Introduction: Representatives and Nominees
Every May Members are appointed by the Council to serve on a range of outside bodies. These include voluntary organisations, local government associations and companies, such as the Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority. The list of appointments can be accessed via this link:
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Appointments to Outside Bodies 2006-2007 (59kb)
In some cases, the persons appointed will be Council representatives (category 1), i.e. they will be expected to represent the Council’s views at meetings, and look after the Council’s interests.
On other bodies, Members will be nominees (categories 2 and 3), i.e. their main responsibility will be to the organisation to which they have been appointed. In some cases, there will be a link between the activities of the organisation and those of the Council; in such cases, the Member’s knowledge of Council affairs will be useful, but the affairs of the outside body must take priority when the Member is acting as a member of that body. In other cases, there will be very little link between the activities of the outside organisation and those of the Council, once the appointment has been made, e.g. school governorships.
In all cases:-
Positively: Members should:-
accord to the rules, constitution and framework set by the outside body,
report back, where appropriate, to the Council or relevant Committee,
behave ethically and follow, as far as applicable, the Model Code of Conduct,
take an active and informed role in the management of the outside body’s affairs.
Negatively: Members should not:-
represent the political party to which Members owe their political loyalty,
be there in name only and merely turn up to meetings.
The appointment list splits outside organisations into three categories:-
those where appointees are regarded as Council representatives,
those which have links with Council activities but where the appointees are nominees,
those where the Council is merely asked to appoint a nominee and has no further contact with the organisation.
The Council is currently working more and more through outside organisations with ‘partners’. Such partnerships can either be companies (charitable or non-charitable, e.g. Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority) or unincorporated associations (e.g. GYMI and the SRB Partnership).
Companies
Companies are regulated by the Companies Acts and by their own constitutional documents (ie the articles and memorandum of association). A director of a company must act in the best interests of the company and must use reasonable care and skill.
Charities
The managers of a charity are called “the trustees”. The charity will be regulated by its constitutional documents (ie the trust deed). A trustee must act in the best interests of the charity and must use reasonable care and skill.
Unincorporated Associations (e.g A management committee, residents association etc)
Groups which are neither companies nor charities fall within this category. The rules for the group will be set out in a constitution, which normally provides for the appointment of a management committee. The members of the management committee are responsible for the acts of the group.
Model Code of Conduct
Appointees on outside bodies are generally governed by the Council’s adopted Model Code of Conduct.
Click here to access the National Model Code of Conduct, which has been adopted by the Council.
For further information, please contact us.