SHOCKLACH OVIATT AND DISTRICT PARISH COUNCIL

Terms of reference for Finance Committee

SODPC has one Standing Committee which acts on behalf of, and lawfully dispenses the legal obligations of, the full Council in maintaining financial records. The elected serving members at 4 December 2008 are councillors Mark Piggott and Peter Baron. The Chair and, where elected, Vice-chair, are ex officio members of the Finance Committee and have responsibility for providing the basic terms of reference for the lawful operation of the Committee. These terms are included below.

1 Members of the Finance Committee shall be appointed at each Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council and such appointment may not include persons other than members of the Council. The Council may at any time dissolve or alter the membership and/or constitution of the Finance Committee.

2 No Member of the Committee shall disclose to any person not a Member of the Council any business declared or deemed to be confidential by the Council or the Committee, as the case may be.

3 Meetings can be held on an ad hoc basis at venues to be decided by the Finance Committee, although meetings at which material issues are to be considered (e.g. variation of any charges set for the provision of information) must be formally notified in the same manner as Ordinary Meetings of the Parish Council, i.e. each member must be summonsed to attend and receive such legally-binding summons three clear days prior to the date of the meeting. In addition, notice of the date, time and venue for such meetings must be posted on the village notice-board three clear days in advance so that members of the public can attend should they wish to do so. For the avoidance of doubt, ‘clear days’ exclude the day on which notice was given and received, weekends and public-holidays.

3.1 Finance Committee meetings must be attended by both members.

3.2 Meetings for which official notification is required may not be held on licensed premises unless no other venue is available.

4 Members of the Finance Committee are absolutely required to familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations which govern and/or limit their responsibilities in respect of dispensing the obligations of the Parish Council.

4.1 The Finance Committee shall acquaint itself with, and honour, the rules and regulations which govern the manner in which the Parish Council precepts for, and dispenses, its budget and likewise shall lawfully fulfil Council’s obligation in respect of its annual audit.

4.2 The Finance Committee may not issue a precept, make payments or borrow money on behalf of the Parish Council.

5 Decisions of the Finance Committee shall be reached and executed only after the issue of whether such decisions and consequential actions would be acceptable to the Parish Council has been considered. Any issue which might be deemed to warrant consideration by Council must be referred to the Chair of the Parish Council so that his or her right to call an Extraordinary Meeting of the full Council can be exercised where appropriate.

5.1 Decisions made by the Finance Committee must be unanimous.

6 The Finance Committee may not appoint Sub-committees, whether lawfully constituted or otherwise.

7 Finance Committee members shall at all times be fully aware that they serve, and act on behalf of, the community which they represent as elected members.

8 A Finance Committee Member ceases to be a Member if he/she retires from or otherwise ceases to become a Member of Council. The disqualifications for membership of the Committee are the same as those for the Council.

9 Business conducted at committee meetings shall be reported to Council at the following Ordinary Meeting and Minutes of such Committee meetings shall be provided to the Clerk or Acting Clerk in advance for inclusion with the Minutes of the preceding Ordinary Meeting for circulation to Council members.

December 2008

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