Damaged Railings Shortmead St / High St / St Andrews - another update

 

On 1st July 2011, I received a response from Central Bedfordshire Highways, saying that Steve Thomas, Senior Engineer, Central Bedfordshire Council, is to make enquiries into the best course of action at this location.

 

After prompting I received a response on 21st July from Steve Thomas saying:

 

Sorry for delay in getting back to you.

 

As you are probably aware, a Masterplan has recently been produced for the further enhancement of the centre of Biggleswade. Part of this Masterplan states that the Town Centre should be de-cluttered of unnecessary street furniture (bollards, railings, barriers etc). At the moment, the Council is deciding what to do with any unnecessary existing street furniture which becomes broken or damaged. It is obviously not cost effective to repair or replace street furniture which is going to be removed in the near future - better to have a rolling programme of removal when damage occurs.

 

The current consensus is that only street furniture which provides a safety or regulatory requirement will be replaced. With this in mind I have asked my colleagues in highways to confirm if the barriers adjacent to the roundabout are fulfilling a safety requirement. If they are not, the damaged section will be removed and not replaced. If they are, I suspect it will be replaced with one which is less costly to maintain.

 

I will continue to liaise with my highways colleagues, so we can get this resolved as soon as possible.

 

I responded the same day:

 

I understand what you say. If the barrier is still required at the roundabout would it not be better to replace it with an existing barrier / railing of the same design, from somewhere else in the Market Square, which will be removed at some time, rather than a cheaper non matching alternative. It will take years and years to only remove barriers and bollards as they become damaged.

Speaking of damaged bollards. When I was in the town this morning, opposite Iceland a bollard has been ripped out of the ground, I suspect by a car hitting it. Who has responsibility for sorting this one out and should it now be removed and the area made good ? I have attached a photograph.

After more prompting I have received this response on 26th August 2011:

I am arranging for the damaged railings at the roundabout to be removed. The problem with these railings is that they were constructed to a particular radius rather than made up of a series of straight panels which would have been far easier to maintain. I think the uprights can be salvaged but not the panels.

 

I am also arranging for a number of damaged bollards (like the one in your picture) to be removed and for the paving to be reinstated.

________________________________________________________________

BACKGROUND

 

In the blog of 24th February 2011, I related the dispute between Biggleswade Town Town and Central Bedfordshire Highways about who was responsible for the repairs.
http://biggleswadeonline.blogspot.com/2011/02/lets-play-pass-parcel.html

After nearly 5 months of:

1. I can understand your frustration regarding the two organisations not taking responsibility. I have raised the issue with the Planners that installed them as part of the regeneration scheme. I am confident that a resolution will soon be achieved.

2. I chasing that one, just waiting a response.

3. I am really sorry you have not received a reply. I have forwarded the email to our Economic & Physical Regeneration team to reply as a matter of urgency.

On the 19th June I made a formal complaint. The response time is two working days. So after five working days I asked for a response.

The response was:

Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your email of 19th June.

The barriers were installed at the request of Biggleswade Town Council many years ago and are not barriers that the Highways would install or maintain as they have been installed as a decorative feature.

The barriers that Highways can install are the standard safety barriers which would look very out of place. As Biggleswade Town Council requested these be installed it is their responsibility to pay for a replacement barrier of the same style if they wish to do so.

We appreciate that this matter has been going back and forth a number of months however the Highways Team do not have funds available to replace decorative barriers that they have no responsibility for.

We have copied this email to the Town Council so that they can make the necessary arrangements for repairs to be made.

I have now received a copy of an email from the Biggleswade Town Clerk to Highways asking that in future they do some background checking before sending out responses of this nature and copying the email to Steve Thomas of Central Bedfordshire Council asking that he contact Highways and myself to appraise us of ownership of the barriers.

Back to square one, do not pass Go and do not collect 200 pounds.

I have written to Highways and copied it to the Town Clerk and Steve Thomas:

So where does this leave the report I made in February 2011 and the recent formal complaint I made about this issue not being resolved after nearly 5 months.

