© Collingbourne Ducis Parish Council 2020
STANDING ORDERS FOR COLLINGBOURNE DUCIS PARISH COUNCIL
It having been received under agenda item number 4.116 during the proceedings of the Council held on 12 May 2016 to adopt the amended form of Standing Orders
prescribed by the National Association of Local Councils, the members of the Council are requested to note the following items pertaining to the Orders in respect of
the Council’s own procedure.
1. MEETINGS
The Statutory Annual Meeting (a) in an election year shall be held on or within 14 days following on which councillors elected take office (b) in a year which is not
an election year shall be held on the first Thursday in May.
In addition to the Statutory Annual Meeting at least three other statutory meetings shall be held on the first Thursday in the months of January, July and November.
Additional full council meetings shall be held on the 1st Thursday in the months of March, September and December. A finance only meeting may be held in
January.
2. CHAIRMAN OF MEETING
The person presiding at a meeting may exercise all the powers and duties of the Chairman in relation to the conduct of the meeting.
3. PROPER OFFICER
Where a statute, regulation or order confers functions or duties on the proper officer of the Council in the following cases, the Clerk to the Council:
To receive declarations of office
To receive and record notices disclosing pecuniary interests
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 a District Council
To certify copies of bylaws made by the Council
To sign summonses to attend meetings of the Council
4. QUORUM
Three members or one third of the total membership, which ever is the greater, shall constitute a quorum.
If a quorum is not present when the Council meet, or if during a meeting the number of councillors present and not debarred by reason of a declared pecuniary
interest falls below the quorum, the business not transacted at that meeting shall be transacted at the next meeting, or on such other day as the Chairman may fix.
5. VOTING
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 may be made before or after the vote but in any event before moving on to the next business.
(1) Subject to (2) and (3) below the Chairman may give an original vote on any matter put to the vote, and in the cast of an equality of votes may give a casting vote
even though he gave no 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 their 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.
6. ORDER OF BUSINESS
(In an election year councillors should execute Declarations of Acceptance of Office in each others presence, or in the presence of a proper officer previously
authorised by the Council to take such declaration, before the annual meeting commences.)
At each Annual Meeting the first business shall be:
To elect a Chairman
To receive the Chairman’s declaration of acceptance of office or, if not then received, to decide when it shall be received.
In the ordinary year of election of the Council to fill any vacancies left unfilled at the election by reason of insufficient nominations.
To decide when any declarations of acceptance of office and written undertakings to comply with the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council which have
not been received as provided by law shall be received.
At every meeting other than the Annual 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) as are required by law to be made, or if not then received to decide when they shall be received.
After the first business has been completed, the order of business, unless the Council otherwise decides on the ground of urgency, shall be as follows:
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.
After consideration to approve the signature of the Minutes by the person presiding as a correct record.
(order of business continued)
To deal with business expressly required by statute to be done.
To dispose of business, if any, remaining from the last meeting
To receive such communications as the person presiding may wish to lay before the Council
To answer questions from Councillors
To receive and consider reports and minutes of committees
To receive and consider reports from officers of the council
To authorise the sealing of documents
To consider resolutions or recommendations in the order in which they have been notified
Any other business specified in the summons
A motion to vary the order of business on the ground of urgency 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 shall be put to the vote without discussion.
7. RESOLUTIONS MOVED ON NOTICE
Except as provided by these Standing Orders, no resolution may be moved unless the business to which it relates has been put in on the Agenda by the Clerk or the
mover has given notice in writing of its terms and has delivered the notice to the Clerk at least 14 clear days before the next meeting of the Council.
8. VOTING ON APPOINTMENT
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.
9. RESOLUTIONS ON EXPENDITURE
Any resolution which is moved (otherwise than in pursuance of a recommendation of the Finance Committee or of another committee after recommendation by the
Finance Committee) and which, if carried would, in the opinion of the Chairman, substantially increase the expenditure upon any service, which is under the
management of or reduce the revenue at the disposal of any committee, or which would involve capital expenditure, shall, when proposed and seconded, stand
adjourned, without discussion to the next ordinary meeting, and any committee affected by it shall consider whether it desires to report thereon, and the Finance
Committee shall report on the financial aspect of the matter.
