Policies & Procedures

Standing Orders

  1. RULES OF DEBATE AT MEETINGS
  1. Items on the agenda shall be considered in the order that they appear unless the order is changed at the discretion of the chair of the meeting.
  2. An item shall not be progressed unless it has been proposed and seconded.
  3. Before a proposal is put to the vote, the chair of the meeting shall be satisfied that the item has been sufficiently debated.
  1. DISORDERLY CONDUCT AT MEETINGS
  1. No person shall obstruct the transaction of business at a meeting or behave offensively or improperly.  If this standing order is ignored, the chair of the meeting shall request such person(s) to moderate or improve their conduct.
  2. Failure to moderate or improve their conduct may lead to a proposal from any councillor or the chair of the meeting to have that person excluded from the meeting.  The proposal, if seconded, shall be put to the vote without discussion.
  3. If a resolution made under standing order 2b) is ignored, the chair of the meeting may take further reasonable steps to restore order or to progress the meeting.  This may include temporarily suspending or closing the meeting.
  1. MEETINGS GENERALLY

Unless specified using the following abbreviations, the following relate to all meetings.

Full Council Meetings (FC)
Committee Meetings (CM)
Sub-Committee Meetings (SC)

  1. FC - Meetings shall not take place in premises which at the time of the meeting are used for the supply of alcohol, unless no other premises are available free of charge or at a reasonable cost.
  2. FC - The minimum three clear days for notice of a meeting does not include the day on which notice was issued, the day of the meeting, a Sunday, a day of the Christmas break, a day of the Easter break or of a bank holiday or a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.
  3. CM - The minimum three clear days public notice for a meeting does not include the day on which the notice was issued or the day of the meeting unless the meeting is convened at shorter notice.
  4. If a Parish Councillor is unable to attend a meeting, they must contact the Clerk giving the reason for their absence before the meeting.  Should the reason be of a personal nature, this will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.  Reasons for absence are to be given by the Clerk at the meeting for acceptance.  Any reason not accepted will result in the relevant Parish Councillor being marked as Absent.
  5. FC/CM - Meetings shall be open to the public unless their presence is prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted or for other special reasons.  The public’s exclusion from part or all of a meeting shall be by a resolution which shall give reasons for the public’s exclusion.
  6. The Public Forum allows members of the public to make representations, answer questions and give evidence at a meeting which they are entitled to attend in respect of the business on the agenda.
  7. The period of time designated for public participation at a meeting in accordance with standing order 3e) shall not exceed 15 minutes unless directed by the chair of the meeting.
  8. In accordance with standing order 3e), a question shall not require a response at the meeting nor start a debate on the question.  The chair of the meeting may direct that a written or oral response be given.
  9. Only one person is permitted to speak at a time.  If more than one person wants to speak, the chair of the meeting shall direct the order of speaking.
  10. FC/CM - Subject to standing order 3j), a person who attends a meeting is permitted to report on the meeting whilst the meeting is open to the public.  To “report” means to film, photograph, make an audio recording of meeting proceedings, use any other means for enabling persons not present to see or hear the meeting as it takes place or later or to report or to provide oral or written commentary about the meeting so that the report or commentary is available as the meeting takes place or later to persons not present.
  11. FC/CM - A person present at a meeting may not provide an oral report or oral commentary about a meeting as it takes place without permission.
  12. FC/CM - The press shall be provided with reasonable facilities for the taking of their report of all or part of a meeting at which they are entitled to be present.
  13. FC - Subject to standing orders which indicate otherwise, anything authorised or required to be done by, to or before the Chair of the Council may in their absence be done by, to or before the Vice-Chair of the Council.
  14. CM - The Chair of the Council, if present, shall preside at a meeting.  If the Chair is absent from a meeting, the Vice-Chair of the Council, if present, shall preside.  If both the Chair and the Vice-Chair are absent from a meeting, a councillor as chosen by the councillors present at the meeting shall preside at the meeting.
  15. Subject to a meeting being quorate, all questions at a meeting shall be decided by a majority of the councillors and non-councillors with voting rights present and voting.
  16. The chairman of a meeting may give an original vote on any matter put to the vote, and in the case of an equality of votes may exercise their casting vote whether or not they gave an original vote.

