copy.
53. All minutes kept by the Council and by any
committee shall be open for the
inspection of any Member of the
Council.
54. No Member of the Council or of
any committee or sub-committee shall in the name of 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, instructions or
directions.
unless authorised to do so by the
Council.
55. The public and press shall be admitted to all meetings of the Council
and its committees and sub-committees, which may,
however, temporarily exclude the public by means of the following
resolutions: -
“That in
view of the [special] [confidential] nature of the business about to be
transacted, it is advisable in the public interest that the press and public be
temporarily excluded and they are instructed to withdraw”
56. The Council shall state the
special reason for exclusion.
57A. At all meetings of the Council the Chairman may at his/her
discretion, and at a
convenient time in the transaction of business, allow any members of the
public to
address the meeting in relation to the business to be transacted. Such sessions form
part of the Council meeting in law and shall be duly minuted. The Code of Conduct
which was adopted by the Council on14 August 2007 shall apply to members
of the
Council in respect of the entire meeting. Where however, members of the council
exercise their rights pursuant to section 70B below, members of the
public Shall be
allowed to attend the meeting to (a) make representations (b answer
questions or (c)
give evidence relating to the business to be transacted.
57B) At all meetings of the Council, the Chairman may permit members of the
council (including co-opted
members as defined by s49(7) of the Local Government
Act 2000) who have a
prejudicial interest in relation to any item of business to be
transacted at the
meeting to (a) make representations (b) answer questions (c) give
evidence relating to
the business to be transacted. Such
sessions form part f of the
Council meeting in
law and shall be duly minuted. The Code of Conduct which was
adopted by the Council on 14 August 2007 shall apply to all members of
the Council
in respect of the entire meeting.
58. The Clerk shall afford to the press reasonable facilities for the
taking of their
report of any proceedings at which they are entitled to be present. There shall be
no audio or video recording or photographs of the meeting without the
express
approval of the Council.
59. If a member of the public interrupts the proceedings at any meeting,
the
Chairman may, after warning, order that he be removed from the meeting
and may
adjourn the meeting for such period as is necessary to restore order.
(2)
Any Member in breach of the provisions of
paragraph (1) of this Standing
Order
shall be removed from any committee or sub-committee of the Council by the
Council.
61. A summons and agenda for each
meeting shall be sent, together with an invitation to attend, to the County
and/or District Councillor for the ward.
62. Unless the Council otherwise orders, a copy of each letter ordered
to be sent to
the County or District Council shall be transmitted to the
division or to the District Councillor for the ward as the case may
require.
Planning Applications
63. (1) The Clerk shall, as soon as it is
received, enter in a book or spreadsheet kept for the purpose the following
particulars of every planning application notified to the Council for the area:
-
a)
the planning reference
b)
date of issue
c)
the name of the applicant
d)
the place to which it relates;
(2)The
Clerk shall refer every planning application received to the
next meeting of the Council.
(3) Where
urgent response is required the matter will be referred to the Chairman or in
the Chairman’s absence to the Vice-Chairman within 48 hours of receipt.
Financial Matters
64. The Council shall consider and
approve Financial Regulations drawn up by the Responsible Financial Officer.
1)
Such Regulations shall include
detailed arrangements for the following:
a)
the accounting records and systems of internal control;
b)
the assessment and management of risks faced by the Council;
c)
the work of the Internal Auditor and the receipt of regular reports from
the Internal Auditor which shall be required at least annually;
d) the financial reporting requirements of
Members and local electors;
and
e)
procurement policies (subject to (2) below) including the setting of
values
for different procedures where
the contract has an estimated value less
than £5,000.
2)
Any proposed contract for the
supply of goods, materials, services and the execution of works with an estimated
value in excess of [£5,000] shall be procured on the basis of a formal tender
as summarised in (3) below.
3) Any formal tender process
shall comprise the following steps:
a)
a specification of the goods, materials, services and the execution of
works shall be drawn up;
b)
tenders are to be sent, in a sealed marked envelope, to the Clerk by a
stated date and time;
c)
tenders submitted are to be opened, after the stated closing date and
time, by the Clerk and at least one Member of Council, normally the Chairman;
d)
tenders are then to be assessed and reported to the appropriate meeting
of Council.
4) The Council is not bound to
accept the lowest tender, estimate or quote.
Any tender notice shall contain a reference to the Standing Orders 48,
50 & 51 regarding improper activity.
5) The Financial Regulations of
the Council shall be subject to regular review, at least once every four years.
Code of Conduct on Complaints
65. The Council shall deal with complaints of
maladministration allegedly committed by the Council or by any Officer or
Member in such manner as adopted by the Council except for those complaints,
which should be properly directed to the Standards Board for consideration.
Variation, Revocation and Suspension
of Standing Orders
66. Any or every part of the Standing Orders
except those printed in bold type may
be suspended by resolution in relation to any specific item of business.
67. 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.
Standing Orders to be Given to
Members
69. A copy of these Standing Orders shall be
given to each Member by the Clerk upon delivery to him of the Member’s
declaration of acceptance of office and written undertaking to observe the Code
of Conduct adopted by the Council.
Standing Orders were formally adopted by the Council at its meeting on
the 12 February 2008 (Minute no 07.156.
).