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council:meetings [2011/08/31 11:10] damiancouncil:meetings [2020/01/21 21:41] (current) matt
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 ====== Meeting Procedures ====== ====== Meeting Procedures ======
  
 +Council meets three times a year, typically in February, June and October with the dates for the year set by the June meeting.
  
-Council meets four times year, typically in January, March, June and October with the dates for the year set by the June meeting.+//(Note; up to and including 2020, Council met four times each year, with a meeting in January and March/April. At the January 2020 Council meeting the decision was agreed to replace the first two of the year with a single February meeting).//
  
-Full meetings are held in January, March and October. The June meeting is traditionally a short one that follows the AGM (after a short break).+Full meetings are held in February and October. The June meeting is traditionally a short one that follows the AGM (after a short break). 
  
-This schedule has evolved around the need to meet [[general:constitution|Constitutional requirements]] for the AGM, as well as avoiding "difficulttimes of the year, such as August (holidays), December (Christmas) and September (Hidden Earth).+This schedule has evolved around the need to meet Constitutional requirements for the AGM, as well as avoiding difficult” times of the year, such as July/August (holidays), December (Christmas) and September (Hidden Earth). 
  
-===== Meeting Timeline ===== 
  
-**1 month before:** Secretary to request Reports and Agenda items by e-mail.+===== Timeline =====
  
-**2 weeks before:** Council Members to submit additional Agenda Items to Secretary, including details of any potentially large items to be raised under the Standing Items (for details see [[council:meetings#Written Reports|Written Reports]] section below). Secretary to distribute the Agenda and Draft Minutes of Last Meeting to Council Members by e-mail.+The following timelines are intended to enable enough time for the Secretary to prepare documents and for Council members to review them ahead of meetings and, if necessary, to refer to their organisations for discussion on how they should vote. The deadlines below are not set in stone (and may need to be adjusted due to Secretary vacations for example), so cannot be used to invalidate a meeting, but should be considered normal practice.
  
-**1 week before:** Council Members to submit Written Reports to SecretarySecretary to collate and then distribute Reports to Council Members by e-mail.+**At least six weeks prior:**  
 +Secretary to request reports and agenda items by email to CouncilIt is recommended to include a reminder to Council of the deadline.
  
-**1 month after:** Secretary to publish Draft Minutes (for details see [[council:meetings#Meeting Minutessection below).+**Three weeks prior:**  
 +Deadline for submission of agenda items from Council members to the Secretary. 
 + 
 +**At least two weeks prior:**  
 +Secretary to upload agenda to website and notify Council members and ensure that the draft minutes from the last meeting are also available for review on the website. 
 + 
 +**Two weeks prior:**  
 +Deadline for submission of reports to the Secretary.  
 + 
 +**At least one week prior:**  
 +Secretary to collate and post reports on the website and notify Council members. Council members attending the meeting are expected to have read these reports prior to coming to the meeting wherever possible. 
 + 
 +**No later than eight weeks after (preferably sooner):**  
 +Secretary to publish draft minutes (for details see Meeting Minutes section below)
 + 
 +It is expected that all Council members make every effort to deliver their agenda items and reports in the timeframe set out by the Secretary; failure to do so hampers democracy, complicates meeting and creates extra work for others. 
 + 
 +===== Venue ===== 
 + 
 +Meetings may be held at any suitable location. It is desirable to choose somewhere relatively central and with suitable WIFI to allow participants to join remotely via video link. The venue should be available all day and have the capacity for at least 40 people (based on usual maximum attendance). Proximity to amenities (e.g. for lunch) and on-site parking and hot drinks facilities (tea/coffee) is recommended.
  
 ===== Agenda Items ===== ===== Agenda Items =====
-A sample Agenda with standing tiems can be found [[http://british-caving.org.uk/wiki2/Documents/Council_Agenda.docx|here]]. The Agenda is typically published two weeks prior to the meeting and Council Members should, where possible, inform the Secretary in advance this if they wish to raise something that is not a standing item. This will then usually be added as an item under AOB before distribution. It should be noted, though, that although this does not prevent matters being raised at the meeting itself, the meeting is more likely to defer judgement until a future meeting if the various Representatives have not had time to refer back to their organisations. See the [[general:representatives|role of the representatives]] for more information. 
  