    See standing orders 5h) and 5i) for the different rules that apply in the election of the Chair of the Council at the annual meeting of the Council.
     
  17. FC - Unless standing orders provide otherwise, voting on a question shall be by a show of hands.  At the request of a councillor, the voting on any question shall be recorded so as to show whether each councillor present and voting gave their vote for or against that question.  Such a request shall be made before moving on to the next item of business on the agenda.
  18. The minutes of a meeting shall include an accurate record of the following:
    1. the time and place of the meeting;
    2. the names of all councillors and whether they were present or absent;
    3. interests that have been declared by councillors and non-councillors with voting rights;
    4. the resolutions made.
  19. A councillor or a non-councillor with voting rights who has a disclosable pecuniary interest or another interest as set out in the Council’s code of conduct in a matter being considered at a meeting is subject to statutory limitations or restrictions under the code on their right to participate and vote on that matter.
  20. FC - No business may be transacted at a meeting unless at least one-third of the whole number of members of the Council are present and in no case shall the quorum of a meeting be less than three.
  21. If a meeting is or becomes inquorate no business shall be transacted and the meeting shall be closed.  The business on the agenda for the meeting shall be adjourned to another meeting.
  1. COMMITTEES & SUB-COMMITTEES
  1. Unless the Council determines otherwise, a committee may appoint a sub-committee whose terms of reference and members shall be determined by the committee.
  2. The members of a committee may include non-councillors unless it is a committee which regulates and controls the finances of the Council.  All committees should include the Chair and Vice-Chair and at least one of these should be present at all committee meetings.
  3. Unless the Council determine otherwise, all the members of an advisory committee and a sub-committee of the advisory committee may be non-councillors.
  4. A committee or sub-committee:
    1. shall determine the number and time of their meetings;
    2. shall appoint its own chair at the first meeting of the committee;
    3. shall determine the place, notice requirements and quorum for a meeting of a committee and a sub-committee which, in both cases, shall be no less than three;
    4. shall determine if the public may participate at a meeting of a committee;
    5. shall determine if the public and press are permitted to attend the meetings of a sub-committee and also the advance public notice requirements, if any, required for the meetings of a sub-committee;
    6. shall determine if the public may participate at a meeting of a sub-committee that they are permitted to attend;
    7. may dissolve a committee or a sub-committee.
  1. ORDINARY COUNCIL MEETINGS
  1. In an election year, the annual meeting of the Council shall be held on or within 14 days following the day on which the councillors elected take office.
  2. In a year which is not an election year, the annual meeting of the Council shall be held on such day in May as the Council decides.
  3. The annual meeting of the Council shall take place at 6:30pm.
  4. In addition to the annual meeting of the Council, at least three other ordinary meetings shall be held in each year on such dates and times as the Council decides.  A schedule of meetings to be published and made available to the public via the website and Parish Council notice board.
  5. The first business conducted at the annual meeting of the Council shall be the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council.
  6. The Chair of the Council, unless they have resigned or become disqualified, shall continue in office and preside at the annual meeting until their successor is elected at the next annual meeting of the Council.
  7. The Vice-Chair of the Council, unless they resign or become disqualified, shall hold office until immediately after the election of the Chair of the Council at the next annual meeting of the Council.
  8. In an election year, if the current Chair of the Council has not been re-elected as a member of the Council, they shall preside at the annual meeting until a successor Chair of the Council has been elected.  The current Chair of the Council shall not have an original vote in respect of the election of the new Chair of the Council but shall give a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
  9. In an election year, if the current Chair of the Council has been re-elected as a member of the Council, they shall preside at the annual meeting until a new Chair of the Council has been elected.  They may exercise an original vote in respect of the election of the new Chair of the Council and shall give a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
  10. Following the election of the Chair of the Council and Vice-Chair of the Council at the annual meeting, the business shall include:
    1. In an election year, delivery by the Chair of the Council and Councillors of their acceptance of office forms unless the Council resolves for this to be done at a later date.  In a year which is not an election year, delivery by the Chair of the Council of their acceptance of office form unless the Council resolves for this to be done at a later date;
    2. Confirmation of the accuracy of the minutes of the last meeting of the Council;
    3. Receipt of the minutes of the last meeting of a committee;
    4. Consideration of the recommendations made by a committee;
    5. Appointment of members to existing committees;
    6. Review of the Council’s policies, procedures and practices;
    7. Determining the time and place of ordinary meetings of the Council up to and including the next annual meeting of the Council.
  1. EXTRAORDINARY MEETINGS
  1. The Chair of the Council may convene an extraordinary meeting of the Council at any time.
  2. If the Chair of the Council does not call an extraordinary meeting of the Council within seven days of having been requested in writing to do so by two councillors, any two councillors may convene an extraordinary meeting of the Council.  The public notice giving the time, place and agenda for such a meeting shall be signed by the two councillors.
  3. The chair of a committee or sub-committee may convene an extraordinary meeting of the committee or sub-committee at any time.
  4. If the chair of a committee or sub-committee does not call an extraordinary meeting within seven days of having been requested to do so by two members of the committee or sub-committee, any two members of the committee or sub-committee may convene an extraordinary meeting of the committee or sub-committee.
  1. VOTING ON APPOINTMENTS

