4A - Council

General Provisions rules 1 - 10

Preparation for Council Meetings rules 11 - 15

Procedures at Council Meetings rules 16 - 24

Rules of Debate rules 25 - 49

Preparation for Council Meetings

RULE 11 – AGENDA DESPATCH

Items to be discussed at any meeting of the Council will be set down in the agenda. The agenda will be sent to every Member of the Council at least 5 clear working days before the meeting.

A “clear working day” is a day on which the Council offices are open and does not include the day of despatch or the day of the meeting.

In the case of an extraordinary meeting of the Council called to consider an urgent item, a shorter period of notice may be given.

The draft agenda for a Council meeting shall be submitted to each Political Group sufficiently far in advance of the formal agenda despatch to enable all members of the Council, through Group discussion, to have an opportunity to influence the agenda content for the meeting.

The Chief Executive, in consultation with the Political Group Leaders shall prepare and maintain an annual work plan for the Council for circulation to all members.

RULE 12 -  ORDER OF BUSINESS AT ANNUAL MEETING OF COUNCIL

The annual meeting will:

(i) elect a person to preside if the Chair(person) of the Council and the Vice Chair(person) is not present;

(ii) elect the Chair(person) of the Council;

(iii) appoint the Vice Chair(person) of the Council;

(iv) approve the minutes of the last meeting as a correct record and authorise the Chair(person) to sign as such;

(v) receive any announcements from the Chair(person) or from the Chief Executive;

(vi) elect the Leader of the Council;

(vii) determine the size of the Council Executive and appoint councillors to serve as members of the Council Executive – to be known as “Executive Councillors” (see Note below);

(viii) determine any delegated decision making powers to individual Executive Councillors serving on the Council Executive and the scope and range of any such powers; 

(ix) appoint at least one Overview and Scrutiny Committee, a Standards Committee and such other Committees as the Council considers appropriate to deal with matters which are neither reserved to the Council nor are executive functions;

(x) determine the size, terms of reference and delegated powers of those committees and bodies established under part (ix) above on the basis that these matters may also be reviewed during the Council Year;

(xi) determine the allocation of seats on Committees and Overview and Scrutiny bodies to political groups in accordance with the rules on political balance and arrangements for the appointment of substitute (or temporary) members (see Council Procedure Rule 8);

(xii) receive nominations from political groups for members to serve on Committees and Overview and Scrutiny bodies. Similarly the Council will receive nominations to serve on outside bodies where the making of such appointments has not been delegated by the Council or is exercisable only by the Council Executive;

(xiii) agree the scheme of delegations or such part of it as the Constitution determines it is for the Council to agree as set out in Part 3 of this Constitution.

(xiv) approve a programme of ordinary meetings of the Council and of its Committees for the year; and

(xv) consider any other relevant business set out in the notice convening the meeting.

The agenda and any relevant reports will be endorsed with the name of any local ward to which the business specifically relates.

NOTE:  The Council, by convention, expects the Leader and each Executive Councillor to serve for a minimum 2 year period.  That convention however cannot override the right of the Council under this Procedure Rule to make appointments at each Annual meeting of the Council

RULE 13 – BUSINESS  AT ORDINARY MEETINGS

Ordinary meetings of the Council will take place in accordance with a programme decided at the Council's annual meeting. Ordinary meetings will:

(i) elect a person to preside if the Chair(person) and Vice(person) are not present;

(ii) receive any declarations of interest from Members;

(iii) approve the minutes of the last meeting as a correct record and authorise the Chair(person) to sign as such (There is no discussion on matters arising from the minutes other than to draw attention to any inaccuracy);

(iv) receive any announcements from the Chair(person) or the Chief Executive;

(v) deal with any business remaining from the previous Council meeting;

(vi) receive questions, statements, petitions or deputations from members of the public;

(vii) receive questions, statements, petitions or deputations from Councillors at the end of the published order of business;

(viii) receive reports on Policy and Budget Framework matters (normally from the Council Executive);

(ix) ** consider any agenda motions submitted by members of the Council

(x) ** receive and consider any report from the Council Executive on its business since the previous Council meeting

(xi) ** consider any other business specific in the summons to the meeting including reports from Officers on Council functions.

