In my recent webinar hosted by Scribe Academy, I had the pleasure of delving into requirements and best practices of summons, agendas and minutes that serve as the backbone of transparency in local government.

It's remarkable how people can take some particular aspect of local government law and start interpreting it in their own way, and it makes for interesting reading. So what we will do is go back to basics and have a look at what exactly is required.

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📢 Best Practices for Drafting Summons

As I crisscross the country, my curiosity often leads me to inspect Town & Parish Council notice boards, gauging how meetings are announced. It's heartening to see improvements, yet some still miss the mark on proper summoning procedures. 

Use of the term “summons”

While I’ve spoken to several Clerks who find the term “summons” peremptory, it is a legal requirement that councillors are “summons” to the meeting, so therefore it should always say that. If not used, it doesn’t make the Council meeting void, but it can complicate matters especially when controversial decisions are on the table.

Signing of the summons

Another hot topic is the question of who should sign the summons. This duty falls to the acting Clerk or other Proper Officer of the Council. So if there is an Assistant Clerk, and the Chief Clerk is not available, it will be the Assistant Clerk who signs the summons. It is, in effect, the person who undertakes the administration.

Distribution of the summons

Another point which comes up from time to time is distribution. Every Councillor must receive a copy of the summons. It can be sent by email, provided that the Councillor agrees to accept it by email, otherwise it has to be physical. Summons must of course be published on the website, and it is good practice to make it as accessible as possible, which includes posting on notice boards. This dual approach ensures that all members of the community have the opportunity to be informed about council activities, regardless of their internet access.

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📝 Key Considerations for Preparing an Agenda

Now the next item, we have our agendas, and here we come into some very interesting questions. As we know an agenda must be included within the summons for a meeting, providing sufficient information on the items to be discussed and it must be distributed at least three working days before the scheduled meeting. 

Flexibility of agendas

A common question arises about the flexibility of agendas - can one be retracted and replaced after publication? The consensus leans towards a firm no, emphasising the importance of a singular, definitive agenda to maintain order and clarity. If you don't publicise the agenda completely, then it might be a possibility, but generally speaking, once the agenda is published and distributed, that is the agenda for the meeting - even if you've forgotten something.

Responsibility of the agenda

Another point worth reiterating is that the agenda is the responsibility of the Clerk, and will typically be discussed with the Chair who will have an idea of what needs to be discussed. I have had cases where Councillors say to the Clerk “You must put this on, that on” strictly speaking, it is not necessary to do so. 

That being said, there is very little point in deliberately excluding something which everybody is hopping up and down about. If 2 or more Councillors wish to call a special meeting to discuss a particular subject, then they will have to detail what they wish to discuss on the agenda. This is the only time when Councillors can dictate what goes on the agenda, but you do need to have regard to what other people want to discuss.

Apologies for absences

The first item on the agenda other than in respect of the annual parish meeting, is usually apologies for absence. Now this does give rise to difficulties, because the law requires that reasons for absence are given - if they are not given and accepted at the meeting, then the 6 month rule will start to apply. 

A lot of councillors don't like the fact that their going on holiday will be recorded in the minutes - in these circumstances, we advise that the reasons are not specifically stated, but it is stated that the reason was accepted by the Council.

Any other business

If an item is not on the agenda, you cannot lawfully make a decision on it, which is why you can't have items such as “any other business”.

A lot of agendas that I see as I travel around still have any other business, but all that can be is a general report. You cannot decide on anything which is brought up under that heading - only agenda items can be subject to a decision. So if a Councillor makes a report which says that the hedges need cutting, the Council cannot immediately resolve to have it cut because it's not on the agenda, it's not an authorised expenditure.

Confidentiality 

As far as items which are to be taken in a confidential session are concerned, these should also appear on the agenda, but on the basis that they are going to be discussed confidentially.

This means that the item will be more vague than will be the case for others, so it will say, “to discuss a staffing matter”, “to discuss a code of conduct matter”, “to discuss…”. It will be much more vague as far as the agenda is concerned, but again, it will show that an item of that nature will be discussed.

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🪄 Crafting Minutes

Minutes serve as the formal record of council meetings, capturing decisions rather than providing a detailed transcript. I see very, very involved minutes which are not what is required. All that is really required in a formal minute is the decision which was made by the Council on a formal resolution. 

Why? Once that is done and signed, it is admissible in court proceedings as evidence of the event and the decision. 

The signing of the minutes

Note that I say signed. It is the responsibility of the Clerk to ensure that the minutes of the previous meeting are, in fact, signed. The necessity of signing minutes underscores their official status, and they cannot be retrospectively signed if this step is overlooked - we would have to rely on them as being approved.

Responsibility for the minutes

The minutes are the responsibility of the proper officer. They don't have to take the minutes. You can have a minute secretary or otherwise, but the Proper Officer is responsible for the minutes of the meeting.

Keeping of the minutes

Originally minutes were kept in bound volumes and handwritten. This is not a requirement, but it is important to ensure that printed digital documents include features like consecutive numbering to safeguard against tampering - if you think this never happens, I can tell you that it does.

Purely computer records are not sufficient. It will happen at some stage, but at the moment keeping them purely by computer is not considered sufficient. It's old-fashioned, but we all know that computer records can be wiped out quite easily.

Objections to the minutes

The minutes of the meeting are a legal requirement and cannot be changed. They should be as concise as possible.

If there is an objection to the minutes, it should be raised as soon as the draft minutes are published. These days draft minutes are usually published on the website before they are approved so that people can read them as far as such concerns. Don’t necessarily change the minutes if people start squawking about whether they are correct or otherwise. You need to be quite firm on this, provided that they have an adequate record of the meeting.

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❓Q&A

With many of the sessions I hold, the excitement comes with the questions and answers. With over 300 attendees on my session at the Scribe Academy I had many questions and have summarised these for you separately.

I hope you found this an informative read and I invite you to have a glance at the Q&A on Summons, Agendas & Minutes.

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