Biggleswade Town Council Meetings - exclusion of press & public



At the Biggleswade Town Council Meeting of 26th July 2011, I asked in the public open session:

You have a heading of Exempt Items on the agenda at item 14.

Why are you quoting :

Section 1001 (1) of the LGA (Access to Information) (variation) order 2006 Schedule 12a part I, part 3.

When I have previously told the Town Clerk and more recently the Mayor, there is no such legislation. I have also told the Town Clerk that the correct quotation is:

Section 100I (1) of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, as amended by the Local Government (Access to information) (variation) order 2006, Part 1, Paragraph 3.

Why are you not using what a number of other Councils use by resolution, which is:

Section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, which says, in view of the confidential nature of business about to be transacted, it is advisable in the public interest that the press and public be temporarily excluded and they are instructed to withdraw.

I have also previously advised the Town Clerk of this.

At present by quoting non existent legislation, you cannot legally exclude the press and the public.

The response from The Mayor, Councillor Tim Woodward, was basically as Mayor under standing orders I can exclude anybody. My comment as I sat down was "aint democracy wonderful".

The draft minutes of the meetings say:

Mr Richard Mason wanted to draw attention to the legislation stated on the Agenda item 14, he advised that this legislation does not exist and should be Section 100I * (1) of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, as amended by the Local Government Access to Information (variation) order 2006, Part 1, Paragraph 3.

He also wanted to draw attention to "Omission Act 1960" - 'Pursuant to Section 1(2) of the Public Bodies (Admission to meetings) Council resolved to exclude  the public and press by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.'

I emailed the Town Clerk and copied it to all Town Councillors:

I have today seen the draft minutes of the above meeting.

The minutes concerning what I said at the meeting do not entirely reflect what I actually said. I have attached a copy of what I actually said.

I made no mention of an Omission Act 1960, if one exists.

There is no mention of the fact that I had previously brought this to your attention and that of the current Mayor but a fictitious Act continued to be quoted. The most important point I made was that you cannot rely on quoting legislation that does not exist to lawfully exclude the press and the public.

Neither do the minutes include the response from the Mayor, Tim Woodward, which was basically as Mayor under Standing Orders I can exclude anyone I like. I cannot see that in the copy of the Standing Orders you provided me with, but I will be taking that up with the Mayor.

The standing orders also include fictitious legislation concerning exempt items.

I would appreciate it, if the appropriate amendments could be made to the minutes.

I also emailed the Mayor, Councillor Tim Woodward and copied it to all Town Councillors:

At the above meeting I politely pointed out to the Council that the legislation which the Council are relying on did not exist, so you could not legally exclude the press and public and I suggested an alternative. I had previously said the same to the Town Clerk in writing more than once and to you when we met on Wednesday 6th July 2011.

Your terse response in not so many words, was that under standing orders, as Mayor you could exclude anyone you liked.

The Town Clerk has provided me with a copy of the Council standing orders and firstly the same non existent legislation is shown in them. Secondly having read and reread the orders I cannot find one where the Mayor has the authority to exclude the press and public if they are behaving themselves.

Perhaps you could kindly point out to me which standing order you were quoting?

At the Town Council meeting on Tuesday 23rd August the minutes went unamended and unchallenged. Yet again we have minutes, to coin a phrase from the Town Clerk, that do not reflect the discussions that took place.

The Mayor, Councillor Tim Woodward, said that doubt had been expressed on whether he had the authority to exclude anyone under standing orders. My understanding of what he said was (and confirmed by others later), that he would ask a person to leave and if they did not do so, he would decide that they had interrupted the meeting and under standing orders he could exclude them.

This is the standing order to which I think he is referring:

63.           If a member of the public interrupts the proceedings at any meeting, the Mayor may, after warning, order that he/she be removed from the meeting and may adjourn the meeting for such period as is necessary to restore order.