10. EXPENDITURE
Orders for the payment of money shall be authorised by resolution of the Council and signed by two members.
11. ESTIMATES
The Council shall approve written estimates for the coming financial year at the finance only meeting in the month of January. Any committee desiring to incur
expenditure shall not later than 2nd December give to the Clerk a written budget for the expenditure recommended for the coming year.
12. COMMITTEES AND SUB-COMMITTEES
The Chairman and Vice-Chairman ex officio shall be members of every committee except for a dispensation committee.
The Council may at its Annual Meeting appoint standing committees and may at any other time appoint such other committees as are necessary. At the same meeting
a Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall be elected for each committee, who shall hold office until the next Annual Meeting of the Council, and shall settle its
programme of meetings for the year.
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 that 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.
The Chairman of the Committee or the clerk shall be responsible for notifying all Committee members of meetings, and ensuring that they are held at accessible
times and venues. Minutes of the proceedings recording official acts and decisions, must be retained by the clerk. Where appropriate individual Committee members
may be allocated specific monitoring duties. These details must be retained in a specific file and available to the Public on request.
Every committee may appoint sub-committees for the purposes to be specified by the committee. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall be members of every sub-
Committee appointed by it unless they signify that they do not wish to serve.
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 Except for the Dispensation Committee were it will be 3.
13. DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
Finance Committee:
The committee shall consist of not less than 5 councillors plus the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Parish Council.
The Chairman of Finance shall:
Convene meetings of the Finance Committee as and when appropriate
Prepare a precept for submission to the Parish Council at the January meeting.
Act as one of the approved signatories for cheques.
Report at each Council meeting on the Council’s finances.
Prepare and present an Annual Report
Planning Committee:
The committee shall consist of no less than 3 councillors plus the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Parish Council.
The Chairman of Planning shall:
Consider in committee all plans received from Wiltshire Council
Report at each Parish Council meeting on action taken by the committee
To consider all appeals received and ensure comments are retained on file
Prepare an Annual Report
Property Committee:
The committee shall consist of no less than 3 Councillors plus the Chairman and Vice Chairman.
The Chairman of Property shall:
Prepare an annual inventory of property
Ensure all items are adequately insured
Obtain tenders yearly for the maintenance of all Parish Property
Maintain records of all committee proceedings
Produce for the Finance Committee estimates of anticipated expenditure for the forthcoming year by 1st December
Ensure the Parish Burial Ground records are kept up-to-date and review burial charges annually.
Update the Council at each meeting on property matters.
Prepare an Annual Report
Dispensation Committee.
The committee shall consist of no less than 3 councillors none of whom are members requesting a dispensation.
The Chairman who is to be elected at the star of the meeting shall:
Consider the dispensations as applied for.
Report at each Parish Council meeting on dispensations granted by the committee
14. VOTING IN COMMITTEES
Members of committees and sub-committees entitled to vote shall vote by show of hands or, if at least two members so request, by signed ballot. Chairmen of
committees and sub-committees shall in the case of an equality of votes have a second or casting vote
15. PRESENCE OF NON-MEMBERS OF COMMITTEES AT COMMITTEE MEETINGS
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.
16. INTERESTS
If any member has a personal interest as defined by the Code of Conduct adopted by the council on 12
th
July 2012 then he shall declare such interest as soon as it
becomes apparent, disclosing the nature and extent of that interest as required.
Councillors with a disclosable pecuniary interest in relation to any item of business being transacted at a meeting shall withdraw from the meeting for the relevant
agenda item if any member or member of the public present requests this.
In respect of the adopted Code of Conduct, should an issue with significant interest from a number of councillors arise as such would render the council inquorate, a
meeting of the Dispensation Committee will be convened to consider the interests and potential dispensation of councillors.
