Source: The 2024 Good Councillor Guide (PC refers to a 2018 out of date version on the website)
MEETINGS
The meeting is the council team in action – the resolutions (decisions) of the council can only be made at a formally called council meeting and by those councillors who attend in person, never by phone, email, or other online communication method. The council should decide on a schedule of meetings for the year at the annual meeting held in May.
The clerk (or someone deputising) supports the council at the meeting as it discusses business, and provides impartial professional advice where required. Council and committee meetings are formal events, not social occasions. They have a clear purpose, which is to make decisions for the benefit of the community. The minutes note which councillors are present, but not ‘who said what’ at the meeting; that is irrelevant in collective decision making, and only the outcome of the decisions is recorded.
Minutes should not be a verbatim record of the meeting.
Council and committee meetings are subject to standing orders; this means they need to be open to the press and the public. Whilst the press and the public also have the right to record council meetings, they have no right to speak during them unless invited to during a public participation session or when the chair allows. (That said, the views of the local community are important information for the council – so they should be given the opportunity to speak at specific intervals and at the chair’s discretion.) It is advisable for the council to have a public-speaking protocol.
There are exceptions relating to when a meeting can be closed to the press and the public.
These exceptions are when sensitive issues, such as legal, contractual, or staffing matters are discussed; in these cases, the council can agree to exclude the press and public from that single item of business. As a rule of thumb, the council should conduct as much of its business as possible with the public present, to ensure it is as transparent as possible.
All councillors are expected to attend meetings of the full council. However, the council can form committees, which are meetings that bring together a smaller number of councillors to concentrate on a specific function of the council and share the workload.
Some committees are permanent (standing) committees, or executive committees, which have been given formal decision-making delegation for defined responsibilities by the council, set out in standing orders. Standing and executive committees with delegation then report their decisions to the full council and the council is bound by the decisions these committees make on their behalf. A sub-committee is appointed by a committee to focus discussion on a specific topic among an even smaller group of councillors. Otherwise, sub-committees operate like committees.
Other working groups might be set up for a short-term project; these are advisory committees, working parties or ‘task-and-finish’ groups. Although they are not subject to the strict rules that apply to formal council and committee meetings, such as the requirement that they be held in public, etc., they must have terms of reference clearly set out in standing orders. Their less-formal working arrangements mean these groups cannot be delegated decision-making authority on behalf of the council, but they can explore options and make recommendations to the council for a decision.
Do you know which committees of your council are standing committees with terms of reference and delegation of the council set out in standing orders?
Did you know that if a standing committee goes into confidential session and you are not a member of that committee, even though you are a member of the council you only have the same rights as a member of the public and will be excluded from the meeting? You are also not entitled to the confidential information that was discussed.
There are rules set out in a council’s standing orders about who is permitted to join a committee or sub-committee.
Sometimes non-councillors can be included (although, with a few exceptions, they cannot vote). This is an excellent means of involving others, particularly young people, in council work.
THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL
The formal legal title of the person presiding at local council meetings is ‘chairman’ which relates to both genders and none, and is nowadays usually referred to as the ‘chair’ in non-legal settings.
Contrary to widespread belief, the chair is not in charge of the council. This is because, as a councillor, they only have the same level of authority as every other councillor.
However, as their responsibility is to preside over the proceedings of the council meetings, they command respect in that specific role.
The chair is in charge of the council’s meetings; this is an office created by legislation. The chair is elected at the Annual Meeting of the Council for one year. The chair has a duty to ensure that council meetings run smoothly, that all business is carefully considered and that all councillors who wish to speak can do so. It is good practice for the chair to refer to the clerk for impartial professional advice.
The chair has no extra powers. For instance, it is unlawful for a council to delegate decision making to any individual councillor, and in this the chair is no different. However, the role does carry some additional responsibilities, such as when a vote is tied, the chair may use a second, or casting vote. Incidentally, this additional vote can be used any way the chair sees fit, and they are not obliged to vote the same way as they did for their original vote.
The chair often enjoys a special relationship with the public, especially in a town council where the chair is also the mayor. They are often invited to open the fête, or to welcome official visitors from abroad; for this reason, the chair can receive an allowance to support this important public role.
It is the chair who leads the Annual Meeting of Electors (remember, this is not a council meeting) if they are present. Successful councils are those where the chair, councillors, and clerk work together as a team to combine their knowledge and skills to deliver real benefits to the community they serve.
Good working relationships, mutual respect and an understanding of their distinct roles are vital. Conflicts between these key players, especially during meetings in front of the press or public, are damaging to the council’s credibility.
Does your council have a councillor and officer working protocol? Has your council adopted the NALC/SLCC civility and respect pledge?
You may think these things are not needed as ‘everyone gets on jolly well’, but it only takes one minor change of officers and/or councillors for the whole dynamics of the council to dramatically change. It is much better to have these provisions in place before anything changes.
BEFORE A MEETING
At, or before, the first local council meeting someone attends they must sign the ‘declaration of acceptance of office’ form. In law, they are not a councillor until this is signed. This is also an agreement to observe the council’s Code of Conduct.
