Standing Orders
Policy Adopted May 2023. Next Review Date May 2024
1. Councillors
1.1 Following election or co-option to the Council, each Councillor will be issued with a copy of the Code of Conduct, Standing Orders and Financial Regulations of the Council. They will sign the form of Declaration of Acceptance of Office and the Code of Conduct in the presence of the Clerk of the Council, or of a Councillor who has been specifically designated by the Council for this purpose.
1.2 All Councillors will observe the Code of Conduct at all times when on Council business and no member will act in such a way that will bring the Council into disrepute, behave offensively in meetings or obstruct the Council’s business.
1.3 The Code of Conduct adopted by the Council will define when a Councillor will declare a personal or prejudicial interest in an item for discussion at a Council meeting. The Councillor will declare that interest and the nature of the interest at the earliest opportunity.
2. Annual Meetings
2.1 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.
2.2 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.
2.3 If no other time is fixed, the annual meeting of the Council shall take place at 6pm.
2.4 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.
2.5 The first business conducted at the annual meeting of the Council shall be the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council.
2.6 The Chair of the Council, unless they have resigned or becomes disqualified, shall continue in office and preside at the annual meeting until their successor is elected at the next annual meeting of the Council.
2.7 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.
2.8 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.
2.9 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.
2.10 In an election year, the next order of business of the annual meeting will be the 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 his acceptance of office form unless the Council resolves for this to be done at a later date.
3. Meetings
3.1 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.
3.2 An agreed frequency of meetings will be decided at the Annual Meeting and Councillors will be advised of the meetings by the issue of a summons and agenda delivered by post, by hand or e-mail. The agenda may be delivered by email provided the Council has previously agreed to this. In any case the agenda must be issued at least three clear business days before the meeting.
3.3 Public notices will be posted on the parish website and community noticeboard, informing members of the public of the venue, time, date and business to be transacted at the meeting. The notice will be posted at least three clear working days before the meeting.
3.4 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. 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.
3.5 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.
3.6 Members of the public may speak at Council meetings at the discretion of the Chair of the meeting. The period of time designated for public participation shall not exceed 15 minutes unless directed by the chair of the meeting. A member of the public shall not speak for more than 5 minutes.
3.7 In accordance with standing order 3.6, 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.
3.8 A person who speaks at a meeting shall direct his comments to the chair of the meeting. Only one person is permitted to speak at a time.
3.9 If more than one person wants to speak, the chair of the meeting shall direct the order of speaking.
3.10 Subject to standing order 3.5, 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.
3.11 A person present at a meeting may not provide an oral report or oral commentary about a meeting as it takes place without permission.
3.12 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.
3.13 The agenda for the meeting will be agreed by the Clerk, Chair and Vice Chair as appropriate. The agenda will always include an item to enable Councillors to declare interests. An opportunity for public questions will be made available immediately before the commencement of each meeting.
3.14 The Council may only take decisions on items clearly specified on the agenda; if agreed by the chair, any urgent items which are not on the agenda may be discussed, but no decision may be made, at that meeting.
3.15 The Chair of the Council will preside at the meeting and will be responsible for the conduct of that meeting. If the Chair is not present then the Vice Chair will preside. If they are not present then the first matter on the agenda will be the election of an appropriate Councillor who will chair the meeting. Whoever chairs the meeting will assume the duties of the Chair for the meeting.
3.16 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 his absence be done by, to or before the Vice-Chair of the Council.
3.17 The quorum for the Council will be one third of the total Councillor places but in any case not fewer than 3. If there be insufficient members present then no business will be transacted and a fresh notice will be issued to reconvene the meeting at a later date.
3.18 If at any time during the meeting it ceases to be quorate then the meeting will be adjourned and any further business carried forward to the meeting when next convened.
3.19 Voting at the meeting shall be by a show of hands unless a majority of Councillors wants a ballot. Only the proposer and seconder will be recorded in the minutes unless a Councillor requests that their vote is noted. A Councillor may also request that the Clerk records how each Councillor has voted, including abstentions. Any request of this nature will be made before moving on to the next business.
3.20 Subject to a meeting being quorate, all questions at a meeting shall be decided by a majority of the councillors present and voting
3.21 The chair 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 his casting vote whether or not he gave an original vote.
3.22 A minute of the meeting will be kept by the Clerk or other nominated person in the Clerk’s absence. The minutes which are circulated will be draft minutes until they are approved by the Parish Council at their next meeting and signed by the person presiding at that meeting.
3.23 A councillor 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 his right to participate and vote on that matter.
4. Code of Conduct
4.1 All councillors shall observe the code of conduct adopted by the Council.
4.2 Unless he has been granted a dispensation, a councillor shall withdraw from a meeting when it is considering a matter in which he has a disclosable pecuniary interest. He may return to the meeting after it has considered the matter in which he had the interest.
4.3 Unless he has been granted a dispensation, a councillor shall withdraw from a meeting when it is considering a matter in which he has another interest if so required by the Council’s code of conduct. He may return to the meeting after it has considered the matter in which he had the interest.
4.4. Dispensation requests shall be in writing and submitted to the Proper Officer as soon as possible before the meeting, or failing that, at the start of the meeting for which the dispensation is required. A decision as to whether to grant a dispensation shall be made by a meeting of the Council, or committee or sub-committee for which the dispensation is required and that decision is final.
