Running successful meetings

Meetings Best Practice
Pre Meeting

  • A minimum of one Annual General Meeting (AGM) and six ordinary meetings will be held each year.
  • The AGM will be held no later than 31st October each year.
  • Meeting dates, including times and venue, for the year should be set at the AGM. A minimum of 10 days’ notice should be given for each meeting.
  • ·Meetings should be at accessible locations, in rooms of an adequate size and at times which do not obviously inconvenience a reasonable proportion of members or members of the public who may wish to attend.
Public Meetings

  • Quorum for meetings shall be one third of the current voting membership of the Community Council or 3 voting members, whichever is greater.
  • Meetings should adhere to the standing orders.
  • If possible, Community Councillors should have badges or signs with their name on them to ensure members of the public can identify Community Council Members.
  • ·The Chairperson should be neutral in all debates, and if the Chairperson appointed for the meeting wishes to speak, they must relinquish the Chair for someone who has not previously spoken on the issue under discussion.
  • Meetings must be conducted with respect, and the Chairperson shall not refuse to call members because of their point of view. The Chairperson may call for a member to cease speaking or refuse to call them if they believe that the member will be offensive or slanderous in their contribution, but this power must not be abused.
  • Every motion and amendment should be moved and seconded.
  • Any votes should be properly recorded with abstentions noted, particularly those relating to conflict of interest. Only full members or co-opted members

(apart from co-option votes) are allowed to vote. The Chairperson has a casting as well as a deliberative vote.
Post Meeting

  • Copies of all minutes should be sent to Inverclyde Council within 14 days of them being adopted. Agendas for that meeting should be submitted at the same time.
  • Post agendas and minutes in public places to inform the community of your work.

AGM Best practice
Pre Meeting

  • Arrange date for AGM and finalise venue. AGM should be held by 31st October each year.
  • Notices should be sent out at least 10 days before the meeting.
  • Invite any guests or speakers.
  • Collate reports to be presented at the meeting eg Chairperson’s report, Secretary’s report.
  • Ensure accounts have been independently examined and are in a format suitable to be presented at the AGM.
  • Prepare agenda and copy minutes from previous meeting. Templates to assist meeting preparation can be found in the Template Section (Meeting

Agenda page 23; Meeting Minutes page 25)
Meeting

  • Quorum for meetings shall be one third of the current voting membership of the Community Council or 3 voting members, whichever is greater;
  • Adopt minutes from previous meeting.
  • Elect office-bearers.
  • It should be noted that new full members cannot be elected at an AGM this can only be carried out at full or interim elections

Post Meeting

  •  Copies of all minutes should be sent to Inverclyde Council within 14 days of them being adopted. Agendas for that meeting should be submitted at the same time.
  • Ensure Inverclyde Council, members of the public and other stakeholders are informed of changes to office bearers.
  • The AGM minutes should be presented to the next ordinary meeting of the Community Council following the AGM for the purposes of establishing accuracy, although they remain in draft form until approved at the next following AGM.

Sub Committees Best Practice

Community Councils have the power to set up sub groups or sub committees to carry out specified pieces of work. It is the duty of the full Community Council to determine membership, terms of reference, duties, duration and powers. It is important that all Community Councillors are aware of these decisions.

Community Council should decide:

  •  number of members for group; what will the quorum be;
  • who can be appointed to the group and how will they be identified;
  • what the group is set up to do;
  • whether it is a decision-making group or if decisions should revert back to the main group;
  • who can vote, how many votes are required to carry a motion;
  • what powers, if any, it will have;
  •  if there is to be a set chair for the subcommittee eg Treasurer is often the chair of a finance subcommittee;
  • if the group will control any finances and if so how they will be accounted for and by whom if the Treasurer is not part of the subcommittee;
  • how often the group will meet, is it for a set period of time or open ended;
  • how will minutes be recorded, who has responsibility for ensuring minute taking and reporting back to the main group. Will reports to the Community Council be written or verbal?

The Community Council should ensure that:

  • All sub committees supply the Community Council with minutes and financial reports within 14 days of each meeting;
  • Finances from sub committees are included in end of year finances.
  • All finances, including those from sub committees are presented for independent examination by Inverclyde Council’s appointed auditor.

