Standing Orders
The council meets formally once a quarter, in accordance with the Council's Standing Orders (SOs). Our Standing Orders are based on, and are reviewed in accordance with, the latest version of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), model Standing Orders (currently the 2018 edition, Version 2: April 2022).
Typically, Standing Orders will be revisited every time NALC issues an update, which occurs approximately every two-four years. In between these times, the council reviews its policies, including its Standing Orders, as needed, (for example, where other regulatory requirement or feedback on policy-implementation, requires a change in practice).
NALC Standing Orders are designed to help both Borough and much larger parish councils practice good governance. Although we are a much smaller parish – we still adhere to the good-governance principles embodied in the NALC model guidelines.
Our Standing Orders cover a very wide range of topics relating to how the Council meetings will be called and managed, public involvement and engagement, rules governing debate and how decisions are reached through to the recording and approval of Minutes.
As stated above, the parish council holds four meetings in a year. Our calendar year runs from 1st April to 31st March. For parish council meetings to be quorate, there must be a minimum of three Councillors present for business to take place and for the decisions of council to be binding.
Details of forthcoming meetings, agendas and minutes of meetings already held, can be found under the ‘Meetings’ tab of this website. Meeting information is organised by year.
Parish meetings will cover items of general and regular interest, such as bridleways and footpaths, noticeboards, village green maintenance, expenditure approvals and budget monitoring - the general structure of our meetings provides for: -
* May meeting to receive and approve the final accounts for the preceding year, and confirmation of the council’s budget for the current year, including the annual precept (via Basingstoke and Deane Brough Council and other local authority grants, which may be available to us).
* September meeting to receive the Audit Reports (internal and external) for the preceding year, the half-year budget monitoring statement for the current year.
* December meeting to receive a budget monitoring statement for the year on which the Budget for the forthcoming year is decided and to review the level of precept to be applied for from Borough Council for the coming year.
* February meeting to receive the projected year-end financial position and predicted cash balance as at 31st March and to review and agree any changes required to council policies.
As the parish Council plans for only four in-person meetings during the year, any other urgent business is dealt with on a needs-basis, remotely or occasionally by calling an extraordinary meeting of the council. The Standing Orders provide for how and when additional meetings may be convened.
A recent example of the council transacting business outside of its published calendar of meetings, was our response to the planning application, (December 2023) for a Solar energy farm in Malshanger, which occurred in between our scheduled meetings, and necessitated our Councillors and the Clerk working together by email/phone, to pull together the council’s official response to application. Decisions made in such circumstances are still required to be quorate and where made, are affirmed in the next scheduled, quarterly, meeting as part of the agenda.
The current version of the NALC model Standing Orders, applicable to this parish council is available below. It was last reviewed and adopted by the members of Hannington Parish Council, during the quarterly meeting held on; Tuesday 7th May 2024.