I have not received the courtesy of a response to my emails from either the Town Clerk or the Mayor.

Electoral Register for 2012

Voter registration forms will soon be dropping through letterboxes,  so residents are being urged to return their forms as soon as possible to make their voices heard in local elections.

The Electoral Service Team at Central Bedfordshire Council will be sending forms to households over the Bank Holiday weekend to compile the electoral register. The revised electoral register will be published by 1 December 2011.

For the full details go to:

http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/news/news/august-2011/electoralRegister.aspx

Biggleswade Town Council - Standing Orders

Standing Orders are a set of rules governing the procedures that a Local Town or Parish Council and Councillors should follow. Standing Orders, once created, are amended, as and when necessary, to reflect any changes in the Local Government Acts on which they are based.

Some of the following Standing Orders are compulsory as they are laid down in Acts of Parliament.  These are printed in BOLD type.  These standing orders cannot be altered.

1.                Meetings of the Council

a)                Meetings of the Council shall be held at 7.00 pm unless the Council otherwise decides at a previous meeting.

b)               Smoking is not permitted at any meeting of the Council.

c)                Mobile Phones, recording devices or any devices that may cause distraction are not permitted to be used at any meeting of the Council.

2.         The Statutory Annual Meeting

a)               In an election year the Annual Statutory Meeting shall be held on or within 14 days following the day on which the Councillors elected to take office and

b)               In a year which is not an election year the Annual Town Meeting shall be held on such day in May as the Council may direct.

3.         In addition to the Statutory Annual Meeting, at least three other statutory meetings shall be held in each year on such dates and times and at such place as the Council may direct.

4.                Chairman of the Meeting

The person presiding at a meeting may exercise all the powers and duties of the Chairman in relation to the conduct of the meeting.

5.                Proper Officer

Where a statute, regulation or order confers function or duties on the proper officer of the Council in the following cases he/she shall be the Clerk or nominated officer:

            To receive declarations of acceptance of office

            To receive and record notices disclosing interests at meetings

To receive and retain plans and documents

To sign notices or other documents on behalf of the Council

To receive copies of bylaws made by another local authority

To certify copies of bylaws made by the Council

To sign and issue the summons to attend meetings of the Council

To keep proper records for all Council meetings

6.                Quorum of the Council

Three members or one third of the total membership, whichever is the greater, shall constitute a quorum at meetings of the Council.

7.                If a quorum is not present or if during a meeting the number of councilors present (not counting those debarred by reason of a declared interest) falls below the required quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned and business not transacted shall be transacted at the next meeting or on such other day as the Chairman fix.

8.                For a quorum relating to a committee or sub-committee, please refer to Standing Order 48.

9.                Voting

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

10.             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.  Such a request must be made before moving on to the next business.

11.             (1)  Subject to (2) and (3) below the Chairman may give an original vote on any matter put to the vote, and in any case of an equality of votes may give a casting vote whether or not he/she gave an original vote.

(2) If the person presiding at the annual meeting would have ceased to be a member of  the Council but for the statutory provisions which preserve the membership of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor until the end of their term of office he/she may not give an original vote in an election for Mayor.

(3) The person presiding must give a casting vote whenever there is an equality of votes in an election for Mayor.

12.             Order of Business

At each Annual Town Council Meeting the first business shall be:

a)               To elect a Mayor

b)               To receive the Mayor’s declaration of acceptance of office or, if not

Received, to decide when it shall be received.

c)               In the ordinary year of election of the Council to fill any vacancies left unfilled at the election by reason of insufficient nominations.

d)               To decide when any declarations of acceptance of office which have not been received as provided by law shall be received.

e)               To elect a Deputy Mayor of the Council

f)                To appoint representatives to outside bodies

g)               To appoint committees and sub-committees

and shall thereafter follow the order set out in the Standing Order 15

13.             At every meeting other than the Annual Council Meeting the first business shall be to appoint a Chairman if the Chairman and Vice Chairman be absent and to receive such declarations of acceptance of office (if any) and undertaking to observe the Council’s Code of Conduct as are required by law to be made or, if not then received, to decide when they shall be received.