** At an agreed point in the proceedings, determined after prior consultation with the Group Leaders, the Chair (person) shall adjourn the meeting for a specified duration to enable members of the Council to discuss informally business of which notice has been given.  The Chief Executive, in consultation with the Group Leaders and the Chair (person) shall identify beforehand the business that it is appropriate to address during the adjournment and how that business shall be conducted. The Council’s normal debating rules shall not apply to any adjourned session.

The agenda and any relevant reports will be endorsed with the name of any local ward to which the business specifically relates.

RULE 14 – NOTICE OF AGENDA MOTIONS

(1)               Except for motions which may be moved without notice under Rule 31, written notice of every motion, signed by or on behalf of the Member(s) giving notice, with the name of the political group shown after the Member’s name (unless the motion is to stand in the name of the Member only), must be delivered to the Head of Democratic Services (on behalf of the Chief Executive) not later than 7 clear working days before the date of the meeting.

(2)               Motions for which notice has been given will be listed on the agenda in the order in which notice was received by the Head of Democratic Services unless, after consulting the Group Leaders, the Chief Executive and the Chair(person), s/he decides that it would be conducive to the effective conduct of the Council’s business to place them in a different order.

(3)               Motions must be about matters for which Bath & North East Somerset Council has a responsibility or which affect Bath & North East Somerset Council.

(4)               A Councillor submitting an agenda motion has the right to speak to it at the Council meeting for no longer than 8 minutes.

(5)               That Councillor, or his/her nominee may also attend at any meeting to which the Council refers the matter but will be able to speak to the matter only at the discretion of the Chair(person) of the meeting to which the matter has been referred. The Councillor may not vote on the matter unless s/he is a voting member of the meeting considering the matter.

(6)               The meeting has the right to determine with advice from Officers whether it wishes to defer the matter to a future meeting for further Officer report/advice.

(7)               With regard to Notice of Items for Informal Discussion, any 10 Member may, by giving written or e mail notice in writing to the Chief Executive not less than 21 working days before a Council meeting, require that a particular issue be discussed in the informal part of that meeting. Where there is more than one such notice for a particular meeting, the Chair(person) shall have the authority, in consultation with all Political  Group Leaders and advised by the Chief Executive, to defer the later notice(s) to the next following ordinary meeting of the Council if s/he believes that this action is necessary in order to deal effectively with the business of the meeting. The Chair will explain his or her actions at the start of the meeting under “Chair’s announcements”.

(8)               Any Political Group having less than 10 members shall be entitled to include one item in the annual plan for consideration during the informal part of the meeting.

RULE 15 – REPORTS OF THE COUNCIL EXECUTIVE, NON-EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES AND OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY BODIES

The Council may receive reports from the Council Executive, non-Executive Committees and Overview and Scrutiny bodies. Minutes of these meetings will not normally be submitted to Council.

 

Rules of Debate

RULE 25 – CONDUCT OF THE MEETING

The Chair(person) is responsible for conducting the meeting. In this s/he will be guided by the Chief Executive.

RULE 26 – POWERS OF THE CHAIR(PERSON)

The powers and duties of the Chair(person) are as follows:

(a)  to act as the focal point for debate;

(b)  to preserve order and ensure the proper and efficient conduct of the meeting;

(c) to ensure that members of the public and Councillors are able to follow proceedings;
(d) to confine discussion to the issue under consideration;

(e) to ensure all Councillors have an equal opportunity to participate;

(f) to decide whether proposals put to the meeting are in order;
(g) to decide procedural matters;

(h) to conduct voting and to declare the result;

(i)  to sign the minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record when authorised to do so by the meeting;

(j) to adjourn the meeting if circumstances justify such action;

(k) to declare the meeting closed when its business has been completed;

(l) to exercise powers conferred by law on the chair of a meeting.

RULE 27 – CHAIR(PERSON) TAKING PART IN DEBATE

The Chair(person) will not normally take part in debate at a Council meeting but may do so if s/he is a local member or in other special circumstances signified to the meeting.  In view of the requirement of the law that the Chairperson must, if present, preside, it is not permissible for the Chair to vacate the Chair during consideration of the item but the Chair will seek to ensure that his or her contribution to debate is made in such a way as to ensure that the efficient conduct of the meeting is not prejudiced.