Where more than two persons have been nominated for a position to be filled by the Council and none of those persons has received an absolute majority of votes in their favour, the name of the person having the least number of votes shall be struck off the list and a fresh vote taken.  This process shall continue until a majority of votes is given in favour of one person.  A tie in votes may be settled by the casting vote exercisable by the chair of the meeting.

  1. AGENDA ITEMS
  1. No proposal may be voted on at a meeting unless it is on the agenda or brought forward in the Chairperson’s Remarks.
  2. If the Proper Officer considers the wording of an agenda item received is not clear in meaning, the item shall be rejected until the proposer of the item resubmits it so that it can be understood, at least five clear days before the meeting.
  3. If the wording or subject of a proposed item is considered improper, the Proper Officer shall consult with the chair of the forthcoming meeting or, as the case may be, the councillors who have convened the meeting, to consider whether the item shall be included on the agenda or rejected.  This decision shall be final.
  1. Standing agenda items that are discussed at every full Council meeting are:
Apologies for Absence
Public Forum
Receive Declarations of Interest
P3 Footpaths
District Councillor's Report
County Councillor's Report
Chair's Remarks
Previous Minutes
Action Log
Planning
Finance
Village Hall
Play Area
Cemetery/Churchyard
Allotments
Correspondence
Highways
Council Document Review
Urgent Matters
Next Meeting
  1. MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION
  1. The Council shall have in place and keep under review, technical and organisational measures to keep secure information (including personal data) which it holds in paper and electronic form.  Such arrangements shall include deciding who has access to personal data and encryption of personal data.
  2. The Council shall have in place, and keep under review, policies for the retention and safe destruction of all information (including personal data) which it holds in paper and electronic form.  The Council’s retention policy shall confirm the period for which information (including personal data) shall be retained or if this is not possible the criteria used to determine that period (e.g. the Limitation Act 1980).
  3. The agenda, papers that support the agenda and the minutes of a meeting shall not disclose or otherwise undermine confidential information or personal data without legal justification.
  4. Councillors, staff, the Council’s contractors and agents shall not disclose confidential information or personal data without legal justification.
  1. DRAFT MINUTES

Unless specified using the following abbreviations, the following relate to all meetings.