Policies and Procedures

 To ensure the ongoing smooth running of the Community Council and to protect Community Councillors it is recommended that all Community Councils adopt appropriate policies and procedures. Each Community Council will have different needs, but some suggestions are:

  • Equalities and Community Council
  • Data Protection
  • Communication and Social Media Policy
  • Risk Assessment
  • Health and Safety

Equalities and Community Councils

 The Equality Act 2010 covers:

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Sexual orientation
  • Marriage and civil partnership
  • Religion and belief
  • Pregnancy and maternity
  • Sex
  • Race
  • Gender re-assignment

 As the main purpose of a Community Council is to find out the views of their community and clearly express them, Community Councils therefore have both a duty and responsibility to ensure that they represent all within their community irrespective of race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion and/or belief. Every Community Councillor has the responsibility of ensuring that groups or individuals are not discriminated against. Equality is not about treating everyone the same but ensuring that everyone has the same access to opportunities.

How Community Councils can help promote equalities in their areas?

 

  • Find out about the makeup of the area - how many people of different races, with disabilities or of different genders live in the area.
  • Make sure that any advertising is accessible to all, and that meetings take place in accessible buildings at times that suit everyone.
  • Try to engage ‘hard-to reach’ groups - help to do this is available from your Community Council worker or your local Council for Voluntary Service.
  • Run local events in partnership with local ethnic groups, disability and other community groups.
  • Always consult about how any plans would affect all members of the community.
  • Act in an inclusive manner when inviting speakers from ethnic, disability and community groups to discuss difficulties they are experiencing in the community with the Community Council.
  • Make it clear that the Community Council will not support any discrimination, harassment or victimisation.

 Data Protection

 Introduction

 The Data Protection Act 1998 governs the use of personal data. It imposes important obligations on any persons or organisations, including Community Councils, which acquire, store, use or deal with personal data either electronically or within certain paper records. Whilst failure to comply with the Act’s requirements can have serious legal consequences, Community Councillors should be reassured that most breaches are likely to simply require remedial action to be undertaken and would not be deemed to be criminal offences.

 Personal Data and Sensitive Personal Data

  •   Special rules govern the processing of sensitive personal information;
  •   “Personal data” means any information by which it is possible to identify a living individual (referred to in the Act as a “data subject”). Information on individuals who have died, or on companies or other corporate bodies, is not personal data;
  •  “Sensitive personal data” means information regarding such things as an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political or religious beliefs, physical or mental health, sexual life and commission of a criminal offence. Special rules apply to sensitive personal data and Community Councils should seek advice if they hold any sensitive personal data (other than that which is in the public domain such as the political affiliation of local elected members or the denominations of clergy);
  • The Act regulates the processing of personal data. “Processing” means acquiring data, storing it, amending or augmenting it, disclosing it to third parties, deleting it – i.e. doing anything with it at all. An individual or organisation which processes personal data is known as the “data controller”;
  • The Act applies to personal data which is held in any kind of storage system, whether electronic or manual.

 The Data Protection Principles

 The Act sets out some basic rules regarding processing personal data, known as the Data Protection Principles. These include:

  • Data must be processed fairly and lawfully;
  • Data must be obtained for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and must not be processed in any manner incompatible with those purposes;
  • Data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive;
  • Data must be accurate and kept up to date;
  • Data must not be kept longer than necessary;
  • Data must be processed in accordance with the data subject’s rights; and
  • Appropriate technical and organisational measures must be taken against the data’s unauthorised or unlawful use and their accidental loss, damage or destruction

Data Protection

 The Act gives important rights to data subjects, including the right:

  • to be informed that their personal data is being processed by the data controller;
  • to be given access to their personal data;
  • to require their personal data not to be used for direct marketing purposes; and
  • to require the data controller to stop any processing of their personal data which is causing substantial and unwarranted damage or distress.

