PARISH PLAN STEERING GROUP: CONSTITUTION

Name

The name of the organisation shall be the Walford Parish Plan Steering Group, hereafter referred to as the group.

Purpose

The purpose of the group shall be to act on behalf of the Walford Parish Council to carry out the following tasks:

1. Investigate and identify support for the Parish Plan.
2. Identify sources of funding in addition to the Countryside Agency grant.
3. Take responsibility for planning, budgeting and monitoring expenditure on the plan and report back to the Walford Parish Council on these matters.
4. Liaise with relevant authorities and organisations to make the plan as effective as possible.
5. Identify ways of involving the whole community and gather the views and opinions of as many groups and organisations in the community as possible.
6. Determine the types of survey and information gathering to be used.
7. Be responsible for the analysis of the survey, the production and distribution of the final report.
8. Identify priorities and timescale for local action in the action plan including lead organisations and potential sources of project funding.
9. To report back to the Walford Parish Council on progress, issues arising and outcomes from the exercise.

Membership

The group will include, and be headed by, a Project Leader. 

The group will include up to 5 members including the Project Leader.  No more than three of these members will be members of the Walford Parish Council.  The group will be approved by, and at a meeting of, the Walford Parish Council.  The group may co-opt additional volunteer helpers at its discretion.  A person shall cease to be a member of the group having notified the Walford Parish Council in writing of his or her wish to resign.

Officers

The Project Leader will be chosen and approved by the Walford Parish Council.  The group will choose one of its members to act also as Treasurer and another as Minutes Secretary.  Other members will be asked to adopt specific roles as required from time to time.

Meetings

The group shall meet as required. Meetings shall be called by the Project Leader and accompanied by an agenda.

Every matter shall be determined by a unanimous vote of the Group members present. 

A group quorum will comprise 4 members. The secretary shall keep a record of meetings. Minutes will include numbered action points and target dates, and be circulated to members of the group not more than 14 days after each meeting.  Details of each meeting will be published on a website and members of the public will be entitled to have a copy of minutes on request.

Working groups

The group may appoint such working groups, as it considers necessary to carry out functions specified by the group. Each working group should have a nominated chair but this person does not have to be a member of the steering group.  Working groups do not have power to authorise expenditure on behalf of the Steering Group.  Working groups will be bound by the terms of reference set out for them by the Steering Group.  These terms will include clarification as to whether or not members of the community, who are involved as volunteers with any of the working groups, may claim back specific expenditure that was necessarily incurred during the process of producing the Parish Plan. This could include postage and stationary, telephone calls, travel costs, child care costs.

Finance

The treasurer shall keep a clear record of expenditure, where necessary, supported by receipted invoices.

The treasurer will draw up and agree with the group procedures for volunteers who wish to claim expenses and the rates they may claim.

The treasurer will report back to the group and the Walford Parish Council on planned and actual expenditure for the project, and liaise with the parish clerk to set up a petty cash system and enable cash withdrawals and payment of invoices to be made as required.

Changes to the constitution

This constitution will be changed only by a unanimous vote of all the current steering group members and by a majority of 2/3 of the Walford Parish Council.

Dissolution of the group

Upon dissolution of the group any remaining funds shall be disposed of by the group, in accordance with the decisions reached at an Extraordinary Meeting open to the public in the area of benefit called for that purpose. No individual member of the group shall benefit from the dispersal.