RULE 28 – MEMBERS TO ADDRESS THE CHAIR(PERSON)

When speaking at a meeting, Members shall address the Chair(person).

RULE 29 – NO OBLIGATION  TO STAND

Members of the Council need not stand when speaking but may do so.

RULE 30 – MINUTES

The Chair(person) will invite the meeting to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a true and correct record. There will be no discussion on the minutes other than on their accuracy.  When so approved, the Chair(person) is authorised to sign them .

RULE 31 - MOTIONS MOVED WITHOUT NOTICE

The following matters may be proposed as a motion during a meeting, by a member of the Council, without the need to give notice:

(a)       Appointment of a Chair(person) of the meeting.    

(b)        The accuracy of the minutes.

(c)        To change the order of agenda business

(d)       To adopt a recommendation or some other course of action arising from a report to the meeting or as a result of a petition, statement or deputation submitted to the meeting.

(e)        Extending the time limit for speeches, for public and councillor questions.

(f)         To proceed to a 10 minute debate on public or councillor matters under the provisions of Procedural Rule 32 or 33 respectively

(g)        Amendments to matters raised

(h)        That the meeting proceeds to the next business (applies only to certain members - See Rule 43)

(i)         That the question be now put      

(j)         That the debate be now adjourned           

(k)        That the meeting now adjourns

(l)         That the meeting continue beyond the prescribed deadline to end no later than a specified time.

(m)      Suspending Procedural Rules in accordance with Rule 16

(n)        To resolve under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and the public.

(o)       That a member named under Rule 45 be not further heard or leave the meeting

RULE 32 – QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC

Members of the public have the right to put forward questions for answer at a Council meeting.  This right extends to any resident of Bath & North East Somerset of any age and includes a homeless person, a traveller currently within the Council area or a member of the Council’s staff provided the subject matter relates to their role as a private citizen.  All questions must be submitted in writing (this to include transmission by e mail).

Questions will be circulated to all members of the Council and the public in advance of the meeting.

Notice of the question must be given to the Head of Democratic Services no later than close of business 2 clear working days before the day of the meeting (eg 5pm on a Monday for a meeting on a Thursday).

There is no requirement of the questioner to read out the question nor of the relevant councillor to read out the answer if circulated. Where a written answer is circulated in advance, the relevant councillor may add to that answer orally at the meeting.

A councillor who is asked a question may
• nominate another councillor to reply on his/ her behalf;
• indicate that a written answer will be provided, in which case that written answer shall be provided to the questioner no later than 5 clear working days after the day of the meeting.

Questions must only be asked of:
• an Executive Councillor (where the matter falls within his or her portfolio) or
•  the Leader of the Council or the Deputy Leader (about any aspect of Council policy and practice, service delivery or community interest) or
• a/all Group Leader/s (about an issue not related to executive business)
• the Council’s spokesperson on the Police Authority

but not an individual member of the Council who does not hold one of the above positions.

A question in multiple parts will be treated as a series of individual questions.

A question will not be accepted under this Rule if
• the answer would require exempt or confidential information to be divulged;
• the subject matter is about an application for a legal consent or permission where there is an alternative process to challenge the decision or to appeal against it or where the question/answer process might prejudice the proper consideration of such an application or consent;
• it is about a matter which has already been lodged with the Council or with another statutory body as a formal complaint;
• it contains an allegation against, or comments about, the conduct of individual councillors or officers.

As soon as the questions from the public are completed, the Chair(person) shall invite the Leaders of any Political Group with at least 20% of Council seats  to indicate if they require a 10 minute (max) debate on any issue raised in a particular question. Only if all such Leaders agree, shall the Council then proceed immediately to the debate.  Where there is no such agreement, no debate will be permitted.

No such debate shall bind the Council but the outcome may provide information or a view to be considered by the relevant Executive Member.

RULE 33 – QUESTIONS FROM COUNCILLORS

A Councillor shall have the right to put forward a question for answer at a Council meeting.  All questions must be in writing.

All questions will be circulated to members of the Council and the public in advance of the meeting.