14.             In every year, not later than the meeting at which the estimates for next year are settled, the Council shall review the pay and conditions of service of existing employees.  Standing Order 38 must be read in conjunction with this requirement.

15.             After the first business has been completed, the order of business shall be in the order set out in the Agenda unless the Council otherwise decides on the grounds of urgency, and shall be as follows:

a)               To receive apologies from members not able to be present

b)               To receive Declarations of Interests

c)               To receive such communications as the person presiding may wish to lay before the Council

d)               To adjourn for a period of up to 15 minutes for the public to put questions through the Chair relating to matters listed on the agenda. 

e)               To read and consider Minutes; provided that if a copy has been circulated to each member not later than the day of issue of the summons to attend the meeting, the Minutes may be taken as read.

f)                After consideration to approve the signature of the Minutes by the Chair as a correct record.

g)         To deal with matters arising from the Minutes unless such matters are specified on the agenda.

h)               To deal with business expressly required by statute to be done.

i)                 To dispose of business, if any, remaining from the last meeting.

j)                To receive and consider reports and minutes of committees.

k)               To receive and consider resolutions or recommendations in the order in which they have been notified.

l)                 To authorise the sealing of documents

16.             Urgent Business

A motion to vary the order of business on the grounds of urgency:

a)               may be proposed by the Chairman or by any member and, if proposed by the Chairman, may be put to the vote without being seconded, and

b)               shall be put to the vote without discussion

17.             Resolutions Moved on Notice

Except as provided by these Standing Orders, no resolution may be moved unless the business to which it relates has been put on the Agenda by the Clerk or the mover has given notice in writing of its terms and has delivered the notice to the Clerk at least 6 clear days before the next meeting of the Council.

18.             The Clerk shall date every notice of resolution or recommendation when received, shall number each notice in the order in which it was received and shall enter it in a book which shall be open to the inspection of every member of the Council.

19.             The Clerk shall insert in the summons for every meeting all notices of motion or recommendation properly given in the order in which they have been received unless the member giving a notice of motion has stated in writing that he/she intends to move at some later meeting or that he/she withdraws it.

20.             If a resolution or recommendation specified in the summons is not moved either by the member who gave notice of it or by any other member, it shall, unless postponed by the Council, be treated as withdrawn and shall not be moved without fresh notice.

21.             If the subject matter of a resolution comes within the province of a committee of the Council, it shall, upon being moved and seconded, stand referred without discussion to such committee or to such other committee as the Council may determine for report; provided that the Chairman, if he/she considers it to be a matter of urgency may allow it to be dealt with at the meeting at which it was moved.

22.             Every resolution or recommendation shall be relevant to some subject over which the Council has power or duties which affects its area.

23.             Resolutions Moved without Notice

Resolutions dealing with the following matters may be moved without notice:

a)               To appoint a Chairman of the meeting

b)               To correct the minutes

c)               To approve the minutes

d)               To alter the order of business

e)               To proceed to the next business

f)                To close or adjourn the debate

g)               To refer a matter to a committee

h)               To appoint a committee or any members thereof

i)                 To adopt a report

j)                To authorise the sealing of documents

k)               To amend a motion

l)                 To give leave to withdraw a resolution or amendment

m)             To extend the time limit for speeches

n)               To exclude the press and public (See Order 63 below)

o)               To silence or eject from the meeting a member named for misconduct (see Order 33 below)

p)               To give the consent of the Council where such consent is required by these Standing Orders

q)               To suspend any Standing Order (see Order 73 below)

r)                To adjourn the meeting

24.             Questions

A member may ask the Chairman or the Clerk any question concerning the business of the Council, provided 3 clear days notice of the question has been given to the person to whom it is addressed.