-The June meeting is shorter and typically makes Council'[[council:annual_appointments|annual appointments]], and sets the meeting dates for the year ahead. If necessary, it will also formally record a resolution needed to change bank mandates. A sample Agenda for the June meeting can be found [[http://british-caving.org.uk/wiki2/Documents/Council_Agenda_June.docx|here]]. Urgent items that cannot reasonably be held off until October can also be dealt with. As above, ideally these will have been notified two weeks in advance of the meeting.+A sample agenda with standing items can be found here (TO BE ADDED).  
 + 
 +The agenda should contain, as a minimum: 
 + 
 +  - Welcome/apologies 
 +  - Acceptance of minutes from previous meeting 
 +  - Matters arising from the previous meeting including review of action log 
 +  - Reports including opportunity for questions/discussion and a vote to accept 
 +  - Items/proposals for discussion/voting submitted by BCA Council members 
 +  - Any other business 
 + 
 +Any items for discussion which are not on the agenda should be declared no later than the start of the meeting, to be added to ‘any other business’ which will be included only at the discretion of the Chair come the end of the meeting. It is expected that there is good reason for why the item was not included on the advanced agenda or in an appropriate report (i.e. why it has not been put out for advanced consideration). 
 + 
 +The June meeting is shorter and typically makes Councils annual appointments and sets the meeting dates for the year ahead, as well as dealing with any urgent business. If necessary, it will also formally record a change to bank mandates. Non-urgent business will usually be held over to the following meeting. The same procedures nonetheless apply. A sample Agenda for the June Council meeting can be found here (TO BE ADDED). 
  
 ===== Written Reports ===== ===== Written Reports =====
-To ensure the efficient running of the meeting, and most importantly, to allow representatives to be fully prepared for the decisions they may be required to make, Officers and appointees are expected to provide written reports 7 days prior to the meeting. These are collated and distributed by the Secretary. 
  
-Reports should typically include: +To ensure the efficient running of the meeting, and most importantly, to allow representatives to be fully prepared for the decisions they may be required to make, Officers, Working Party Convenors, Standing Committee Chairs, and those with additional appointed roles on BCA Council, are expected to provide written reports to the Secretary within the timeframe specified above.
-  * an update on progress since the last report; +
-  * proposals for Council's consideration, including the necessary background and any recommendations of the Committee; +
-as well as anything that **may**: +
-  * constitute a material change to the Terms of Reference and business of the committee; +
-  * involve other Association Committees or members; +
-  * have legal implications for the Association; +
-  * have financial implications for the Association beyond those already agreed; +
-  * involve the Association in a change to established policies or require the Association to agree a new policy or procedure.+
  
-Should any of these latter points be included, then it is expected that papers shall be sent to the Secretary a minimum of two weeks before the date of the meeting to allow representatives sufficient time for consultation. In this situation the attendance of the Convenor or other committee member would generally be required at the National Council Meeting. +**Reports should typically include:** 
  
-Should this process not be followedthen the Chairman may well decide to postpone discussion of the item until the following meeting.+  - An update on progress since the last report. 
 +  - Proposals for Council's considerationincluding the necessary background and any recommendations of the author. 
 +  - For Standing Committees, details of any new co-opted members of the Committee. 
 + 
 +**Reports should identify anything that may:**  
 + 
 +  - For Standing Committees, anything that may constitute a material change to the Terms of Reference and business of that committee. 
 +  - Involve other Association Committees or members. 
 +  - Have legal implications for the Association. 
 +  - Have financial implications for the Association beyond those already agreed. 
 +  - Involve the Association in a change to established policies or require the Association to agree a new policy or procedure. 
 + 
 +Please ensure reports are fully comprehensive, clearly identifying (ideally at the start of the report) whether there are any specific actions/decisions for Council arising within. Doing so will help expedite meetings and focus attention on areas in need of consideration. Note that reports should not be used as a media to present major proposals; these should appear on the agenda which is published earlier.
  
-Committees will be formally advised of decisions reached or policies instituted or amended via the Minutes of the relevant National Council Meeting. 
  
 ===== Applications for Club Membership: ===== ===== Applications for Club Membership: =====
-The Membership Administrator is empowered to provisionally accept new Club Members provided they meet our criteria for a properly constituted Club. The Club will then become a Member once we have received their membership fee, but this is provisional pending acceptance by the next Council Meeting (or AGM, whichever comes first). At each meeting the Membership Administrator should make Council (or the AGM) aware of clubs that have been provisionally accepted since the previous meeting so that any concerns can be raised. Council (or the AGM) should then vote on whether or not to accept the Club as a full BCA Member Club.+ 
 +The Membership Administrator is empowered to provisionally accept new Club Members provided they meet our criteria for a properly constituted Club. The Club will then become a Member once we have received their membership fee, but this is provisional pending acceptance by the next Council Meeting. 
 + 
 +At each meeting the Membership Administrator should make Council (or the AGM) aware of clubs that have been provisionally accepted since the previous meeting so that any concerns can be raised. Council should then vote on whether or not to accept the Club as a full BCA Member Club.  
  
