WPC Standing Orders Reviewed May 2024

WARCOP PARISH COUNCIL STANDING ORDERS

September 2023

Rules of Debate at Meetings

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.

Items may take the form of information, in which a Council member updates the Council on a particular area of relevance, or open questions which may be discussed to reach a consensus or decision point where a vote may be required to resolve the way forward.

The Chair will manage any discussions within the Councils Code of Conduct to ensure the discussion stays focussed on the issue at hand and progresses in a timely manner.

Should any discussion appear to be circling or stalling (e.g. due to lack of information), the Chair may call an end to the discussion without resolution and pass forward to the next meeting with further detail.

Any decisions should be proposed and seconded. Optionally for expediency with more trivial items, the Chair may take a ‘straw poll’ (any objections?) from around the table and declare the decision made.

During any discussion, a councillor may interrupt only on a point of order or a personal explanation and the councillor who was interrupted shall stop speaking. A councillor raising a point of order shall identify the standing order which he considers has been breached or specify the other irregularity in the proceedings of the meeting he is concerned by. A point of order shall be decided by the Chair of the meeting and his decision shall be final.

Disorderly Conduct at Meetings

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.

If person(s) disregard the request of the Chair of the meeting to moderate or improve their conduct, any councillor or the Chair of the meeting may move that the person be no longer heard or be excluded from the meeting. The motion, if seconded, shall be put to the vote without discussion.

If a decision made under standing order 3.2 above 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 adjourning the meeting.

Meetings of the Parish Council

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.

The Warcop Parish Council shall conduct normal scheduled meetings at least 4 times a year. For the purposes of Parish Council meetings, the year shall commence with the AGM (nominally held in May each year).

Each Parish Council meeting shall have a written Agenda, to be prepared by the Clerk with the assistance of the Chair. Other Parish Council members will be invited to add to the Agenda. Any such additions shall be included at the discretion of the Chair.

Normal meeting Agendas will normally be issued, together with the formal invitation to the meeting, at least 3 clear[1] days before the meeting. Extraordinary meeting agendas should be issued at least 24 hours before the meeting.

The quorum for the Warcop Parish Council is three members, not including the Clerk. 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.

The Chair may set a time limit for a meeting for the comfort and consideration of members. In any case any Warcop Parish Council meeting should not exceed two hours in duration.

Documents for discussion as agenda items should be circulated at least one calendar week before the meeting to give members time to read and understand the content.

The public shall be invited to attend normal Parish Council meetings and the Agenda will include and define time for public participation to raise any points and pose any questions to the Council.

The Chair will ensure that members of the public who wish to speak are given opportunity and will manage any attempt by a member of the public to dominate the public participation session.

From time to time, Extraordinary Meetings of the Parish Council may be called. Public participation in these meetings shall be at the discretion of the Chair, through a test of public interest[2].

Each Parish Council meeting shall be minuted (Action and Discussion minutes as appropriate to record the activities) and the minutes shall be made public following their approval at the next scheduled meeting.

The minutes of a meeting shall include an accurate record of the following:

the time and place of the meeting;
the names of councillors present; apologies received and absences

interests that have been declared by councillors;

Any dispensations granted to councillor(s);
whether a councillor left the meeting when matters that they held interests in were being considered;
Any actions placed at the meeting (what and who)

if there was a public participation session; and
the decisions made.

The Chair may elect to take a question from a member of the public outside of the meeting or as an agenda item at a subsequent meeting. No further discussion of the matter at the meeting will be permitted after this point.

A person who speaks at a meeting shall direct his comments to the Chair of the meeting.

Photographing, recording, broadcasting or transmitting the proceedings of a meeting is permitted in accordance with The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 and any protocol adopted by the parish council[3]. The Chair shall ensure that any such activity is carried out in good faith in the spirit of openness and not in any way as a threat to any councillor or the running of the council.

Subject to any standing orders which indicate otherwise, anything authorised or required to be done by, to or before the Chair of the Parish Council may in his absence be done by, to or before the Vice-Chair of the Parish Council.

The Chair, if present, shall preside at a meeting. If the Chair is absent from a meeting, the Vice-Chair, 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.

Subject to a meeting being quorate, all questions at a meeting shall be decided by a majority of the councillors present and voting.