25.             No questions not connected with business under discussion shall be asked except during the part of the meeting set aside for questions.

26.             Every question shall be put and answered without discussion.

27.             A person to whom a question has been put may decline to answer.

28.             Rules of Debate

No discussion of the minutes shall take place except upon their accuracy. Corrections to the Minutes shall be made by resolution and must be initialed by the Chairman.

29.

a)               A resolution or amendment shall not be discussed unless it has been proposed

And seconded, and, unless proper notice has already been given, it shall, if required by the Chairman, be reduced to writing and handed to him/her before it is further discussed or put to the meeting.

b)         A member when seconding a resolution or amendment may, if he/she then declares his/her intention to do so, reserve his/her speech until a later period of the debate.

c)         A member shall direct his/her speech to the question under discussion to a personal explanation or to a question of order.

d)         No speech by a mover of a resolution shall exceed 3 minutes and no other speech shall exceed 3 minutes except by consent of the Council.

e)               An amendment shall be either:

i.                 To leave out words

ii.                To leave out words and insert others

iii.               To insert or add words

f)          An amendment shall not have the effect of negating the resolution before the Council.

g)         If an amendment be carried, the resolution, as amended, shall take the place of the original resolution and shall become the resolution upon which any further amendment may be moved.

h)         A further amendment shall not be moved until the Council has disposed of every amendment previously moved.

i)                 The mover of a resolution or of an amendment shall have a right of reply, not exceeding 2 minutes.

j)                A member, other than the mover of a resolution, shall not, without leave of the Council, speak more than once on any resolution except to move an amendment or further amendment, or on an amendment, or on a point of order, or in personal explanation, or to move a closure.

k)               A member may speak on a point of order or a personal explanation.  A member speaking for these purposes shall be heard forthwith.  A personal explanation shall be confined to some material part of a former speech by him, her which may have been misunderstood.

l)                 A motion or amendment may be withdrawn by the proposer with the consent of the Council, which shall be signified without discussion, and no member may speak upon it after permission has been asked for its withdrawal unless such permission has been refused.

m)             When a resolution is under debate no other resolution shall be moved except the following:

i.                 To amend the resolution

ii.                To proceed to the next business

iii.               To adjourn the debate

iv.              That the question be now put

v.                That a member named be not further heard

vi.              That a member named leave the meeting

vii.             That the resolution be referred to a committee

viii.            To exclude the public and press

ix.               To adjourn the meeting

30.       A member shall stand when speaking unless permission to remain seated is given by

             by the Chairman. Or a member shall remain seated when speaking unless a request is

             made by the Chairman to stand.            

a)               The ruling of the Chairman on a point of order or on the admissibility of a personal explanation shall not be discussed.

b)               Members shall address the Chairman.  If two or more members wish to speak, the Chairman shall decide who to call upon.

c)               Whenever the Chairman speaks during a debate all other members shall be silent.

32.             Closure

At the end of any speech a member may, without comment, move “that the question be now put”, “that the debate be now adjourned” or “that the Council do now adjourn”. If such motion is seconded, the Chairman shall put the motion but, in the case of a motion “that the question is now put”, only if he/she is of the opinion that the question before the Council has been sufficiently debated.  If the motion “that the question be now put” is carried, he/she shall put the question immediately after that right has been exercised or waived. The adjournment of a debate or of the Council shall not prejudice the mover’s right of reply at the resumption.

33.             Disorderly Conduct

a)               All members must observe the Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on the 15^th May 2007, a copy of which is annexed to these Standing Orders.

b)               No member shall at a meeting persistently disregard the ruling of the Chairman, willfully obstruct business, or behave irregularly, offensively, improperly or in such a manner as to bring the Council into disrepute.

c)               If, in the opinion of the Chairman, a member has broken the provisions of paragraph b) of this Order, the Chairman shall express that opinion to the Council and thereafter any member may move that the member named be no longer heard or that the member named do leave the meeting, and the motion, if seconded, shall be put forthwith and without discussion.  If a member reasonably believes another member is in breach of the Code of Conduct, that member is under a duty to report the breach to the Standards Board (England).

d)               If either of the motions mentioned in paragraph c) is disobeyed, the Chairman may adjourn the meeting or take such further steps as may reasonably be necessary to enforce them.