 ===== Procedure for Accepting Reports: ===== ===== Procedure for Accepting Reports: =====
-Once the meeting has finished discussing the contents of an Officer's Report, and is happy with everything reported that has not discussed, the Chairman should ask if everyone present is happy to accept the report? Anyone with anything further to add should raise it at that pointIf not, then the Chairman will move to the next ReportIn the interests of a smooth meeting, it is not necessary to formally propose and second each acceptance. It is important to note that in accepting a Report, Council is indicating its agreement with everything mentioned that has not been separately discussed.+ 
 +Reports must be formally accepted by BCA Council. This may be done on a report-by-report basis or all together (at the Chair’s discretion which may be based on the opinions of those in the room)Reports do not need to be proposed and are accepted by a majority in a show of hands of Council members presentAcceptance of a report indicates Council acceptance of what has been includedAny exceptions to this should be noted and included in the minutes.
  
 ===== Meeting Minutes ===== ===== Meeting Minutes =====
  
-Minutes of meetings should include:  +**Minutes of meetings should include:**  
-  * details of those present + 
-  * apologies for absence +  - Date, time and location. 
-  * any matters arising from previous minutes +  - Details of those present. 
-  * reports to Council from Executive, Officers and appointees (which should be attached to the minutes) +  - Apologies given for absence. 
-  * details of discussions on specific issues, points raised and decisions taken including, where appropriate, records of votes for and votes against. +  - Any matters arising from previous minutes. 
-  * a means of indicating actions to be taken outside of the meeting, such as an "Action Log".+  - Outcomes of any actions from the previous meeting. 
 +  - Details of discussions regarding the reports including a record of their acceptance. The reports themselves may be attached or included within the minutes, or they may be included in a separate document available alongside the minutes. 
 +  - Details of discussions on specific issues, points raisedand decisions taken including, where appropriate, records of proposers, seconders, votes for and votes against. 
 +  - A means of indicating actions to be taken outside of the meeting, such as an action log; it is suggested to include this clearly at the end of the minutes. 
 + 
 +Minutes and other papers should be distributed as soon as practical after meetings, but within eight weeks maximum. Before publication, draft minutes should be agreed by at least two participants, ideally one of which being a member of BCA Executive. The minutes may be reviewed by anyone the minute-taker feels appropriate to ensure their accuracy. 
 + 
 +**On publishing draft minutes, the Secretary should:**  
 + 
 +  - Upload them to the BCA website, ensuring clarity that they are a draft. 
 +  - Broadcast their availability via email to all BCA Council members. 
 + 
 +Minutes must be approved at the next Council meeting. Only in the event of significant changes being made should approved minutes also be broadcast, although they should always be updated to a ‘final’ document on the BCA website.  
 + 
 + 
 +===== Voting Procedures ===== 
 + 
 +Voting is by simple majority of those present and eligible to vote with no minimum number necessary for the meeting to be quorate. The Chair shall hold the casting vote. The Council Members page gives a list of those eligible to vote. Although an individual is free to represent more than one Group, nobody is entitled to more than one vote.  
 + 
 + 
 +===== Representatives =====
  
-Minutes and other papers should be distributed as soon as practical after meetings In the interests of effective communicationit is considered good practice to distribute Draft Minutes, before they are accepted by the next meeting, rather than waiting for fully Approved MinutesBefore publication the full Draft Minutes should be agreed by each of the ExecutiveHowever, in the event that this is not possible within one month of the meeting, the Secretary should ask another Council Member, or Members, to check them before publishing. +Representatives are vital to the smooth running of BCAThey help ensure the interests of all Constituent BodiesRegional Councils and Committees are accommodatedHowever the role can be very demanding, particularly when immediate spur-of-the-moment decisions are requested at meetingsTherefore the following principles should apply to representatives: 
  
-On publishing Draft Minutes the Secretary should send them to: +  - A representative is empowered to agree matters on behalf of the Body they represent, unless instructed specifically to the contrary by that Body. 
-  * all [[council:members|members of National Council]] +  - However, a representative can also say that they do not feel able to express the view of the Body they representIn this case, if at all possible, they should be given a chance to refer the matter back to their Body for clarification. 
-  * any other person or organisation the Secretary or another Council Member feels may have an interestCurrently this includes: the Secretaries of the Regional Councils and Constituent Bodiesplus the FODCCAG Secretary.+  - In view of the delays resulting from a referral back, it is sensible to avoid the need for this by effective communication in advance. Therefore prior warning of potential areas of discussion and decisions that will need to be made should be given if at all possibleideally on the meeting agenda. The onus here is on whoever is requesting a decision to ensure it is communicated to the Secretary to put onto the agenda.
  
-A copy of all Draft Minutes should also be added to the relevant section of the BCA website, ensuring that any Draft Minutes are clearly marked as such, both in the document itself and on the website. 
  
-Only in the event of significant changes being made at the following Meeting, should approved Minutes also be distributed as above, although they should always be updated on the BCA Website.+----
  
 +//Formally adopted at January 2020 Council Meeting. Last review: 11/01/20//
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