Notice of the question must be given to the Council Solicitor no later than close of business 2 clear working days before the day of the meeting (eg 5pm on a Monday for a meeting on a Thursday).

There is no requirement of the questioner to read out the question nor of the relevant councillor to read out the answer if circulated. Where a written answer is circulated in advance, the relevant councillor may add to that answer orally at the meeting.

A councillor who is asked a question or a follow-up question may
• nominate another councillor to reply on his or her behalf;
• indicate that a written answer will be provided, in which case that written answer shall be provided no later than 5 clear working days after the day of the meeting.

Questions must only be asked of:
• an Executive Councillor (where the matter falls within his or her portfolio) or
•  the Leader of the Council or the Deputy Leader (about any aspect of Council policy and practice, service delivery or community interest) or
• a/all Group Leader/s (about an issue not related to executive business)
• the Council’s spokesperson on the Police Authority

but not an individual member of the Council who does not hold any of the above positions.

The Chair (person) may rule on the adequacy of an answer given at the meeting by an Executive Member (or his/her nominee).

A question in multiple parts will be treated as a series of individual questions.

A question will not be accepted under this Rule if
• the answer would require exempt or confidential information to be divulged;
• the subject matter is about an application for a legal consent or permission where there is an alternative process to challenge the decision or to appeal against it or where the question/answer process might prejudice the proper consideration of such an application;
• it is about a matter which has already been lodged with the Council or with another statutory body as a formal complaint;
• it contains an allegation against, or comments about, the conduct of individual councillors or officers.

As soon as the questions from councillors are completed, the Chair(person) shall invite the Leaders of  any Political Group with at least 20% of Council seats  to indicate if they require a 10 minute (max) debate on any issue raised in a particular question. Only if all such  Leaders agree shall the Council then proceed immediately to the debate.  Where there is no such agreement, no debate will be permitted.

No such debate shall bind the Council but the outcome may provide information or a view to be considered by the relevant Executive Member

RULE 34 – PETITIONS, STATEMENTS AND DEPUTATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC OR COUNCILLORS

Members of the public and Councillors have the right to put forward petitions, statements and deputations at a Council meeting. 

This right extends to any resident of Bath & North East Somerset of any age and includes a homeless person, a traveller currently within the Council area or a member of the Council’s staff provided the subject matter relates to their role as a private citizen. This right also exists for a representative of any Bath & North East Somerset organisation or of any South West regional or sub-regional organisation that has legitimate, legal activity in the Bath & North East Somerset area or whose work affects Bath & North East Somerset citizens.  All questions must be submitted in writing (this to include transmission by e mail).

Similar rights exist for Councillors of Bath & North East Somerset Council.

There is no minimum number of signatures required for a petition.

Advance notice of the petition, statement or deputation, setting out the subject matter,  must be lodged with the Council Solicitor no later than 2 clear working days before the day of the meeting at which the submission is to be made (e.g. Monday 5pm for a meeting on a Thursday).

A submission under this Rule will not be accepted if
• it seeks to address exempt or confidential matters;
• the subject matter is about an application for a legal consent or permission where there is an alternative process to challenge the decision or to appeal against it or where this Procedural Rule might prejudice the proper consideration of such an application or consent;
• it is about a matter which has already been lodged with the Council or with another statutory body as a formal complaint;
• it contains an allegation against, or comments about, the conduct of individual councillors or officers.

There is no overall time limit set down for these submissions. Individual submissions will be limited to a maximum 3 minutes.

If the submission relates to a general matter not on the agenda for the meeting, it will be taken at the start of the meeting – see Rule 13 above.  If it relates to an item on the agenda for the meeting, the person making the submission will be invited to address the meeting either at the start of the meeting or immediately before the item is debated.

Once the submission has been made, the Chair (person) will invite the Group Leaders to ask factual questions of the person making the submission.  The meeting will then determine what action it wishes to take on the matters contained in the submission.

Any action taken will be as a result of a motion put forward by a member of Council in accordance with Rule 31.

As soon as each submission has been made, the Chair(person) shall invite the Leaders of Political Groups with at least 20% of Council seats  to indicate if they require a 10 minute (max) debate on the particular submission. Only if all such Leaders agree, shall the Council then proceed immediately to the debate.  Where there is no such agreement, no debate will be permitted.