34.             Right of Reply

The mover of a resolution shall have a right of reply immediately before the resolution is put to the vote.  If an amendment is proposed the mover of the amendment shall be entitled to reply immediately before the amendment is put to the vote.  A member exercising a right of reply shall not introduce a new matter.  After the right of reply has been exercised or waived, a vote shall be taken without further discussion.

35.             Alteration of Resolution

A member may, with the consent of his seconder; move amendments to his/her own resolution.

36.             Rescission of Previous Resolution

a)               A decision (whether affirmative or negative) of the Council shall not be reversed within 6 months except by a special resolution, the written notice whereof bears the names of at least 5 members of the Council, or by a resolution moved in pursuance of the report or recommendation of a committee.

b)               When a special resolution or any other resolution moved under the provisions of paragraph a) of this Order has been disposed of, no similar resolution may be moved within a further six months.

37.             Voting on Appointments

Where more than two persons have been nominated for any position to be filled by the Council and of the votes given there is not an absolute majority in favor of one person, the name of the person having the least number of votes shall be struck off the list and a fresh vote taken, and so on until a majority of votes is given in favor of one person.

38.             Discussions and Resolutions Affecting Employees of the Council

If at a meeting there arises any question relating to the appointment, conduct, promotion, dismissal, salary or conditions of service, of any person employed by the Council, it shall not be considered until the Council or committee (as the case may be) has decided whether or not the press and public shall be excluded. (See Standing Order No. 63).

39.             Resolutions on Expenditure

Any resolution (which is moved otherwise than in pursuance of a recommendation of

The Finance Committee or of another committee after recommendation by the Finance Committee) and which, if carried, would, in the opinion of the Chairman, substantially increase the expenditure upon any service which is under the management of the Council or reduce the revenue at the disposal of any committee, or which would involve capital expenditure, shall, when proposed and seconded, stand adjourned without discussion to the next ordinary meeting of the Council, and any committee affected by it shall consider whether it desires to report thereon (and the Finance Committee shall report on the financial aspect of the matters).

40.             Sealing of Documents

a.                A document shall not be sealed on behalf of the Council unless its sealing has been authorised by a resolution.

b.               Any two members of the Council, one of whom must be the Mayor or Deputy Mayor may seal on behalf of the Council any document required by law to be issued under seal.

41.             Committees and Sub Committees

The Council may at its Annual Meeting appoint standing committees and may at any other time appoint such other committees as are necessary, but subject to any statutory provision in that behalf:

a)               Shall not appoint any member of a committee so as to hold office later than the next Annual Meeting.

b)               May appoint persons other than members of the Council to any Committee; and

c)               May subject to the provisions of Standing Order 36 above at any time dissolve or alter the membership of committee.

42.             The Mayor and Deputy Mayor, ex-officio, shall be voting members of every committee.

43.             Every committee shall at its first meeting before proceeding to any other business, elect a Chairman and may elect a Vice-Chairman who shall hold office until the next Annual Meeting of the Council, and shall settle its programme of meetings for the year.

44.             Delegated Powers

The Planning Committee shall have delegated powers to deal with matters relating to Council business due to the urgency of the business or a response by the Council

            is needed before the next meeting of the Council.

45.             Special Meeting

The Chairman of a committee or the Mayor may summon an additional meeting of that committee at any time.  An additional meeting shall also be summoned on the requisition in writing of not less than a third of the members of the Committee.  The summons shall set out the business to be considered at the special meeting and no other business shall be transacted at that meeting.

46.             Sub-Committees

Every committee may appoint sub-committees for purposes to be specified by the committee.