4.5 A dispensation may be granted in accordance with standing order 4.4 if having regard to all relevant circumstances any of the following apply:
without the dispensation the number of persons prohibited from participating in the particular business would be so great a proportion of the meeting transacting the business as to impede the transaction of the business, granting the dispensation is in the interests of persons living in the Council’s area; it is otherwise appropriate to grant a dispensation.
4.6 Upon notification by the District or Unitary Council that a councillor has breached the Council’s code of conduct, the Council shall consider what, if any, action to take against him. Such action excludes disqualification or suspension from office.
5. Extraordinary Meetings of the council, committees and sub-committees
5.1 The Chair of the Council may convene an extraordinary meeting of the Council at any time.
5.2 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.
6. Management of Information and Personal Data
6.1 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. The Council shall publish information in accordance with the requirements of the Smaller Authorities (Transparency Requirements) (England) Regulations 2015.
6.2 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.
6.3 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).
6.4 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.
6.5 Councillors, staff, the Council’s contractors and agents shall not disclose confidential information or personal data without legal justification.
6.6 The Council shall have policies and procedures in place to respond to an individual exercising statutory rights concerning his personal data.
6.7 The Council shall have a written policy in place for responding to and managing a personal data breach
6.8 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.
6.9 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.
6.10 The Council shall maintain a written record of its processing activities.
7. Clerk to the Council
7.1 The Council may appoint a number of employees to assist it in the performance of its duties. The Council will appoint a Clerk to the Council which will be on an employed basis, unless the Clerk is a member of the Council, acting in an unpaid capacity.
7.2 The Clerk will act as the Proper Officer of the Council, and he/she will: receive the Declarations of Acceptance of Office and notices disclosing interests; sign documents on behalf of the Council and issue agendas and notices of meetings; receive and distribute plans and documents on behalf of the Council; and also advise the bank of changes to mandates with the bank.
7.3 The Proper Officer shall:
at least three clear days before a meeting of the council, a committee or a sub-committee,
serve on councillors by delivery or post at their residences or by email authenticated in such manner as the Proper Officer thinks fit, a signed summons confirming the time, place and the agenda (provided the councillor has consented to service by email), and
Provide, on the parish website and community noticeboard, public notice of the time, place and agenda (provided that the public notice with agenda of an extraordinary meeting of the Council convened by councillors is signed by them).
convene a meeting of the Council for the election of a new Chair of the Council, occasioned by a casual vacancy in his office;
facilitate inspection of the minute book by local government electors
receive and retain copies of byelaws made by other local authorities.
7.4 The Clerk will act as Responsible Financial Officer or be responsible for managing a Finance Officer or other employees of the Council.
7.5 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:
the keeping of accounting records and systems of internal controls;
the assessment and management of financial risks faced by the Council;
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;
the inspection and copying by councillors and local electors of the Council’s accounts and/or orders of payments; and
whether contracts with an estimated value below £25,000 due to special circumstances are exempt from a tendering process or procurement exercise
7.6 Financial regulations shall be reviewed regularly and at least annually for fitness of purpose.
7.7 A public contract regulated by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 with an estimated value in excess of £25,000 but less than the relevant thresholds in standing order 7.5 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).
7.8 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.
7.9 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.
7.10 As an employee of the Council the Clerk is covered by employment legislation dealing with employment rights, discrimination in employment, unfair dismissal, redundancy and similar matters. The Clerk will therefore have a contract of employment stating the terms and conditions under which he/she is employed. This will effectively be administered by the Chair or designated Councillor acting with the authority of the Council.
7.11 All cemetery management must be undertaken by the Clerk. This role cannot be outsourced to third parties external to the Parish Council.
8. Committees and Task and Finish Groups
8.1 The Council from time to time may set up committees and task-and-finish groups to undertake work on behalf of the Council. The Council will set their Terms of Reference, and they will report periodically to the Council.
8.2 Unless the Council determines otherwise, a committee may appoint a sub-committee whose terms of reference and members shall be determined by the committee.
8.3 The members of a committee may include non-councillors unless it is a committee which regulates and controls the finances of the Council.
8.4 Unless the Council determines otherwise, all the members of an advisory committee and a sub-committee of the advisory committee may be non-councillors.
9. Emergency Business
9.1 Should it not be appropriate to convene a special meeting then any emergency business will be handled by the Clerk, in consultation with the Chair and one other Councillor. Actions will be reported promptly to the Council.
10. Alteration or Reversal of Previous Decisions
10.1 Decisions of the Council will not be revised within 4 months, except where a special item is placed on the agenda bearing the name of two Councillors, and is considered and approved by the Council.
11. Execution and Sealing of Legal Deeds
11.1 A legal deed shall not be executed on behalf of the Council unless authorised by a resolution.
11.2 Subject to standing order 11.1, the Council’s common seal shall alone be used for sealing a deed required by law. It shall be applied by the Proper Officer in the presence of two councillors who shall sign the deed as witnesses.
12. Standing Orders
12.1 These and any other standing orders will be reviewed annually by the Clerk and the Chair, and any amendments will be decided by the Council.
12.2 During the course of meetings of the Council, the Chair’s decision as to the interpretation of the standing orders will be final. In cases of doubt, the Council will seek the advice of the Northumberland Association of Local Councils.
12.3 The Council may resolve to suspend a Standing Order, in order to progress the business of the Council, and such decision will be included in the minutes. The suspension will not be taken lightly and it will be time-limited.