Full Council Meetings (FC)
Committee Meetings (CM)
Sub-Committee Meetings (SC)

  1. The accuracy of draft minutes, including any amendment(s) made to them, shall be confirmed by resolution having proposed and seconded and shall be signed by the chair of the meeting and stand as an accurate record of the meeting to which the minutes relate.
  2. If the Council’s gross annual income or expenditure (whichever is higher) does not exceed £25,000, it shall publish draft minutes on a website which is publicly accessible and free of charge not later than one month after the meeting has taken place.
  3. Following a resolution which confirms the accuracy of the minutes of a meeting, the draft minutes or recordings of the meeting for which approved minutes exist shall be destroyed.
  4. Approved minutes to be displayed on the Council website.
  1. CODE OF CONDUCT COMPLAINTS
  1. Upon notification by the District or Unitary Council that it is dealing with a complaint that a councillor or non-councillor with voting rights has breached the Council’s code of conduct, the Proper Officer shall report this to the Council.
  2. Where the notification relates to a complaint made by the Proper Officer, the Proper Officer shall notify the Chair of Council of this fact, and they shall nominate another staff member to assume the duties of the Proper Officer in relation to the complaint until it has been determined and the Council has agreed what action, if any, to take.
  3. The Council may:
    1. provide information or evidence where such disclosure is necessary to investigate the complaint or is a legal requirement;
    2. seek information relevant to the complaint from the person or body with statutory responsibility for investigation of the matter.
  1. Upon notification by the District or Unitary Council that a councillor or non-councillor with voting rights has breached the Council’s code of conduct, the Council shall consider what, if any, action to take against them.  Such action excludes disqualification or suspension from office.
  1. PROPER OFFICER
  1. The Proper Officer is the Clerk, or another staff member nominated by the Council to undertake the work of the Proper Officer when the Proper Officer is absent.
  2. The Proper Officer shall:
  1. at least three clear days before a meeting of the Council, a committee or a sub-committee, serve on councillors by email, a summons confirming the time, place and the agenda;
  2. provide, via the website and Parish Council notice board, public notice of the time, place and template agenda (provided that the public notice with agenda of an extraordinary meeting of the Council convened by councillors is signed by them);
  3. include on the agenda all items in the order to be discussed;
  4. convene a meeting of the Council for the election of a new Chair of the Council, occasioned by a casual vacancy in their office;
  5. facilitate inspection of the minutes by local government electors;
  6. receive and retain copies of byelaws made by other local authorities;
  7. hold acceptance of office forms from councillors;
  8. hold a copy of every councillor’s register of interests;
  9. assist with responding to requests made under freedom of information legislation and rights exercisable under data protection legislation, in accordance with the Council’s relevant policies and procedures;
  10. receive and send general correspondence and notices on behalf of the Council, except where there is a resolution to the contrary;
  11. assist in the organisation of, storage of, access to, security of and destruction of information held by the Council in paper and electronic form subject to the requirements of data protection and freedom of information legislation and other legitimate requirements (e.g. the Limitation Act 1980);
  12. arrange or manage the prompt authorisation, approval, and instruction regarding any payments to be made by the Council in accordance with its financial regulations;
  13. record every planning application notified to the Council and the Council’s response to the local planning authority;
  1. refer a planning application received by the Council to the Chair or in their absence the Vice-Chair of the Council within two working days of receipt to facilitate an extraordinary meeting if the nature of a planning application requires consideration before the next ordinary meeting of the Council.
  1. RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL OFFICER

    The Responsible Financial Officer is the Clerk, or another staff member nominated by the Council to undertake the work of the Responsible Financial Officer when the Responsible Financial Officer is absent.
     