The Chair of a meeting may vote on any matter put to the vote. In the case of a tied vote, the Chair may cast a second vote to resolve the matter.

Unless declared 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 his vote for or against that question. Such a request shall be made before moving on to the next item of business on the agenda.

Should a councillor have a declared interest in any item on the Agenda then they should recuse themselves from the discussion and any vote on that item.

Committees and Sub-Committees

The Parish Council may establish Committees as may be necessary to effectively conduct business[4]. Committees may be Standing Committees, which carry out a subset of the Councils responsibilities and endure along with the Council; or Project Committees which exist to carry out a specific task (or set of) and are then disbanded once the task(s) are completed.

The Parish Council will agree terms of reference for the Committees to define their scope and remit.

Committee membership may be made up of councillors and members of the public[5]. The Parish Council will appoint a Chair for the Committee; the Committee Chair will select the membership to suit the objectives of the Committee.

The Committee may hold meetings at a time and frequency decided by the Committee Chair. Such meetings will be minuted and the minutes made publicly available in parallel with the Parish Councils own minutes.

In the interests of openness and transparency, Committee meetings will be open to the public however the Committee Chair may elect to hold closed meetings where private and/or sensitive matters are being discussed. The reasons for such closure must be recorded in the minutes of the Committee meeting.

The Parish Council will determine the frequency and nature (verbal or written) of reporting of the Committee(s) progress to the Parish Council. Such reports will normally be taken at the next scheduled council meeting.

Ordinary Parish Council Meetings

In an election year, the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council shall be held on or within 14 days following the day on which the new councillors elected take office.

In a year which is not an election year, the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council shall be held on such day in May as the Parish Council may direct.

The Clerk will agree a date and time for the AGM in consultation with the councillors.

The first business conducted at the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council shall be the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair (if any) of the Parish Council.

The Chair of the Parish Council, unless they have resigned or become disqualified, shall continue in office and preside at the Annual General Meeting until their successor is elected at the next Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council.

The Vice-Chair of the Parish Council, if any, unless they resign or becomes disqualified, shall hold office until immediately after the election of the Chair of the Parish Council at the next Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council.

In an election year, if the current Chair of the Parish Council has not been re-elected as a member of the Parish Council, they shall preside at the meeting until a successor Chair of the Parish Council has been elected. The current Chair of the Parish Council shall not have an original vote in respect of the election of the new Chair of the Parish Council but must give a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.

In an election year, if the current Chair of the Parish Council has been re-elected as a member of the Parish Council, they shall preside at the meeting until a new Chair of the Parish Council has been elected. They may exercise an original vote in respect of the election of the new Chair of the Parish Council and must give a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.

Following the election of the Chair of the Parish Council and Vice-Chair (if any) of the Parish Council at the annual meeting of the Parish Council, the business of the annual meeting shall include:

In an election year, delivery by the Chair of the Parish Council and councillors of their acceptance of office forms. In a year which is not an election year, delivery by the Chair of the Parish Council of their acceptance of office form;
Confirmation of the accuracy of the minutes of the last meeting of the council;

Review of delegation arrangements to committees, sub-committees, staff and other local authorities;

Review of the terms of reference for committees;
Appointment of Chairs of existing committees;
Review and (re-)adoption of appropriate standing orders and financial regulations;

Review of inventory of land and assets including buildings and office equipment;
Confirmation of arrangements for insurance cover in respect of all insured risks;

Review of the council’s and/or staff subscriptions to other bodies;
Review of the council’s complaints procedure;

Extraordinary Meetings of the Parish Council and Committees and Sub-Committees

The Chair of the Parish Council may convene an extraordinary meeting of the Parish Council at any time.

If the Chair of the Parish Council does not or refuses to call an extraordinary meeting of the Parish 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 must be signed by the two councillors.

The Chair of a committee [or a sub-committee] may convene an extraordinary meeting of the committee [or the sub-committee] at any time.

If the Chair of a committee [or a sub-committee] does not or refuses to call an extraordinary meeting within seven days of having been requested by to do so by two members of the committee [or the sub-committee], any two members of the committee [and the sub-committee] may convene an extraordinary meeting of a committee [and a sub-committee].

Previous Resolutions

Any proposal, properly seconded and agreed by vote or otherwise shall be deemed to stand in its entirety unless cancelled or modified by a subsequent valid vote taken in the light of new information. The Chair must approve any such re-vote on a proposal.

