Silverdale Parish Council

Silverdale Parish Council

Standing Orders

1. Meetings of the Parish Council shall be held at 7.00pm, unless the Council otherwise decide at a previous meeting.

2. The statutory Annual Meeting of the Parish Council shall be held during the last week in April, or during the month of May, but in an election year shall be held within 14 days following the fourth day after the ordinary day of elections.

3. Ordinary meetings of the Council shall be held monthly on the first Tuesday of the month.

4. The person presiding shall exercise all the powers and duties of the Chairman in relation to the conduct of the meeting.

5. Three Members shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum is not present when the Council meets or if during a meeting the number of Councillors present and not debarred by reason of a prejudicial interest 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.

6. Members shall vote by a show hands, or, if at least two Members so request, by signed ballot.

7. If a Member so requires, the Clerk shall record the names of the Members who voted on any question so as to show whether they voted for or against it.

8. The Chairman may give an original vote on any matter put to the vote, and in the case of an equality of votes may give a casting vote, even though he gave no original vote.

9. The person presiding must give a casting vote whenever there is an equality of votes in an election for Chairman.

10. At each Annual Meeting the first business shall be-
(a) To elect a Chairman followed by the election of a Vice-Chairman.
(b) To appoint representatives to represent the Council on differing bodies, if not already appointed.

11. A motion to vary the order of business on the grounds or urgency may be proposed by the Chairman, or any Member, and may be put to the vote without being seconded and without discussion.

12. Resolutions dealing with the following may be moved without notice:-
(a) To correct and approve the Minutes
(b) To alter the order of business
(c) To exclude the public
(d) To silence, or eject from the meeting, a Member named for misconduct
(e) To suspend any Standing Order
(f) To adjourn the meeting.

13. No discussions shall take place upon the Minutes except upon their accuracy. Corrections to the Minutes shall be initially by the Chairman.

14. Orders for the payment of money shall be authorised and signed by two Members.

15. The Clerk shall report to any ordinary meeting of the Council, within 3 months after the end of the financial year, on the financial balances of the Council at the 31st March.

16. The Council shall approve estimates and the precept for the ensuing financial year at its meeting in January.

17. The Clerk shall record particulars of any notice given by any Member of any interest declared prior to the discussion on any item.

18. A Member may for the purpose of his duty inspect any document in the possession of the Council and on request be supplied with a copy.

19. All Minutes kept by the Council shall be open to inspection by any Member of the Council.

20. The public shall be admitted to all meetings of the Council which may, however, temporarily exclude the public by means of resolution.

21. Members of the public shall only be permitted to speak, during meetings of the Council, upon the invitation of a majority of the Members present. If a member of the public interrupts the proceedings, without such an invitation having been extended, the Chairman may, after warning, order that he/she be removed from the meeting.

22. No Member of the Council shall disclose to any person not a Member of the Council any business declared to be confidential to the Council.

23. A notice of meeting shall be sent to the County Councillor for the county division and to the District Councillor for the district ward, to enable them to speak at the meeting, if they so desire.

24. A copy of these Standing Orders shall be given by the Clerk to each Member elected to serve as a Parish Councillor.

25. Urgent matters arising between ordinary meetings of the Council shall be considered by the Chairman and at least two other members (one of which shall, if possible, be the Vice-Chairman), and recommendations made to the Proper Officer of the Council. The Proper Officer shall have regard to these recommendations, and make the appropriate decision(s), on the basis of authority, which is hereby delegated in accordance with Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972. The Proper Officer shall report details of the decision(s) made to the next Ordinary Meeting of the Council. In the case of an emergency, where it is not practical, or appropriate, to comply with the foregoing procedure, the Proper Officer may make a decision on behalf of the Council, in accordance with powers similarly delegated, but will seek to obtain retrospective approval, as soon as is reasonably possible.

26. On a motion of a Member and by a majority vote of those Members present, the business of the Council may be suspended, such suspension specifying a time limit allowed for such suspension.

27. Any matter not covered by these Standing Orders shall be dealt with on a motion of a Member and a majority vote of those Members present.

28. After the approval of the Minutes of the previous meeting there shall be a period for Public Participation of up to 30 minutes only (to be strictly enforced). Each speaker will be allowed a maximum of 3 minutes in which to speak. If a number of people wish to speak on the same subject they should elect a spokesperson to speak on their behalf. There will be no debate by Members as to statements made by the public, save that Councillors may request clarification on any particular point they raise. If the subject raised is not on the Agenda, this will be deferred to the next Parish Council meeting for debate, if so requested. The Clerk is to record matters raised by members of the public in the normal manner.

29. The Council resolved to adopt Lancaster City Council’s model of the Code of Conduct with the exception of Section 2 pertaining to “other interests” at its meeting on 6th August 2012 to meet the requirements of the Localism Act 2011. Persons may not act as elected Members, or co-opted Members, until such time as they have provided a written undertaking that they will observe the Code.

30. Where it is intended to enter into a contract to the estimated value of £500, or more, invitations to quote will be sent to at least three suitable contractors.

31. The agenda for an ordinary meeting of the Council shall not include an item entitled “Any Other Business”. The agenda may however include an item entitled “Items for Information”, but this item shall not result in any decision or action of the Council, except that it shall not prejudice any decision, or action, taken under Standing Order 25.

The above Standing Orders were reviewed at the Ordinary Parish Council Meeting held on 3rd October 2022 and then approved, by the Parish Council at the
Ordinary Parish Council Meeting held on 7thNovember 2022.