STANDING ORDERS OF THE NORTH MYMMS PARISH COUNCIL
MEETINGS
I. Meetings of the Council shall be held in each year
on such dates and times and at such a place as the Council may direct.
2. The 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
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. Meetings to
be held on the last Wednesday in each month except August and December. The December meeting is to be held on the
first Wednesday after New Years Day.
CHAIRMAN OF
MEETINGS
4. The person presiding at a meeting may exercise all
the powers and duties of the Chairman in relation to the conduct of the-
meeting.
QUORUM
5. Four members shall constitute a quorum but a motion
to suspend standing orders shall not be moved without notice unless at least two-thirds
of the members of the Council are present.
6. If a quorum is not present when the Council meets
or if during a meeting the number of Councillors present 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.
VOTING
7. Members of the Council shall vote by show of hands
or, if at least two members so request, by signed ballot.
8. If any member of the Council so requires, the Clerk
shall record the names of the members who voted for or against it.
9. In the event of an equality of votes the Chairman
must have a second or casting vote.
10. 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.
ORDER OF
BUSINESS
11. At the Annual Meeting the first business shall be:
(a) To elect a Chairman;
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;
(f) To appoint School Governors in accordance with
statutory requirement;
(g) To appoint statutory or standing committees;
(h) To appoint representatives to other organisations.
12. At every meeting other than the Annual Meeting the first business
shall be the appointment of a Chairman if the Chairman and Vice-Chairman be
absent.
13. After the first business has been completed the
order of business, unless the Council otherwise decides on the grounds of
urgency, shall be as follows:
(a) To read and consider the Minutes.
(b) After consideration to approve the signature of
the Minutes by the presiding Chairman as a correct record.
(c) To deal with business expressly required by statute to be done.
(d) To dispose of business, if any, remaining from the
last meeting or arising from minutes.
(e) To receive such communications as the presiding
Chairman may wish to lay before the Council.
(f) To receive and consider reports and minutes of
committees.
(g) To receive and consider reports from officers of
the Council.
(h) To authorise the sealing of documents.
(i) To authorise the signing
of orders for payment.
J) To consider motions in the order in which they have been notified.
(k) To consider correspondence at the discretion of
the Chairman.
(I) Any other business at the
discretion of the Chairman.
(m)To consider matters of a
confidential nature.
14. A motion to vary the order of business on the
grounds of urgency:
(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.
RESOLUTIONS MOVED ON NOTICE
15. Except as provided by these standing orders, no
special resolution may be moved unless the mover has given notice in writing of
its terms and has delivered the notice to the Clerk at least three clear
working days before the next meeting of Council.
16. The Clerk shall date every notice of motion when received, shall
number each notice in the order in which it was received and shall enter it in
a book which shall be open to the inspection of every member of the Council.
17. Every motion shall be read in full at the Council
meeting for the benefit of the members present.
18. Every resolution shall be relevant to some
question over which the Council has power or which affects the parish.
RESOLUTION MOVED WITHOUT NOTICE
19. Resolutions dealing with the following matters may
be moved without notice:
(a) To appoint a Chairman.
(b) To correct the Minutes.
(c) To approve the Minutes.
(d) To alter the order of business.
(e) To proceed to the next business.
(f) To close or adjourn the debate.
(g) To refer a matter to a committee.
(h) To resolve into committee.
(i) To appoint a committee
or any members thereof.
(j) To adopt a report.
(k) To authorise the sealing of documents.
(I) To amend a motion.
(m) To give leave to withdraw a motion or an
amendment.
(n) To extend the time limit for speeches.
(0) To deal with business
arising from minutes or agenda.
(The two following resolutions are governed as to the
quorum by the standing orders on the quorum)
(p) To consider otherwise than in committee a question affecting an
employee of the Council.
(q) To suspend standing orders
(The two following resolutions are governed by the standing
orders on the admission of public to meetings.)
(r) To exclude the press.
(s)To exclude the public.
(The next resolution is governed by the standing order on Disorderly
Conduct.)
(t) To silence or eject from the meeting a member named
for misconduct.
(The next resolution is governed by the standing order on members
interested in contracts and other matters.)
(u) To invite a member of the Council having an
interest in the subject matter under debate to remain.
(v) To give the consent of the
Council where such consent is required by these standing orders.
QUESTIONS
20. A member may ask the Chairman any question
concerning the business of the Council.
21. A member with or without notice may ask the Chairman of a committee
any question upon the proceedings of the committee then before the Council if
the question is put before the Council's consideration of those proceedings is
finished.
22. Every question shall be put and answered without
discussion.
23. A person to whom a question has been put may
decline to answer.
RULES OF DEBATE
24. No discussion shall take place upon the minutes except upon their
accuracy. Corrections to the minutes shall be made by resolution.
25. (a) A resolution or amendment shall not be discussed
unless it has been proposed and seconded and unless proper notice has already
been given, it shall, if required by the Chairman, be reduced to writing and
handed to him before it is further discussed or put to the meeting.
