Chairman: Nick Campbell-White
Vice-Chairman: Tricia Caffyn

Guidance for Committee Convenors

(first drafted by A Walmsley June 1995, updated by N Campbell-White May 2000, and in June 2004 to include recommendations from the clerk)
All Parish Councils were required to adopt The Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2007 No. 1159, which we did at our meeting in July 2007.

This Parish Council has two standing orders.

1. Parishioners can ask for a particular matter to be placed on the agenda for a Parish Council meeting. Requests must reach the Clerk one clear week before the meeting to allow councillors time to research the question.
2. The current financial standing orders say that, within a committee's budget, for items under £200 no competitive tendering is required. Up to £500 two quotes must be obtained, and up to £1000 three quotes. Expenditure above this limit must be referred to the full council.

At each Parish Council meeting, after the "matters arising" agenda item, the council meeting will be closed for a short period, not normally exceeding 10 minutes, to allow questions and submissions from members of the public.

The following options in response will be determined by the Chairman:

• Handle the matter immediately,
• Commit a response in writing before the next meeting, or
• Defer the matter for research followed by discussion at the next council meeting

In case of doubt we use the sample standing orders in the NALC booklet "Standing Orders and Chairmanship" and especially the Rules of Debate referred to in paragraphs 28 & 29

Guidance for Councillors and Convenors
Meetings	Frequency and location to be agreed by convenors and members
Authority of committees	In general, committees have power to act within their sphere of responsibility. Committees should make recommendations to the full council on policy decisions and any other actions which would permanently affect the fabric of the village. In cases where policy-type decisions are needed before the next full Council meeting, the convenor should attempt to contact a majority of councillors, one of whom should be the Chairman or Vice-Chairman, to agree a course of action.
Reports to full council	Submitted to the Clerk in writing 7 days before Parish Council meeting. Reports should be concise and should cover what had been done, matters in hand and progress to date and future work and problem areas. The report should highlight issues that the full council should vote on. A NIL report is not usually adequate.
Agenda	Agenda items to the Clerk in writing 7 days before the Parish Council meeting. The agenda is finalised and set by the Chairman and the Clerk
Quorum	At least one third of the committee
PC Chairman's attendance	The Chairman is an ex-officio member of every committee and will attend meetings of the Finance committee and other committees when invited. When attending a meeting in ex-officio capacity, the Chairman will not vote.
Spending	All invoices before being paid should be seen and signed by the appropriate convenor as being correct for payment.
Need for quotations	The Current financial standing orders say that, within a committee's budget, for items under £200 no competitive tendering is required. Up to £500 two quotes must be obtained, and up to £1000 three quotes. Expenditure above this limit should be referred to the full council.
Correspondence	The Clerk from his address should only issue correspondence concerning anything to do with the Council.
Co-option	Convenors may invite non-members (including non-Councillors) to committee meetings. They may co-opt people onto the committee subject to confirmation by the full council.
Voting	Generally, committees have been able to agree on a course of action without a formal vote. If a vote is requested by any member, it shall be taken and the committee report shall record the number of votes for and against.
committee structure	The committee may make recommendations to the full council about its own structure, responsibilities, membership

Committee meetings

Committee meetings must be held in “a public place” and advertised three clear days in advance (in this case three clear days can include weekends and public holidays as a Parish Council does not close down at such times)

Legally, notice of Committee meetings has to be "displayed in some conspicuous place within the Parish/Community". We choose to use noticeboards and as such it is preferable to place notices on all of them.

Committee meetings must be held in a "Public Place" excluding "Licensed Premises".
For us, "a public place" means the Village Hall, the Scout Hall, or (rarely) All Saints School.
Convenors should note that in recognition of the Parish Council’s input to the Pavilion, we are allowed to use it for meetings without payment, by arrangement with the Sports Club and as long as the room is not needed for sports club purposes. In practice this means that daytime meetings are relatively easy to arrange, but it is harder to find it free for an evening meeting. Because the Sports Club does hold a license, other locations, if available, should be preferred.

Room rental costs are debited against General Administration budgets.