Voting on Appointments

Where more than two persons have been nominated for a position to be filled by the Parish 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 exercised by the Chair of the meeting.

Proposals for a Parish Council Meeting

Any proposal at a Parish Council meeting must have a Proposer and Seconder. The Proposal will either be listed as a specific item on the agenda or will arise from a discussion around an agenda item and shall relate to the performance of the Parish Council’s statutory functions, powers and obligations or an issue which specifically affects the council’s area or its residents.

A proposal should be carefully worded to be unambiguous and minuted for the record. A vote will then be taken (show of hands or other assent) and the proposal will then be deemed to be approved or rejected as appropriate. A rejected proposal cannot be re-submitted without material changes to the scope, intent or meaning of the proposal.

There are a number of proposals covered by the routine running of a Parish Council meeting some of which do not require a vote per se. These include:

to correct an inaccuracy in the draft minutes of a meeting;
to move to a vote;

to defer consideration of a proposal;

to refer a proposal to a particular committee or sub-committee;
to appoint a person to preside at a meeting;
to change the order of business on the agenda;

to proceed to the next business on the agenda;
to require a written report;

to appoint a committee or sub-committee and their members;
to extend the time limits for speaking;
to exclude the press and public from a meeting in respect of confidential or sensitive information which is prejudicial to the public interest;

to not hear further from a councillor or a member of the public;
to exclude a councillor or member of the public for disorderly conduct;
to temporarily suspend the meeting;

to suspend a particular standing order (unless it reflects mandatory statutory requirements);

to adjourn the meeting; or
to close a meeting.

Handling of Confidential or Sensitive Information

The Parish Council must have measures in place to keep information, including personal data, which it holds in paper or electronic form secure. Measures will include provision for who has access to such information and encryption thereof.

The Parish Council must have in place policies for the retention and destruction of information, including personal data, which it holds in paper or electronic form. The policies will define the retention periods (if applicable) or criteria for subsequent destruction.

The agenda, papers that support the agenda and the minutes of a meeting shall not disclose or otherwise undermine confidential or sensitive information which for special reasons would not be in the public interest.

Councillors and staff shall not disclose confidential or sensitive information which for special reasons would not be in the public interest.

Draft Minutes

The Clerk will prepare draft minutes for each Parish Council meeting and send to the Chair for checking. Once checked, the draft minutes will be place on the website (as draft) within one month of the date meeting[6]. Once the minutes have been approved (normally at the next scheduled meeting of the Parish Council) and placed on the website, the draft minutes will be removed.

If the draft minutes of a preceding meeting have been served on councillors with the agenda to attend the meeting at which they are due to be approved for accuracy, they shall be taken as read.

There shall be no discussion about the content of draft minutes of a preceding meeting except in relation to their accuracy. Corrections to the minutes shall be proposed and deemed accepted unless another member of the Parish Council or Committee raises an objection at which point the Chair of that meeting shall issue a ruling regarding the validity and nature of the proposed correction. The nature of the original correction and the objection shall be minuted so as to provide a record of the interaction.

The accuracy of draft minutes, including any amendment(s) made to them, shall be confirmed by resolution and shall be signed by the Chair of the meeting and stand as an accurate record of the meeting to which the minutes relate at which point the status will change from Draft to Issued.

Code of Conduct

All councillors shall observe the code of conduct adopted by the Parish Council.

If a Councillor is believed to not be operating within the Code of Conduct for the Parish Council, the Chair of the Parish Council must advise the Councillor of that fact and reasoning. If the Councillor disputes the facts, the Chair may take the matter to vote at a subsequent normal or extraordinary Parish Council meeting.

Upon notification by the Westmorland and Furness Council that it is dealing with a complaint that a councillor has breached the Parish Council’s code of conduct, the Clerk shall, subject to standing order 10 above, report this to the Parish Council.

Where the notification in standing order 14.1 above relates to a complaint made by the Clerk, the Clerk shall notify the Chair of the Parish Council of this fact, and the Chair shall nominate another staff member to assume the duties of the Clerk in relation to the complaint until it has been determined and the council has agreed what action, if any, to take in accordance with standing order 14(d) below].