17. DISORDERLY CONDUCT
All members must behave in a manner required by the Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 12
th
July 2012 and annexed to these orders
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 scandalise the Council or bring it into contempt or ridicule.
18. INSPECTION OF DOCUMENTS
All Minutes kept by the Council and by any committee shall be open for the inspection of any member of the Council and the Public at every monthly meeting, or by
arrangement.
19. ADMISSION OF THE PUBLIC AND PRESS TO MEETINGS
The public shall be admitted to and allowed to report, film or record council meetings by a variety of means, or to tweet or blog. Oral commentary whilst a meeting
is in progress is not allowed and any recording or tweeting, etc must not be done in a disruptive manner. Reporting is only allowed in parts of the meeting open to
the public. All Meetings of the Council and its committees and sub-committees, may, however, temporarily exclude the public by means of the following resolution:
“That in view of the (special) (confidential) nature of the business about to be transacted, it is advisable in the public interest that the public be temporarily
excluded and they are instructed to withdraw.”
(Notes: The special reasons should be stated. If a person’s advice or assistance is needed they may be invited (by name) to remain after the exclusion resolution is
passed).
The Clerk shall afford to the press reasonable facilities for taking their report of any proceedings at which they are entitled to be present.
20. CODE OF CONDUCT ON COMPLAINTS
The Council shall deal with complaints of misadministration allegedly committed by the Council or by any officer or member in such a manner as adopted by the
Council except for those complaints that should be properly directed to the Wiltshire Council for consideration.
21. STANDING ORDERS TO BE GIVEN TO MEMBERS
A copy of these Standing Orders shall be given to each member by the Clerk on receipt of the member’s declaration of acceptance of office.
22. CODE OF CONDUCT
Collingbourne Ducis Parish Council
Code of Conduct
(Adopted by PC at a Meeting Held on Thursday 6 September 2012)
Introduction
Pursuant
to
section
27
of
the
Localism
Act
2011,
Collingbourne
Ducis
Council
(‘The
Council’)
has
adopted
this
Code
of
Conduct
to
promote
and
maintain
high
standards
of
behaviour
by
its
members
and
co-opted
members
whenever
they
conduct
the
business
of
the
Council,
including
the
business
of
the
office
to
which
they
were elected or appointed, or when they claim to act or give the impression of acting as a representative of the Council.
This Code of Conduct is based on the principles of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership.
Definitions
For
the
purposes
of
this
Code,
a
‘co-opted
member’
is
a
person
who
is
not
a
member
of
the
Council
but
who
is
either
a
member
of
any
committee
or
sub-committee
of
the
Council,
or
a
member
of,
and
represents
the
Council
on
any
joint
committee
or
joint
sub-committee
of
the
Council,
and
who
is
entitled
to
vote
on
any
question
that falls to be decided at any meeting of that committee or sub-committee.
For the purposes of this Code, a ‘meeting’ is a meeting of the Council, any of its committees, sub-committees, joint committees or joint sub-committees.
For the purposes of this Code, and unless otherwise expressed, a reference to a member of the Council includes a co-opted member of the Council.
Member obligations
When a member of the Council acts, claims to act or gives the impression of acting as a representative of the Council, he/she has the following obligations.
1
.
He/she shall behave in such a way that a reasonable person would regard as respectful.
2
.
He/she shall not act in a way which a reasonable person would regard as bullying or intimidatory.
3
.
He/she shall not
seek to improperly confer an advantage or disadvantage on any person.
4
.
He/she shall use the resources of the Council in accordance with its requirements.
5
.
He/she shall not disclose information which is confidential or where disclosure is prohibited by law.
Registration of interests
Within
28
days
of
this
Code
being
adopted
by
the
Council,
or
the
member’s
election
or
the
co-opted
member’s
appointment
(where
that
is
later),
he/she
shall
register
with
the Monitoring Officer the interests which fall within the categories set out in Appendices A and B.
1
.
Upon
the
re-election
of
a
member
or
the
re-appointment
of
a
co-opted
member,
he/she
shall
within
28
days
re-register
with
the
Monitoring
Officer
any
interests
in Appendices A and B.