No such debate shall bind the Council but the outcome may provide information or a view to be considered by the relevant Executive Member.

THE PROCESS BY WHICH A DECISION IS REACHED AT A MEETING INVOLVES THE PRESENTATION OF A PROPOSAL (CALLED “A MOTION”) AND AMENDMENTS, TO ARRIVE AT A FORM OF WORDS THAT IS ACCEPTABLE TO A MAJORITY OF VOTING MEMBERS AS A DECISION.

IN OPERATING THE MOTION AND AMENDMENTS PROCEDURES, THE FOLLOWING DEFINITIONS MAY ASSIST:

RULE 35 – MOTIONS

A motion is a proposal from a member at the meeting aimed at opening a debate on an agenda item. A motion once proposed needs a second member to indicate a willingness for it to be considered. This is called “seconding” the motion.

A motion usually takes the form of a proposal to adopt a course of action based on a recommendation in a report. It can be a different proposal to that which is recommended in a report.

A recommendation in a report is not of itself a motion unless or until a member proposes its adoption.

A Member who moves a proposal may, with the agreement of the seconder, and on one occasion only in a debate on an item, accept a suggestion for a minor adjustment to the wording of the proposal. Where a proposed adjustment is considered at the meeting to be of significance and not therefore “minor”, it will be treated instead as if it was a formal amendment – see Rule 36 below.

Members will have access to the advice of the Chief Executive and/or Council Solicitor in drafting debating motions.

Members should aim to have deposited with the Chief Executive by no later than noon on Council day, any debating motions that are proposed to be moved at the Council meeting.

RULE 36 – AMENDMENT

An amendment is a proposal by a member to change the words of a motion which has been moved and seconded. The amendment shall be relevant to the subject matter of the motion and shall be: -
   
(a)  to leave out words, or
    
 (b)  to leave out words and insert or add other words, or
 
 (c)  to insert or add words, or

(d) to refer the matter to  a Committee/Sub Committee, the Council Executive or an Overview and Scrutiny body for consideration or reconsideration

(e) to defer consideration of the matter.

An amendment must not

1. be a direct negative of a motion; or
2. seek to introduce into the motion a new issue unrelated to the subject dealt with in the motion.

If an amendment seeks to achieve something that is relevant but cannot be achieved by merely voting against the motion, it is likely to be ruled as a valid amendment. The meeting will be advised by the Chief Executive on the validity of amendments and the ruling of the Chair(person) thereon will be final.

Only one amendment may be moved and discussed at a time.  No further amendment shall be moved until the amendment under discussion has been disposed of.

Notice of intention to move any further amendment and the nature thereof may, at the discretion of any member, be given to the Chair(person) before a vote is taken on the current amendment being considered at the meeting.

If an amendment is defeated, other amendments may be moved to the original motion. If an amendment is carried, the motion as amended shall take the place of the original motion and shall become the substantive motion upon which any further amendments may be moved in turn.

A flow diagram illustrating the debating process

(1)	motion	moved and seconded
(2)	debate on motion
(3)	amendment	moved and seconded
	if a minor change to the wording the mover of motion may indicate to meeting that s/he accepts it.	Note: This can only happen once in a debate on an amendment.
(4)	debate on amendment
	when debate finished
(5)	invite mover of original motion (1) to reply to debate on amendment
	vote on amendment
	if carried motion as amended is open for debate and further amendment		if lost original motion is open for debate and further amendment
	(Any number of amendments can be moved and dispensed with in this way but they are taken ONE AT A TIME – if necessary park any notices of amendment
(6)	further debate
(7)	mover of original motion (1) to reply to debate on motion (whether or not amended)
(8)	vote on motion (original or as amended)
if carried		if lost
(9)	DECISION	NO DECISION - Matter open for further proposal or stands as a no decision item.

RULE 37 – SECONDING

Any motion or amendment is only able to be discussed once a second Member has indicated a willingness for it to be considered. This is called “seconding”.

A member when seconding a proposal or amendment may reserve her or his speech until a later period of the debate.

RULE 38 - RIGHT OF REPLY

At the end of a debate about a motion, the member who first proposed it at the meeting may exercise a right to reply to the points raised in the debate.

