| 1. |
Meetings
of the Council shall be held in each year on such dates and times
and place as the Council may direct |
|
a. |
Smoking is
not permitted at any meeting of the Council |
| 2. |
Statutory
Annual Meeting |
|
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 |
|
b. |
In a year
which is not an election year the Annual Parish Council Meeting
shall be held on such a day in May as the Council may direct |
|
c. |
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 places as the Council may direct |
|
d. |
The Council
may appoint sub committees at any time |
|
e. |
The Annual
Parish Meeting shall take place sometime between March and June |
| 3. |
Chairman
of the 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 |
| 4 |
The
proper officer and responsible financial officer (RFO) shall be the
Clerk who will be totally responsible for ensuring that the
instructions of the Council in connection with its function as a
Local Authority are carried out, and will |
|
a. |
Receive
declarations of acceptance of office |
|
b. |
Receive and
record notices disclosing interests at meetings |
|
c. |
Receive and
retain plans and documents, coordinate responses to the planning
department |
|
d. |
Sign notices
on behalf of the Council |
|
e. |
Receive
copies of byelaws made by the Council |
|
f. |
Sign and
issue the summons to attend meetings of the Council |
|
g. |
Keep proper
records for all Council meetings |
|
h. |
Prepare the
Annual Returns in accordance with regulations |
|
i. |
Give advice
on the correct methods and lawfulness of any action by the Parish
Council |
|
j. |
Ensure
Council action is consistent with statutory regulations/orders |
| 5. |
Three
members or one third of the total membership, whichever is the
greater, shall constitute a quorum at meetings of the Council.
If a quorum is not present the meeting shall be adjourned and
business transacted at the next meeting or any day as the Chairman
may fix |
| 6. |
Voting |
|
Members
shall vote by a show of hands or if at least two members so request,
by signed ballot. 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. Subject to a
and b 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 |
|
a. |
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 |
|
b. |
The person
presiding must give a casting vote whenever there is an equality of
votes in an election for Chairman |
|
c. |
Voting on
Appointments |
|
|
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 names 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 |
| 7. |
Order
of Business |
|
At
each Annual Parish Council Meeting the first business shall be |
|
a. |
To elect the
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 and written
undertakings to observe the code of conduct adopted by the Council
which have not been received as provided by law, shall be received |
| 8. |
At
every meeting other than the Annual Parish Council meeting the first
business shall be to appoint a Chairman and Vice-Chairman are
absent. After the first business has been completed, the
business unless the Council decides otherwise on grounds of urgency,
should be as follows |
|
a. |
To approve
the signature of the minutes by the person presiding as the correct
record |
|
b. |
To deal with
business expressly required by statute to be done |
| 9. |
Accounts |
|
The
Council shall approve written estimates for the coming financial
year at its meetings before the end of January. The RFO shall
provide such figures and budgets as necessary for the precepts to be
set for the coming year |
|
a. |
The RFO shall
provide to each member as soon as practicable after the end of
March, statements of the receipts and payments for the completed
financial year. Accounts shall be prepared for the annual
audit as instructed |
|
b. |
The Council
shall consider and approve such accounts drawn up by the RFO |
|
c. |
Orders for
the payment of money shall be authorised by resolution of the
Council and signed by THE CLERK AND ONE MEMBER, exception - when
payment needs to be made urgently, when a member shall agree with
the Clerk that this payment can be made |
| 10. |
Members
must observe the Code of Conduct. The new revised 2007 Code
including paragraph 12(2) was adopted by the Council on 8 May 2007 |
| 11. |
Interests |
|
If
a member has a personal interest as defined by the Code of Conduct
adopted by the Council on 8 May 2007 then he/she shall declare such
interest as soon as it becomes apparent, disclosing the existence
and nature of that interest as required |
|
If
a member who has declared a personal interest then considers the
interest to be prejudicial, the member may attend the meeting but
only for the purpose of making representations, answering questions
or giving evidence relating to the business, provided that the
public are also allowed to attend the meeting for the same purpose,
whether under a statutory right or otherwise. The member
should then withdraw from the meeting during consideration of the
item |
| 12. |
The
press and public should be allowed access to all meetings.
With the permission and at the discretion of the Chairman and member
of the public may comment on an issue being debated by the Council
in order to provide information or clarification of items relevant
to the matter being debated. If this occurs during a meeting
the Chairman will formally close and adjourn the meeting. This
facility will normally be limited to a maximum of three minutes per
person on the subject being debated. |
|
Public
Question Time |
|
Up
to 15 minutes is available for members of the public to ask
questions on any matter relating to the Parish Council's
responsibilities |
|
Members
of the public can speak for up to three minutes each |
| 13 |
Freedom of Information Act – A new model publication scheme
approved by the Information Commissioner was adopted without
modification by LWPC in October 2008.
Details of the scheme are available on the IC website www.ico.gov.uk. Full details on how to access information are available on
the Parish Council’s website, or from the Parish Clerk at the
usual address. All
minutes kept by the Council are open for inspection from any member
of the public.
|
| Adopted
13/04/04, Revised January 2009 |
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