(b) A member when seconding a resolution or amendment
may, if he then declare his intention to do so,
reserve his speech until a later period of the debate.
(c) A member shall direct his speech to the question
under discussion or to a personal explanation or to a question of order.
(d) No speech shall exceed three minutes, except by
consent of the Council. In the case of a mover of a resolution, however, the
limit shall be six minutes.
(e) An amendment shall be either –
(i) To leave out words.
(ii) To leave out
words and insert or add others.
(iii) To insert or add
words.
(f) An amendment shall not have the effect of negating
the motion before the Council.
(g) 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.
(h) A further amendment shall not be moved until the
Council has disposed of every amendment previously moved.
(i) The mover of a
resolution or of an amendment shall have a right of reply.
(j) A member, other than the mover of a resolution,
shall not speak more than once on any resolution except to move an amendment or
further amendment, or on an amendment, or on a point of order, or in personal
explanation, or to move the closure.
(k) A member may rise to make a point of order or a
personal explanation. A personal explanation shall be confined to some material
part of a former speech by him which may have been
misunderstood. A member rising for these purposes shall be heard forthwith.
(I) A motion or amendment may
be withdrawn by the proposer with the unanimous 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.
(m)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 does leave the meeting.
(vii)
That the resolution be referred to a committee.
(viii)
To exclude the public or the press or both.
(ix)
To adjourn the meeting.
26. (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.
(c)
If two or more members commence to speak, the Chairman shall call upon one of
them to speak and the others shall remain silent
(d)
Whenever the Chairman rises during a debate all other members shall be seated
and silent.
CLOSURE
27. At the end of any speech a member may, without
comment, move "that the question be now put," "that the debate
be now adjourned" or "that the Council do now adjourn" .If such
motion is seconded and if the Chairman is of the opinion that the question
before the Council has been sufficiently debated (but not otherwise) he shall
forthwith put the motion. If the motion "that the question be now
put" is carried, he shall call upon the mover to exercise or waive his
right of reply and shall put the question immediately after that right has been
exercised or waived. The adjournment of a debate or of the Council shall not
prejudice the mover's right of reply at the resumption.
DISORDERLY
CONDUCT
28. a) All members must observe the Code of Conduct
which was adopted by the council on
(b)
No member shall misconduct himself at a meeting by persistently disregarding
the ruling of the Chairman, by wilfully obstructing business, or by behaving
irregularly, offensively, improperly or in such a manner as to scandalise the
Council or bring it into contempt or ridicule
(c)
If, in the opinion of the Chairman, a member has so misconducted himself, 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
(d)
If either of the motions mentioned in paragraph (b) is disobeyed, the Chairman
may suspend the meeting or take such further steps as may reasonably be necessary
to enforce them
e) 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 (England).
RIGHT OF REPLY
29. The mover of a resolution shall have a right to
reply immediately before the resolution is put to the vote. If an amendment is
proposed the mover of the amendment shall be entitled to reply immediately
before the amendment is put to the vote. A member exercising a right of reply
shall not introduce new matter. After the right of reply has been exercised or
waived, a vote shall be taken without further discussion.
ALTERATION TO RESOLUTION
30. A member may, with the consent of his seconder,
move amendments to his own resolution.
RESCISSION OF PREVIOUS
RESOLUTION
31. (a) A
decision (whether affirmative or negative) of the Council shall not be reversed
within 3 months save by a special resolution carried by a two-thirds majority
of those present and voting.
(b)
When a special resolution has been disposed of, no similar resolution may be
moved within a further six months.
(c)
This standing order shall not apply to resolutions moved in pursuance of the
report or recommendation of a committee.
VOTING ON APPOINTMENTS
32. 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.
DISCUSSIONS
33. 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 or committee (as the case may be) has decided whether or not
the press and public shall be excluded.
RESOLUTIONS ON EXPENDITURE
34. Any motion (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 of the Council, and any committee affected by it shall consider whether
it desires to report thereon. (The Finance Committee shall report on the
financial aspect of the matter).
EXPENDITURE
35. (a) Order for the payment of money shall
be authorised by resolution of the Council and signed by two members present at
the meeting.
(b)
The Council may make suitable arrangements for the payment of wages and petty
cash disbursements as they may consider necessary and for the opening of such
bank accounts and investment accounts as is expedient for the transactions of
the Council.
CONTRACTS
36. The Council may enter into
contracts in accordance with the current financial regulations
SEALING OF
DOCUMENTS
37. A document shall not be sealed on behalf of the
Council unless its sealing has been authorised by a resolution.
38. Any two members of the Council may seal, on behalf
of the Council any document required by law to be issued under seal.
COMMITTEES
39. The Council may resolve itself into a committee of
the whole Council.
40. The Council may at the Annual Meeting appoint
statutory and 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 at any time' dissolve
or' alter the' membership of a committee.
41. The Chairman shall be member of every committee.
The Vice-Chairman may attend at the request of the Chairman or to deputise for
him.