2
.
A member shall register
with the Monitoring Officer any change to interests or new interests in Appendices A and B within 28 days of becoming aware of it.
3
.
A
member
need
only
declare
the
existence
but
not
the
details
of
any
interest
which
the
Monitoring
Officer
agrees
is
a
‘sensitive
interest’.
A
sensitive
interest
is
one
which, if disclosed on a public register,
could lead the member or a person connected with the member to be subject to violence or intimidation.
Declaration of interests at meetings
10.
Where
a
matter
arises
at
a
meeting
which
relates
to
an
interest
in
Appendix
A
the
member
shall
not
participate
in
a
discussion
or
vote
on
the
matter.
He/she
only
has
to
declare
what
his/her
interest
is
if
it
is
not
already
entered
in
the
member’s
register
of
interests
or
if
he/she
has
not
notified
the
Monitoring
Officer
of
it.Where
a
matter
arises
at
a
meeting
which
relates
to
an
interest
in
Appendix
A
which
is
a
sensitive
interest,
the
member
shall
not
participate
in
a
discussion
or
vote
on
the
matter.
If
it
is
a
sensitive
interest
which
has
not
already
been
disclosed
to
the
Monitoring
Officer,
the
member
shall
disclose
he/she
has
an
interest
but not the nature of it.
1
1
.
Where
a
matter
arises
at
a
meeting
which
relates
to
an
interest
in
Appendix
B,
the
member
shall
not
vote
on
the
matter.
He/she
may
speak
on
the
matter
only
if
members of the public are also allowed to speak at the meeting.
1
2
.
A
member
only
has
to
declare
his/her
interest
in
Appendix
B
if
it
is
not
already
entered
in
his/her
register
of
interests
or
he/she
has
not
notified
the
Monitoring
Officer
of
it
or
if
he/she
speaks
on
the
matter.
If
he/she
holds
an
interest
in
Appendix
B
which
is
a
sensitive
interest
not
already
disclosed
to
the
Monitoring
Officer, he/she shall declare the interest but not the nature of the interest.
1
1
.
Where
a
matter
arises
at
a
meeting
which
relates
to
a
financial
interest
of
a
friend,
relative
or
close
associate
(other
than
an
interest
of
a
person
in
Appendix
A),
the
member
shall
disclose
the
nature
of
the
interest
and
not
vote
on
the
matter.
He/she
may
speak
on
the
matter
only
if
members
of
the
public
are
also
allowed
to speak at the meeting. If it is a ‘sensitive interest’ the member shall declare the interest but not the nature of the interest.
Dispensations
1
1
.
On
a
written
request
made
to
the
Council’s
proper
officer,
the
Council
may
grant
a
member
a
dispensation
to
participate
in
a
discussion
and
vote
on
a
matter
at
a
meeting
even
if
he/she
has
an
interest
in
Appendices
A
and
B
if
the
Council
believes
that
the
number
of
members
otherwise
prohibited
from
taking
part
in
the
meeting
would
impede
the
transaction
of
the
business;
or
it
is
in
the
interests
of
the
inhabitants
in
the
Council’s
area
to
allow
the
member
to
take
part
or
it
is
otherwise appropriate to grant a dispensation.
Index of Standing Orders
Meetings
1
Chairman of Meeting
2
Proper Officer
3
Quorum
4
Voting
5
Order of Business
6
Resolutions moved on Notice
7
Voting on Appointment
8
Resolutions on Expenditure
9
Expenditure
10
Estimates
11
Committees and Sub-Committees
12
Duties of Committees
13
Voting in Committees
14
Presence of non-members of committees at committee meetings15
Interests
16
Disorderly Conduct
17
Inspection of Documents
18
Admission of Public and Press to Meetings
19
Code of Conduct on Complaints
20
Standing Orders to be given to Members
21
Code of Conduct
22
STANDING ORDERS FOR COLLINGBOURNE DUCIS PARISH COUNCIL.