  2. ACCOUNTS AND ACCOUNTING STATEMENTS
  1. “Proper practices” in standing orders refer to the most recent version of “Governance and Accountability for Local Councils – a Practitioners’ Guide”.
  2. All payments by the Council shall be authorised, approved and paid in accordance with the law, proper practices and the Council’s financial regulations.
  3. The Responsible Financial Officer shall supply to each councillor as soon as practicable after financial year end on 31st Marsh, a statement to summarise the Council’s receipts and payments (or income and expenditure) for the year.  This should include a comparison with the budget for the financial year and highlights any significant variances.
  4. As soon as possible after financial year end on 31st March, the Responsible Financial Officer shall provide to the Council the accounting statements for the year in the form of Section 2 of the annual governance and accountability return, as required by proper practices, for consideration and approval.
  5. The year-end accounting statements shall be prepared in accordance with proper practices and apply the form of accounts determined by the Council (receipts and payments, or income and expenditure) for the year to 31st March.  The annual governance and accountability return of the Council, which is subject to external audit, including the annual governance statement, shall be presented to the Council for consideration and formal approval before 30th June.
     

     15. FINANCIAL CONTROLS AND PROCUREMENT

  1. The Council shall consider and approve financial regulations drawn up by the Responsible Financial Officer, which shall include detailed arrangements in respect of the following:
  2. the keeping of accounting records and systems of internal controls;
  3. the assessment and management of financial risks faced by the Council;
  4. the work of the independent internal auditor in accordance with proper practices and the receipt of regular reports from the internal auditor, which shall be required at least annually;
  5. the inspection and copying by councillors and local electors of the Council’s accounts and/or orders of payments; and
  6. whether contracts with an estimated value below £25,000 due to special circumstances are exempt from a tendering process or procurement exercise.
  1. Financial regulations shall be reviewed regularly for fitness of purpose.
  2. A public contract regulated by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 with an estimated value in excess of £25,000 is subject to Regulations 109-114 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 which include a requirement on the Council to advertise the contract opportunity on the Contracts Finder website regardless of what other means it uses to advertise the opportunity unless it proposes to use an existing list of approved suppliers (framework agreement).
  1. Subject to additional requirements in the financial regulations of the Council, the tender process for contracts for the supply of goods, materials, services or the execution of works shall include, as a minimum, the following steps:
  1. a specification for the goods, materials, services or the execution of works shall be drawn up;
  2. an invitation to tender shall be drawn up to confirm the Council’s specification, the time, date and address for the submission of tenders, the date of the Council’s written response to the tender and the prohibition on prospective contractors contacting councillors or staff to encourage or support their tender outside the prescribed process;
  3. the invitation to tender shall be advertised in a local newspaper and in any other manner that is appropriate;
  4. tenders are to be submitted in writing in a sealed marked envelope addressed to the Proper Officer;
  5. tenders shall be opened by the Proper Officer in the presence of at least one councillor after the deadline for submission of tenders has passed;
  6. tenders are to be reported to and considered by the appropriate meeting of the Council or a committee or sub-committee with delegated responsibility.
  1. Neither the Council, nor a committee or a sub-committee with delegated responsibility for considering tenders, is bound to accept the lowest value tender.
  2. Any project over £750.00 should be subject to more than one quotation.
  3. The Clerk can authorise an emergency payment up to £500.00.
  4. A public contract regulated by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 with an estimated value in excess of £189,330 for a public service or supply contract or in excess of £4,733,252 for a public works contract; or £663,540 for a social and other specific services contract (or other thresholds determined by the European Commission every two years and published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU)) shall comply with the relevant procurement procedures and other requirements in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 which include advertising the contract opportunity on the Contracts Finder website and in OJEU.
  5. A public contract in connection with the supply of gas, heat, electricity, drinking water, transport services, or postal services to the public; or the provision of a port or airport; or the exploration for or extraction of gas, oil or solid fuel with an estimated value in excess of £378,660 for a supply, services or design contract; or in excess of £4,733,252 for a works contract; or £663,540 for a social and other specific services contract (or other thresholds determined by the European Commission every two years and published in OJEU) shall comply with the relevant procurement procedures and other requirements in the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016.
  1. HANDLING STAFF MATTERS
  1. A matter personal to a member of staff that is being considered by a meeting of Council is subject to standing order 9.
  2. Subject to the Council’s policy regarding absences from work, the Council’s most senior member of staff shall notify the Chair of the Council or, if they are not available, the Vice-Chair of the Council of absence occasioned by illness or other reason and that person shall report such absence to Council at its next meeting.
  3. The Chair of the Council, or in their absence, the Vice-Chair of the Council shall upon a resolution conduct a review of the performance and annual appraisal of the work of all members of staff.  The reviews and appraisals shall be reported in writing and are subject to approval by resolution by the Council.
  4. Subject to the Council’s policy regarding the handling of grievance matters, the Council’s most senior member of staff shall contact the Chair of the Council or in their absence, the Vice-Chairman of Council in respect of an informal or formal grievance matter, and this matter shall be reported back and progressed by resolution of the Council.
  5. Any persons responsible for all or part of the management of staff shall treat as confidential the written records of all meetings relating to their performance, capabilities, grievance or disciplinary matters.
  6. In accordance with standing order 9a), persons with line management responsibilities shall have access to staff records referred to in standing order 16e).
  1. RESPONSIBILITIES TO PROVIDE INFORMATION
  1. In accordance with freedom of information legislation, the Council shall publish information in accordance with its publication scheme and respond to requests for information held by the Council.
  2. The Council shall publish information in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government (Transparency Requirements) (England) Regulations 2015.
  1. RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER DATA PROTECTION LEGISLATION
     