The right to reply to a debate on an amendment rests also with the member who proposed the motion, not with the member who proposed the amendment.
 
A member exercising a right of reply shall confine her/his speech to answering points raised by the previous speakers, and shall not introduce new material.  The Chair(person)’s ruling in this regard shall be final.
 
After every right of reply to which this Rule refers, a vote shall be taken without further discussion.

RULE 39 – WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION

A motion or amendment may be withdrawn by the mover with the consent of her/his seconder and of the meeting, which shall be signified without discussion. No member may speak upon it after the mover has asked permission for its withdrawal, unless permission to withdraw it has been refused in which case it remains open for debate.

RULE 40 - RIGHT TO REQUIRE PROPOSAL IN WRITING

Unless notice of the motion or amendment has already been given and published, the Chair(person) may require it to be written down and handed to him/her before it is discussed at the meeting.

RULE  41 - NO SPEECHES UNTIL MOTION SECONDED

No speeches may be made after the mover has moved a motion and explained the purpose of it until the motion has been seconded.

RULE 42 - CONTENT AND LENGTH OF SPEECHES

A member shall direct her or his speech to the question under discussion or to a personal explanation or to a point of order (see Rule 44 below).  A Member proposing a motion, an Executive Member or a Chair of a Council body when presenting a report from such a body, will be allowed no more than 5 minutes for her or his speech. No other speech by any councillor or invited other person will exceed 3 minutes.

RULE 43 - CLOSURE MOTIONS

A member who has not spoken in a debate may move without comment at the conclusion of a speech of another member

“That the meeting proceed to the next business”,

  “That the question be now put” (In effect “That the vote be now taken”),
 
 “That the debate be now adjourned”, or

“That the meeting do now adjourn”,

on the seconding of which the Chair(person) shall proceed as follows:-
      
(a)  On a motion “to proceed to next business”: unless in her/his opinion the matter before the meeting has been insufficiently discussed, the Chair(person) shall first give the mover of the original motion a right of reply, and then put to the vote the motion “to proceed to the next business”.
    
 (b)   On a motion “that the question be now put”: unless in her/his opinion the matter before the meeting has been insufficiently discussed, the Chair(person) shall first put to the vote the motion “that the question be now put”. If that motion is passed, the Chair(person) will invite the mover of the original motion to exercise her/his right of reply under Rule 38 before putting that original motion to the vote.
    
  (c)   On a motion “to adjourn the debate or the meeting”: if in her/his opinion the matter before the meeting has not been sufficiently discussed and cannot reasonably be sufficiently discussed on that occasion, the Chair(person) shall put the adjournment motion to the vote without giving the mover of the original motion a right of reply.

RULE 44 - POINTS OF ORDER/POINTS OF PERSONAL EXPLANATION

A member may indicate a “point of order” or a “point of personal explanation” and shall be entitled to be heard immediately.

(a)  A "Point of Order" shall relate only to an alleged breach of a Procedural Rule or statutory provision. The member shall specify the Procedural Rule or statutory provision and the way in which s/he considers it has been broken. 

(b)  A "Personal Explanation" shall be confined to some material part of the member's former speech which may appear to have been misunderstood in the present debate.

The ruling of the Chair(person) on a point of order, or on the admissability of a personal explanation, shall be final.

RULE 45 - VOTING

Subject to the provisions of any enactment all questions coming or arising before the meeting shall be decided by a majority of the Members of the Council (or other persons entitled to vote) present and voting.

The Chair(person) shall ensure that that the proposal to be voted on is clear. Voting will proceed by a show of hands – first those voting “for” the proposal and then those voting “against” the proposal. This will be followed by a show of hands from those who are abstaining from voting.

Sometimes, the law requires special voting procedures and/or sets down the required numbers of votes or a proportion of voting members required to be in favour. The Chief Executive will inform the Council when these requirements apply.

If on any vote the numbers “for” and “against” a proposal are equal, the proposal is NOT CARRIED and it therefore falls.  The record of the meeting will reflect the “NOT CARRIED” status of the proposal.