Should the matter be investigated by the Westmorland and Furness Council, the Parish Council will:
provide information or evidence where such disclosure is necessary to progress an investigation of the complaint or is required by law;
ii. seek information relevant to the complaint from the person or body with statutory responsibility for investigation of the matter;

Should a so-notified Councillor wilfully persist in not operating within the Code of Conduct, sanctions available to the Parish Council are as follows:

Exclusion of the Parish Councillor from any further discussions involving that issue (if it is an issue-related transgression)
Exclusion of the Parish Councillor from one or more future Parish Council meetings (the Councillor will otherwise retain all contact and information during normal business together with any responsibilities so given)

Removal of particular responsibilities, related to or associated with the transgression

Reporting of the Parish Councillor to the Westmorland and Furness Unitary Authority with a view to removal of the Councillor from office

Dispensations

Unless they have been granted a dispensation, a councillor shall withdraw from a meeting when it is considering a matter in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest. They may return to the meeting after it has considered the matter in which they had the interest.

Unless they have been granted a dispensation, a Councillor shall withdraw from a meeting when it is considering a matter in which they have another interest if so required by the Parish Council’s code of conduct. They may return to the meeting after it has considered the matter in which they had the interest.

Dispensation requests shall be submitted to the Chairman 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 the Chair OR by a decision of the Parish Council and that decision is final.

A dispensation request shall confirm:

the description and the nature of the disclosable pecuniary interest or other interest to which the request for the dispensation relates;
whether the dispensation is required to participate at a meeting in a discussion only or a discussion and a vote;

iii. the date of the meeting or the period (not exceeding four years) for which the dispensation is sought; and

an explanation as to why the dispensation is sought.

A dispensation may be granted in accordance with standing order 13.4 above if having regard to all relevant circumstances the following applies:

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 or
granting the dispensation is in the interests of persons living in the council’s area or

it is otherwise appropriate to grant a dispensation.

Clerk Responsibilites

The Clerk shall:

Prepare and issue an agenda for each and every meeting, in accordance with Standing Order 3.3 & 3.4 above;
give public notice of the time, place and agenda at least three clear days before a meeting of the Parish Council;

convene a meeting of full council for the election of a new Chair of the Parish 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;
retain acceptance of office forms from councillors;

retain a copy of every councillor’s register of interests;
assist with responding to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Data Protection Act 1998, in accordance with and subject to the council’s policies and procedures relating to the same;

receive and send general correspondence and notices on behalf of the Parish Council except where there is a decision to the contrary;
manage the organisation, storage of, access to and destruction of information held by the Parish Council in paper and electronic form;
arrange for legal deeds to be executed;

arrange or manage the prompt authorisation, approval, and instruction regarding any payments to be made by the Parish Council in accordance with the Parish Council’s financial regulations;
record every planning application notified to the Parish Council and the Parish Council’s response to the local planning authority;
refer a planning application received by the Parish Council to the Chair of the Parish 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 Parish Council;

manage access to information about the Parish Council via the publication scheme;

The Clerk shall send invitations to attend meetings of the Parish Council, together with the agenda, to the ward councillor(s) of the Westmorland and Furness Unitary Council.

Unless the Parish Council determines otherwise, a copy of each letter sent to the Westmorland and Furness Unitary Council shall be sent to the ward councillor(s) representing the area of the Council.

Responsible Financial Officer and Accounts

The Clerk is appointed as the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) for Warcop Parish Council

All payments by the Parish Council shall be authorised, approved and paid in accordance with the Parish Council’s financial regulations.

The RFO shall supply to each councillor as soon as practicable after 30 June, 30 September and 31 December in each year a statement to summarise:

the council’s receipts and payments for each quarter;
the council’s aggregate receipts and payments for the year to date;

the balances held at the end of the quarter being reported

Note that this will normally be presented at the next ordinary meeting of the Parish Council.

As soon as possible after the financial year end at 31 March, the Responsible Financial Officer shall provide:

each councillor with a statement summarising the Parish Council’s receipts and payments for the last quarter and the year to date for information; and
the accounting statements for the year in the form of Section 1 of the annual return, as required by proper practices, for consideration and approval.