  1. The Council may appoint a Data Protection Officer.
  2. The Council shall have policies and procedures in place to respond to an individual exercising statutory rights concerning their personal data.
  3. The Council shall have a written policy in place for responding to and managing a personal data breach.
  4. The Council shall keep a record of all personal data breaches comprising the facts relating to the personal data breach, its effects and the remedial action taken.
  5. The Council shall ensure that information communicated in its privacy notice(s) is in an easily accessible and available form and kept up to date.
  6. The Council shall maintain a written record of its processing activities.
  1. RELATIONS WITH THE PRESS/MEDIA

Requests from the press or other media for an oral or written comment or statement from the Council, its councillors or staff shall be handled in accordance with the Council’s policy in respect of dealing with the press and/or other media.

  1. EXECUTION AND SEALING OF LEGAL DEEDS
  1. A legal deed shall not be executed on behalf of the Council unless authorised by a resolution.
  2. Subject to standing order 20a), any two councillors may sign on behalf of the Council, any deed required by law and the Proper Officer shall witness their signatures.
  1. COMMUNICATING WITH DISTRICT, COUNTY OR UNITARY COUNCILLORS
  1. An invitation to attend a meeting of the Council shall be sent to the District and County Council via the ward councillor(s) by means of a schedule of meeting dates.
  2. Unless the Council determines otherwise, a copy of each letter sent to the District or County Council shall be sent to the ward councillor(s) representing the area of the Council.
  1. RESTRICTIONS ON COUNCILLOR ACTIVITIES

Unless duly authorised no councillor shall Inspect any land and/or premises which the Council has a right or duty to inspect or Issue orders, instructions or directions.

  1. STANDING ORDERS GENERALLY
  1. All or part of a standing order, except one that incorporates mandatory statutory or legal requirements, may be suspended by resolution in relation to the consideration of an item on the agenda for a meeting.
  2. A proposal to add to, vary or revoke one or more of the Council’s standing orders, except one that incorporates mandatory statutory or legal requirements, shall be proposed by a special proposal, the written notice by at least two councillors to be given to the Proper Officer in accordance with standing order 8.
  3. The Proper Officer shall provide a copy of the Council’s standing orders to a councillor as soon as possible.
  4. The decision of the Chair of a meeting as to the application of standing orders at the meeting shall be final.

This document was reviewed and adopted by Friskney Parish Council on 20th September 2023 (Minute Ref PCM23081).