While by convention in this Authority, the Chair(person) does not exercise a second or casting vote to resolve issues where there is an equality of votes, the decision on whether or not to exercise a second or casting vote is that of the Chair(person) alone. S/he retains the legal right to proceed as s/he sees fit. Exercise of a second or casting vote will not invalidate the decision.

(A second vote from the Chair means that s/he has voted in the original vote which resulted in tied numbers and votes again to break the deadlock.

A casting vote is exercised when the Chair did not take part in the original vote and casts a vote in favour or against in order to break the deadlock.)

If before a vote is taken, a member proposes it, and 6 other members agree, a named vote will be taken of those in favour of or against a proposal, and those abstaining from voting. This information will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

Any member is entitled on request made through the Chair(person) at the meeting to have her/his individual vote or abstention recorded in the minutes.

A Political Group Leader or nominee may require a group vote or abstention to be recorded in the minutes. 

RULE 46 - EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

If Council, the Council Executive, Committee or sub-Committee pass a resolution pursuant to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Access to Information Regulations Amendment Order 2006, to exclude the press and public from the whole or part of their proceedings, then the effect of such resolution shall extend to Members of the Council present at the meeting who are not Members of the Committee or sub-Committee concerned: provided that, except when the Committee or sub-Committee are acting in a judicial or quasi-judicial capacity, such Members of the Council shall be permitted to remain if invited to do so by resolution of the Committee or sub-Committee.

A Personal Assistant and/or nominated note taker for a disabled councillor or other person entitled to remain at a meeting after it has passed a resolution under this Rule, shall also be entitled to remain, provided they have signed an undertaking in advance not to divulge the nature of any exempt or confidential business discussed or submitted.

RULE 47 - DISORDERLY CONDUCT

If at a meeting any member of the Council, in the opinion of the Chair(person), misconducts her/himself by persistently disregarding the ruling of the Chair, or by behaving irregularly, improperly or offensively, or by wilfully obstructing the business of the meeting, the Chair(person) or any other member may move "that the member named be not further heard", and the motion if seconded shall be put and determined immediately without discussion.

If the member named continues the misconduct after a motion under the foregoing paragraph has been carried the Chair(person) shall -

EITHER move "that the member named do leave the meeting" (in which case the motion shall be put and determined immediately without seconding or discussion):

OR adjourn the meeting for such period as s/he shall consider expedient.

In the event of general disturbance, which in the opinion of the Chair(person) renders the due and orderly despatch of business impossible, the Chair(person) in addition to any other power vested in her/him may, without question put, adjourn the meeting of the Council for such period as s/he in her/his discretion shall consider expedient.

Disturbance by Members of the Public

The provisions of Section 100A (exclusion of the public and press) are without prejudice to any power of exclusion to suppress or prevent disorderly conduct or other misbehaviour at a meeting.

If a member of the public interrupts the proceedings at any meeting the Chair(person) shall issue a warning.  If the person continues the interruption, the Chair(person) shall order the person’s removal from the meeting room.  In case of general disturbance in any part of the chamber open to the public the Chair(person) may order that part of the meeting room to be cleared and / or may adjourn the meeting for such period as s/he in her/his discretion shall consider expedient.

Members shall at all times conduct themselves in a proper, efficient, effective and courteous manner affording due respect to the office of the Chair(person) and to the formality of the Council meeting.

RULE 48 – DURATION OF COUNCIL MEETING

No meeting of the Council will continue beyond 10pm.

A meeting may decide, on a proposal from the floor, to continue its proceedings to end at a time stated in its resolution arising from such a proposal. 

If the meeting is unable to complete its business by 10 pm, and does not agree to continue beyond that time, or fails to complete its business by the alternative end time it has agreed under this Rule, the meeting will automatically stand adjourned. Any item of business  being dealt with at the time of the adjournment will be put immediately to the vote.  All uncompleted business will stand adjourned to be considered at the next meeting  or to an adjourned session.

The Chair(person) or the meeting may decide the date and time of the adjourned session.

RULE 49 - MEMBER CHAMPIONS

The Council may appoint members from time to time to act as “Champions” for particular interests both within the Council and outside.

The Chief Executive, in consultation with Group Leaders will determine such guidance, protocols and support as are deemed necessary for the effective operation of such roles.