42. 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.
43. The Chairman of a committee or the Chairman of the
Council may summon a special meeting of that committee at any time. A special
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.
44. Every committee may appoint sub-committees for
purposes to be specified by the committee, but it shall not delegate its powers
to a sub-committee.
45. The Chairman of the committee shall be a member of
every sub-committee appointed by it unless he signifies that he does not wish
to serve.
46. 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.
47. The standing orders on rules of debate (except those parts relating to speaking more than once) and
the standing order on interests of members in contracts and other matters shall
apply to committee and sub-committee meetings in so far as they are
appropriate.
VOTING IN COMMITTEES
48. Members of committees and sub-committees shall
vote by show of hands.
49. Chairmen of committees and sub-committees must, in
the case of an equality of votes, have a second or casting vote.
PRESENCE OF NON-MEMBERS OF COMMITTEES AT COMMITTEE
MEETINGS
50. A member who has proposed a motion which has been
referred to any committee of which he is not a member, shall be entitled to
explain his motion to the committee but shall not vote.
51. Any Council member shall, unless the Council otherwise order, be
entitled to be present as a spectator at the meetings of any committee or
sub-committee of which he is not a member.
ACCOUNTS
52 (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this standing order,
or unless otherwise provided by statute, all accounts for payment and claims
upon the Council shall be laid before the Council.
(b)
Where it is necessary to make payment of an account which has not been
authorised by the Council such payment must have the approval of the Chairman
of the Council and Chairman of the Finance Committee including one other member
of the Finance Committee. Such account must be verified by the Clerk of the
Council and reported at its next meeting.
53. Any member may ask during a Council meeting
or a committee meeting to inspect the financial books kept by the Clerk of the
Council.
ESTIMATES
54. Prior to 31st December the Chairman of the Finance
Committee shall call a meeting to consider expenditure to be defrayed from the
rates. At that meeting Chairman of committees shall submit in writing their
estimated expenditure for the forthcoming year. The finalised estimate of
expenditure shall be submitted to the Council for approval at its next meeting
prior to 31st January.
INTERESTS OF
MEMBERS, OFFICERS
55. If a member has a personal interest as defined by
the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council on 10 April 2002 then he shall
declare such interest as soon as it becomes apparent, disclosing the existence
and nature of that interest as required.
56 .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.
57. The Clerk is required to compile and hold a
register of members interests in accordance with agreement reached with the
Monitoring Officer of the Responsible Authority and/or as required by statute.
INSPECTION OF DOCUMENTS
58. A member of the Council 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.
59. All minutes kept by the Council and by any
committee shall be open for the inspection of any member of the Council and any
local government elector of the parish during reasonable hours of the day.
INSPECTION OF LAND
60. No member shall, in the name of the Council, inspect
any land or premises which the Council has the right or duty to inspect unless
authorised to do so by the Council or by a committee.
ISSUE OF ORDERS
61. No member of the Council or of any committee shall
issue any orders on behalf of the Council or shall issue any orders in respect
of anything being done for the Council unless authorised to do so by the
Council or by a committee.
ADMISSION OF THE PUBLIC
62. The public and the press shall be admitted to all meetings
of the Council and its committees and sub- committees which may, however,
temporarily exclude the public or the press or both by means of the following
resolution, viz:-
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 and press be
temporarily excluded and they are instructed to withdraw.
63. If a member of the public interrupts the
proceedings at any meeting, the Chairman may, after warning, order that he be
removed from the Council Chambers or that the part of the Chambers open to the
public be cleared.
CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS
64. No member of the Council or of any committee shall
disclose to any person not a member of the Council any parish business declared
to be confidential by the Council, the committee or the sub-committee as the
case may be.
LIAISON WITH COUNTY
65. 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 County
Councillor for the division in which the parish lies or to the appropriate
District Councillor for the parish as the case may require.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
66. The Clerk shall, as soon as
it is received, enter in a book kept for the purpose the following particulars
of every planning application notified to the Council:-
a) the date on which it was received
b) The name of the applicant
c) The place to
which it relates;
67. The Clerk shall refer every
planning application received to the Chairman / Chairman of the Planning
Committee or in the Chairman’s absence to the Vice Chairman as soon as possible
after receipt.
FINANCIAL MATTERS
68. The Council shall consider and
approve Financial Regulations drawn up by the Responsible Financial Officer.
VARIATION, REVOCATION
69. Any standing order, save those relating to the
quorum may be suspended by resolution in relation to any specific item of
business.
70. A motion to 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
71. A printed copy of these standing orders and of
such parts of the statutes as relate to the proceedings of parish councils and
parish meetings shall be given to each member of the Council by the Clerk upon
delivery of the member's declaration of acceptance of office.
The foregoing standing orders are made and adopted by the Parish
Council of North Mymms.
In testimony whereof, the Common Seal of the Council
is hereby affixed this twenty ninth day of October 2003 in the presence of
F MAYNARD Chairman
MRS J A SCHETTINO Clerk
SEAL