47.             The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the committee shall be members of every sub-committee appointed by it unless they signify that they do not wish to serve.

48.             Except where ordered by the Council in the case of a committee, or by the Council or by the appropriate committee in the case of a sub-committee, the quorum of a committee or sub-committee shall be three or one third  of its members whichever is the greater.

49.             The Standing Orders on rules of debate (except those parts relating to standing and to speaking more than once) and the Standing Order on interests of members in contracts and other matters shall apply to committee and sub-committee meetings.

50.             Voting in Committees

Members of committees and sub-committees entitled to vote, shall vote by show of hands, or, if at least two members so request, by signed ballot.

51.             Chairmen of committees and sub-committees shall in the case of an equality of votes have a second or casting vote.

52.             Presence of Non-Members of Committees at Committee Meetings

a)               A member who has proposed a resolution, which has been referred to any committee of which he/she is not a member, may explain his/her resolution to the committee but shall not vote.

b)               Any Council member shall, unless the Council otherwise orders, be entitled to be present as a spectator at the meetings of any committee or sub-committee of which he/she is not a member but he/she shall not be entitled to vote and he/shall not take part in the consideration of any business save by leave of the person presiding.

53.            Interests

Members must disclose Interests as defined by the Code of Conduct (Part 2) and adopted by the Council on 15^th May 2007. 

54.       The Clerk may be required to compile and hold a register of member’s interests in accordance with agreement reached with the Monitoring Officer of the Responsible Authority and/or as required by Statute.

55      If a candidate for any appointment under the Council is to his/her knowledge related

to any member of or the holder of any office under the Council, he/she and the person to whom he/she is related shall disclose the relationship in writing to the Clerk.  A candidate who fails so to do shall be disqualified for such appointment, and, if appointed, may be dismissed without notice.  The Clerk shall report to the Council or to the appropriate committee and such disclosure.  Where a relationship to a member is disclosed, Standing Orders 53 and 54 shall apply as appropriate.

56.      The Clerk shall make known the purpose of Standing Order 55 to every candidate.

57.         Canvassing of and Recommendations by Members

i.                 Canvassing of members of the Council or of any committee, directly or indirectly, for any appointment under the Council shall disqualify the candidate for such appointment.  The Clerk shall make known the purport of this sub-paragraph of this Standing Order to every candidate.

ii.                A member of the Council or of any committee shall not solicit for any person any appointment under the Council or recommend any person for such appointment or for promotion; but nevertheless, any such member may give a written testimonial of a candidate’s ability, experience or character for submission to the Council with an application for appointment.

58.         Standing Order No’s 55 and 58 shall apply to tenders as if the person making   

             the tender were a candidate for an appointment.

59.          Inspection of  Documents

A member may for the purpose of his/her duty as such (but not otherwise), inspect any document in possession of the Council or a committee and if copies are available shall, on request, be supplied for the like purpose with a copy.

61.       All minutes kept by the Council and by any committee shall be open for the inspection of any member of the Council.

62.            Unauthorised Activities

No member of the Council or of any committee or sub-committee shall in the name of or on behalf of the Council:

a)               inspect any lands or premises which the Council has a right or duty to inspect; or

b)               Issue orders, instructions or directions, unless authorised to do so by the Council or the relevant committee or sub-committee.

63.             Admission of  The Public and Press to Meetings

The public and press shall be admitted to all meetings of the Council and its committees which may, however, temporarily exclude the public by means of the following resolutions:

“That in view of the (special) (confidential) nature of the business about to be transacted, it is advisable in the public interest that the press and public be temporarily excluded and they are instructed to withdraw”

64.             The Council shall state the special reason for exclusion.( Section 1002 (1) of the LGA 1972 (Access to information) (variation) order 2006,Parts 1,2,3,4,5,6&7) 

65.             At all meetings of the Council the Mayor may at his/her discretion and at a convenient time in the transaction of business, adjourn the meeting so as to allow any members of the public or a representative of the local Constabulary to address the meeting in relation to the business to be transacted at that meeting.