At least three clear days before each council, committee, or sub-committee meeting a summons and agenda will be sent by the clerk. The three clear days are established in law because it is important for councillors to be able to prepare and research the issues to be discussed. This period is also for members of the public to be made aware of what the council will be making decisions on, in case they wish to attend that meeting. Topics requiring a decision cannot be added to the agenda after the three clear days deadline has passed; those issues must wait for another meeting.
The clerk must ensure that each agenda item is clear, in terms of what councillors are expected to do, and must be precise about the subject under discussion. For example, an agenda item saying ‘footpaths’ gives you no idea what to expect.
Councillors need to know what the task at the meeting is: for example, ‘To receive a report from Cllr Gorie on the condition of footpaths in the parish and to agree action in response to proposals for repairs (copy of report attached)’. It is unlawful for a council to decide on an issue, especially a decision to spend money, without sufficient (three clear days’) warning. Vague agenda items that do not specify the exact business (such as Matters Arising, and Any Other Business) are dangerous and should be avoided, because the council cannot make unexpected decisions.
Putting the agenda together is the clerk’s responsibility.
The clerk must sign and date the agenda and decide how it will be set out. This process is often (but not always) undertaken in consultation with the chair. An important part of a councillor’s role is to request that items be added to the agenda if they feel a relevant subject should be discussed; however, for business reasons, it is the clerk who has the final say on what is included on an agenda. The clerk will provide a business reason for an agenda suggestion being deferred or not included.
AT A MEETING
Councillors have a duty to attend the meetings they are summoned to, but sometimes things crop up and it is not possible. In this case, councillors should contact the clerk with an apology. These apologies are usually noted in the minutes; if no apology is offered it is recorded in the minutes as an absence. Some clerks post the record of councillor attendance at meetings on the council website, and note whether an apology was offered or it was an absence (which is considered bad form), so that electors are aware.
Councillors need to note that failure to attend any meetings for a six-month period results in an automatic disqualification from being a councillor, unless a request is made for the council to grant an extended absence by accepting the apologies that were offered before the end of the six-month period. For this reason, when sending apologies for not attending a meeting councillors should give an explanation, so that if a request for an extended absence is eventually required, the council can consider the explanations that were given. It is not unreasonable for a council to consider that a darts or football match is not an adequate reason for not attending and not grant an extended absence, whereas illness or work commitments are acceptable reasons.
Early on each meeting agenda will be a proposal to approve the draft minutes of the last meeting as accurate. Then they are signed by the chair – even if the chair was not present, because it is the council that is doing the approving, not the chair.
It is, of course, the chair’s job to manage the meeting by introducing agenda items, inviting members to speak, focusing discussion, and clarifying matters for decision. Councillors, having engaged in discussion, vote for or against the proposal, usually by a show of hands. Matters to be decided are called proposals or motions. Decisions, called resolutions, are recorded in the minutes; for example, ‘It was resolved that the council will contribute £2,000 to the community bus scheme’.
If a councillor has no view on a proposal, or cannot decide, they can abstain from the vote – but this should not happen frequently, because an important part of the role of a councillor is to decide what they feel best serves to benefit the community. Abstaining from the vote means that the councillor did not vote. The way each councillor votes is not recorded in the minutes because all decisions are corporate, but a councillor can ask for a named (or recorded) vote. It is best not to do this often, as it goes against the spirit of collective decision making.
Councillors should keep their contributions to the meeting short and to the point – no one enjoys listening to others who speak for too long. One role of the chair is to ensure that a meeting is kept to time; therefore, if a councillor is asked to curtail the length of their contribution, this must be respected. Council meetings are about teamwork, collective decision making and reaching consensus, not winning or scoring points off each other. Even if councillors disagree strongly with the way a discussion is working out, they should never engage in personal attacks on others, as this is against the Code of Conduct and not in the spirit of the civility and respect pledge.
Councillors should strive to keep proceedings good- humoured and remember that everyone – members and officers – is working to the same aim: to make constructive decisions collectively that benefit the community.
Council meetings should have a ‘public participation’ part of the agenda: a short, defined period, early in the meeting, in which members of the public are encouraged to speak and ask questions about the issues included on the agenda.
Minutes of the public participation session should be very succinct (with just the issue raised noted) and the GDPR observed (for more information see www.gov.uk/data-protection).
All meetings, full and committee with delegation, must have one third of its members, including the vacant seats, present. This is known as the quorum. The meeting must remain quorate throughout for it to be legally valid, so, if a councillor needs to leave before the end, they must inform the clerk and chair before the meeting starts. This is recorded in the minutes for clarity.
The standing orders of the council will set out how long a meeting should take in order to enable councillors to plan their diaries. It is usually no longer than two hours, because people’s concentration begins to lapse if the meeting goes on longer. A well-crafted agenda with precise discussion topics and an effective chair who ensures everything stays on track are valuable tools for ending the meeting on time.
The council’s standing orders also set out clear rules of debate, which are useful for the chair in keeping the meeting to time and the discussion focused.