Appendix 4 - Scheme of Substitutes for Members
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Guidance Note
Scheme of Substitutes for Members
This Scheme does not Apply to the Executive or
to any of its Committees or Area Forums or to Independent Members
on the Standards Committee
1. Introduction
Following the introduction of the Political Balance Regulations
the Council agreed, to adopt a Scheme of Substitutes for Members,
so as to ensure that all Groups had the opportunity to be
represented at any of the Council’s Committees etc. by the correct
proportion of Members.
2. The Scheme
The Scheme provides that when a Member of any Committee,
Sub-Committee, Policy Advisory Group, Task Group or Forum (but not
Area Forum) is unable to attend any meeting of that Committee,
Sub-Committee, Policy Advisory Group, Task Group or Forum, a
substitute Member from the same political group may attend in place
of the Member in which event the substitute shall give notice of
his attendance as such at the commencement of the meeting.
3. Guiding Principles
The Council has agreed that the following
guiding principles shall apply to the Scheme of Substitutes:-
(a) The attendance at a Planning training
session is a pre-requisite to being able to act as a substitute at
meetings of the Planning Committee (Minute No. 247/9/06
refers).
(b) A substitute Member may only attend
if the “permanently appointed” Member cannot.
(c) Attendance by a Member as a
substitute at a meeting of any Committee, Sub-Committee, Working
Group, Task Group or Forum will be notified by the substitute
Member at the commencement of the meeting.
(d) Once a substitute Member has given
notice of his attendance at a meeting as such, if the “permanently
appointed” Member subsequently attends at that meeting, the
“permanently appointed” Member will not be able to take part in
proceedings without the express permission of the Chairman of the
meeting and under no circumstances will be able to vote, ie. they
may not displace the substitute, even if the substitute has left
the meeting.
(e) In the event of the Chairman of a
Committee, Sub-Committee, Working Group, Task Group or Forum being
absent and appointing a substitute, the substitute may only act as
an ordinary Member and will not “assume” any rights of the
“permanently appointed” Member to act as Chairman and in such
event, the normal rules as to the Vice-Chairman taking the chair
will apply. In the absence of both the Chairman and the
Vice-Chairman from a meeting, the meeting shall appoint a chairman
for the meeting who may be drawn from any Member (including any
substitute Member) present and with voting rights.
(f) In the event of the resignation or
death of a “permanently appointed” Member, a substitute may be
allocated to each Committee, Sub-Committee, Working Group, Task
Group or Forum normally attended by that Member but until a
by-election has taken place, no permanent appointment to fill the
vacancy will be made.
(g) Political groups will each make their
own arrangements for implementing the process via their own
Officers. Although the Proper Officer or his staff may remind
Members (who request that their apologies for absence be submitted
for any meeting) that they can appoint a substitute from the same
political group, those staff will not find or invite a substitute
on the Member’s behalf.
NB: 1. Each Member whether
acting as a “permanently appointed” or substitute Member will have
all of
the responsibilities of
membership of the Committee, Sub-Committee, Policy Advisory Group,
Task
Group
or Forum and will be equally answerable in law for any decisions
made.
2. The
co-opted representative(s) of the Ashford Area Committee of the
Kent Association of
Parish
Councils on the Ashford Joint Transportation Committee; may appoint
substitute(s) to attend any
meeting they
are unable to attend.
Next - Part 4 - Access To Information
This webpage was updated on
9/29/2010