Contravention of the Act

  • A breach of the Data Protection Principles is not a criminal offence in itself although this may change in the near future. Current offences include the unlawful obtaining, disclosing or selling of information, a failure to follow a Notice from the Commissioner and the failure to notify the Commissioner of processing which takes place. These offences are punishable by the payment of a fine.
  • Compensation may be payable to any person who suffers damage and distress as a result of a contravention of the Act. Such compensation is awarded by the Court.
  • The Commissioner publishes detailed guidance on various aspects of the Act on his website at www.ico.gov.uk.
  • Advice can also be obtained from the ICO’s Scottish office in Edinburgh at Scotland@ico.gsi.gov.uk or 0131 301 5071 (The Information Commissioner should not be confused with the Scottish Information Commissioner, who enforces the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.)

 Complying with the Data Protection Act

 Community councils must comply with the Data Protection Act because they process personal data as defined under the Act. For example, it is likely that the Secretary of

Community Councils will hold electronic records of contact details of its members, of some local residents and of elected members or employees of the local authority.

 

These may be within databases, minutes of meetings or in correspondence, in order to comply with the Act, Community Councils should take the following steps:

  • Nominate someone (e.g. the Secretary) as the person responsible for data protection;
  • If collecting personal data from individuals, you should explain the purpose for which the data is being collected as well as giving them the name of the Community Council and the name of the person nominated as being responsible for data protection;
  • Ensure that personal data are properly protected – if data are stored electronically, ensure that they are password-protected and (in sensitive cases) encrypted. If they are stored manually (e.g. a paper filing system), ensure that the files are kept in a secure place;
  • Ensure that personal data are never disclosed to any unauthorised third party, whether accidentally or on purpose. Do not discuss personal issues in public or leave papers or computer files unsecured at home;
  • Periodically review the personal data that are held, making sure that they remain accurate and up to date - where necessary dispose of or shred data that are no longer needed;

 Health and Safety

 Community Councils have a responsibility to ensure that they protect themselves and members of the public when undertaking duties relating to their role. Community Councillors are encouraged to ensure that meetings take place in safe and secure environments and any hazards are dealt with appropriately. They should also ensure the members of the public are aware of fire exits and Community Councillors are aware of how to deal with and report accidents or incidents. When putting on events or carrying out projects eg litter picks, Community Councillors should ensure that they have carried out a risk assessment.

Meeting Room and Layout

Community Council meetings are open to the public and as such provision should be made within a Community Council agenda for “questions from the floor” and also for a public gallery within the meeting venue.


Model Scheme Documents 2023

Community Councils are the most local tier of statutory representation in Scotland. They bridge the gap between local authorities and communities, and help to make public bodies aware of the opinions and needs of the communities they represent. There are around 1,200 active Community Councils in Scotland.

Local authorities have statutory oversight of Community Councils and are required by statute to consult Community Councils about planning applications and licencing matters.

The existing Model Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils and associated documents (model constitution, model standing orders, code of conduct and good practice guidance) were last updated by Scottish Government in 2009.  The documents were created to support local authorities to develop their own local variations of the Model Scheme document.

During the pandemic, as more Community Councils embraced virtual meetings and used other technologies to reach out to their wider communities, it became increasingly clear that these documents were no longer fit for purpose and needed to be reviewed and updated.

The Improvement Service (IS) engaged with Community Council Liaison Officers (CCLOs) from local authorities across Scotland and held a series of online workshops throughout 2021-22 with a working group consisting of CCLOs and community councillors from some of the federations and forums of Community Councils currently in existence. Input was also provided by staff from the Scottish Government, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC).

This section of the Scottish Community Councils website hosts the updated Model Scheme document and associated documents in easy read, large print, Gaelic, BSL and audio versions.

This guidance is endorsed by the Scottish Government jointly with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Improvement Service. It is available for adoption by local authorities across Scotland should they choose to do so.  We recognise each local authority has its own variation of the model scheme and guidance, and these documents can be adopted in part or in full as dictated by local requirements. If you have any questions about your local Model Scheme or how Community Councils are managed in your area, please contact your local authority's CCLO.

Please click the below link for more information

https://www.communitycouncils.scot/what-is-a-community-council/model-scheme-documents-2023