Standing Orders

The Parish Council has Standing Orders for the transaction of business and these are shown below.
The Standing Orders are based on the Model supplied by the Monitoring Officers of the Somerset District Councils, Somerset County Council, and the Somerset Association of Local Councils.

Revisions to Standing Orders to be taken in July 2012.
New SO 7.

a) All councillors shall observe the code of conduct adopted by the Council.
b) All councillors shall undertake training in the code of conduct within 6 months of the delivery of their declaration of acceptance of office.
c) Councillors with a disclosable pecuniary interest must leave the room or chamber during the relevant item of business, unless permitted to remain following the grant of a dispensation.
d) Councillors with an interest in relation to any item of business being transacted at a meeting may (i) make representations, (ii) answer questions and (iii) give evidence relating to the business being transacted but must, thereafter, leave the room or chamber, unless permitted to remain following the grant of a dispensation .
e) Following a written request to the Proper Officer of the Council (the Clerk), the Council may grant a member a dispensation to participate in a discussion and / or vote on a matter at the meeting even if s/he has any form of interest (disclosable pecuniary, other) if the Council believes that the number of members otherwise prohibited from taking part in the meeting would impede the transaction of the business; or it is in the interests of the inhabitants in the council’s area to allow the member to take part; or it is otherwise appropriate to grant a dispensation. The grant of a dispensation is automatically delegated to the Clerk and any dispensation may permit the councillor to speak, or to speak and vote.

New SO 25 to replace entirely old SO 25 (Power of well-being)

25. Power of General Competence
a Before exercising the power of general competence, a meeting of the full Council shall have passed a resolution to confirm it has satisfied the prescribed statutory criteria required to qualify as an eligible parish council.
b The Council’s period of eligibility begins on the date that the resolution under standing order 25 (a) above was made and has to be renewed by Council Resolution at the annual meeting of the Council that takes place in a year of ordinary elections.
c After the expiry of its preceding period of eligibility, the Council continues to be an eligible council solely for the purpose of completing any activity undertaken in the exercise of the power to promote well-being which was not completed before the expiry of the Council’s preceding period of eligibility referred to in standing order 25(b) above.

SO 1 y This should now include the option of delegation of business to the Clerk if a meeting is not quorate.