66.             The Clerk shall afford to the press reasonable facilities for the taking of their report of any proceedings at which they are entitled to be present.  There shall be no audio or video recording or photographs of the meeting without the express approval of the Council.

67.             If a member of the public interrupts the proceedings at any meeting, the Mayor may, after warning, order that he/she be removed from the meeting and may adjourn the meeting for such period as is necessary to restore order.

68.             Confidential Business

a)               No member of the Council or of any committee or sub-committee shall disclose to any person not a member of the Council any business declared to be confidential by the Council, the committee or the sub-committee as the case may be.

b)               Any member in breach of the provisions of paragraph a) of this Standing Order shall be removed from any committee or sub-committee of the Council by the Council.

69.       Liaison with Unitary Councillor’s

A summons and Agenda for each meeting shall be sent to the Unitary Councillor for the appropriate division or ward.

69.             Planning Applications

             Planning applications received shall be considered by the first available  

             meeting of the Council or Planning Committee

The Clerk shall, as soon as it is received, enter in a book kept for the purpose the following particulars of every planning application notified to the Council:

i.                 the date on which it was received

ii.                the planning application number

iii.              the place to which it relates

iv.              the date of the committee at which it will be considered

v.               In the event of a planning amendment being received for consideration by the Council, where the amendment is a minor amendment related to a Planning Application that previously received No Objection from the planning Committee, then any three members of the Planning Committee, which should include either the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of that Committee, may, if necessary, take a majority decision on the amendment without the need to summon a Committee Meeting, such decision to be recorded at the next meeting of both the Planning Committee and full Council..

71.             Annual Town Meeting

(a)             The Annual Town Meeting will be held in May each year.

(b)             Proceedings shall not begin before 7.30. pm

(c)             The Mayor shall preside or in his/her absence the Deputy Mayor

(d)             In the absence of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor the meeting shall appoint a Chairman before proceeding to any other business

(e)             The Clerk to the Council shall record the proceedings and in his/her absence the person presiding may record the proceedings or may appoint another to do so.

(f)              The Minutes of the previous meeting shall be considered and, if correct, signed by the person presiding at the meeting.

(g)             Subsequent business of the Annual Meeting shall be as follows:

i.                 To receive the Annual Report of the Town Council

ii.                To receive Statement of the Accounts for the year ended the previous 31^st March

iii.               To receive the Council’s observations on its finances for the current year

iv.              To consider items previously resolved by the Town Council to be added to the agenda

v.                Where 7 days written notice has been given by Local Government Electors for  this parish:

-                  to consider subjects affecting this parish

-                  to consider resolutions affecting this parish

vi.              To receive reports from County and District Councillors

vii.             To receive reports from Representatives of other bodies etc.

(h)        Questions and comments can now be put by the Local Government Electors -the person presiding at the meeting may call upon Town Councillors, Principal Authority Councillors, representatives of other bodes who are present to answer questions.

72.             Code of Conduct on Complaints

The Council shall deal with complaints of maladministration allegedly committed by the Council or by any officer or member in such manner as adopted by the Council except for those complaints which should be properly directed to the Ethics and Standards Committee of the Unitary Council.

73.             Variation, Revocation and Suspension of  Standing Orders

Any or every part of the Standing Orders except those printed in bold type may be suspended by resolution in relation to any specific item of business.

74.             A resolution permanently to add, vary or revoke a Standing Order shall when proposed and seconded, stand adjourned without discussion to the next ordinary meeting of the Council.

75.             Standing Orders to be given to Members

A copy of these Standing Orders shall be given to each member by the Clerk upon delivery to him/her of the member’s declaration of acceptance of office and written undertaking to observe the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council.

76.             Approval of Standing Orders

The foregoing Standing Orders were approved by Biggleswade Town Council on

22nd February 2011

Town Mayor ………………………………………………

Clerk to the Council ……………………………………….