The year end accounting statements shall be prepared in accordance with proper practices and applying the form of accounts determined by the Parish Council (receipts and payments, or income and expenditure) for a year to 31 March. A completed draft annual return shall be presented to each councillor before the end of the following month of May. The annual return of the council, which is subject to external audit, including the annual governance statement, shall be presented to Parish Council for consideration and formal approval before 30 June.

Financial Controls and Procurement

The Parish Council shall consider and approve financial regulations, 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 Parish 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].

Financial regulations shall be reviewed regularly and at least annually for fitness of purpose.

Subject to additional requirements in the financial regulations of the Parish 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:

a specification for the goods, materials, services or the execution of works shall be drawn up;
an invitation to tender shall be drawn up to confirm (i) the Council’s specification (ii) the time, date and address for the submission of tenders (iii) the date of the Council’s written response to the tender and (iv) the prohibition on prospective contractors contacting councillors or staff to encourage or support their tender outside the prescribed process;

the invitation to tender shall be advertised in a local newspaper and in any other manner that is appropriate;

tenders are to be submitted in writing in a sealed marked envelope addressed to the Clerk;
tenders shall be opened by the Clerk in the presence of at least one councillor after the deadline for submission of tenders has passed;
tenders are to be reported to and considered by the appropriate meeting of the Parish Council or a committee or sub-committee with delegated responsibility.

Neither the Council, nor a committee or a sub-committee with delegated responsibility for considering tenders, is bound to accept the lowest value tender.

Handling Staff Matters

A matter personal to a member of staff that is being considered by a meeting of the Parish Council is subject to standing order 10.

The Chair of the Parish Council will carry out an Annual Performance Appraisal of the Clerks roles and responsibilities and delivery thereof. The details of this appraisal shall remain confidential between the Chair and the Clerk save for any aspects which need communicating with the Parish Council. Any such communication will be done in such a manner as to only share the pertinent aspects and in such a manner that only councillors may be involved.

Responsibilities to Provide Information

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.

Responsibilities Under Data Protection Legislation

The Parish Council shall have policies and procedures in place in relation to data protection, these shall include:
response to an individual exercising statutory rights concerning his personal data.
ii. responding to and managing a personal data breach.
The Parish 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.

Enquiries from the Press/Media

Parish Councillors will refrain from giving official comment, oral or written to the press and/or other media. Any such requests will be referred to the Chair of the Parish Council who will arrange a discussion at a suitable meeting (next scheduled or extraordinary as applicable) to agree a formal position and statement. This will then be conveyed to the press and/or media without embellishment.

Execution and Sealing of Legal Deeds

A legal deed shall not be executed on behalf of the Council unless authorised at a meeting of the Parish Council.

Any two councillors may sign, on behalf of the Parish Council, any deed required by law. The Clerk shall witness their signatures.

Restrictions on Councillor Activities

22.1 Unless duly authorised no councillor shall:

inspect any land and/or premises which the Parish Council has a right or duty to inspect; or
issue orders, instructions or directions.

Standing Orders Generally

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.

A proposal to add to or vary or revoke one or more of the Parish Council’s standing orders must be considered at a proper meeting of the Parish Council.

The Clerk shall provide a copy of the Parish Council’s standing orders to a new councillor as soon as possible.

The decision of the Chair of a meeting as to the application of standing orders at the meeting shall be final.

These Standing Orders were approved for adoption by the Parish Council at the ordinary Parish Council meeting held on 9^th September 2023.

[1] Clear days exclude: a Sunday, Christmas and Easter and other Bank Holidays, a day of public thanksgiving or mourning, the day of issue of the Agenda and the day of the meeting.

[2] The Public interest test shall consider whether the matter(s) under discussion are of a private and confidential or personal nature, and also whether the public could reasonably need to know or have a view on the subject matter.

[3] The Press will be provided with reasonable facilities for taking reports, when present. No oral report or commentary may be made during a meeting without prior permission.

[4] Committees may also appoint sub-committees similarly.

[5] Except for Committees controlling finances of the Council which must be wholly composed of Council members.

[6] The requirement, from the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities 2014, applies when the annual income or expenditure of the Parish Council is less than £25,000

[7] A public contract regulated by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 with an estimated value in excess of £25,000 but less than the higher relevant thresholds is subject to “light touch” arrangements under Regulations 109-114 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 unless it proposes to use an existing list of approved suppliers (framework agreement)