Policies and Procedures

Policies and Procedures

The Parish Council is governed by various policies and procedures. The key document is the Standing Orders which set out how the Council operates and include rules of procedure laid down in legislation.

For example, three councillors must be present for a meeting to go ahead; this is known as the quorum. Other standing orders determine issues such as voting requirements and procedures for public participation.

Our Standing Orders

A Transparency Code was issued by the Government in 2015 for smaller local councils with an annual turnover is less than £25,000. It requires the online publication of certain information about council finances and provides taxpayers with a clear view of council activities, spending and governance.  Fawkham Parish Council publishes all the required information to this website. Financial information can be found on the Finance page.

Risk Assessment

Fawkham Parish Council assesses the risks it faces, and the steps it takes to minimise them, on an annual basis at the Annual Council Meeting in May.

View the risk assessment document.

Asset Register

Our asset register includes any items which the Council purchased, was gifted or otherwise acquired, with a value of £100 or more. The register is reviewed each year in April/May when the condition of the assets are inspected to see if they need repair or replacing, so this can be budgeted for, although any issues which arise during the year will be dealt with at the time. Any new assets are also added to the register at the time of review. The information on the register then feeds intO to the annual renewal of the Council’s insurance.

The asset register can be found here.

Insurance

The Council has its insurance policy through BHIB Insurance Brokers, underwritten by Aviva Insurance ltd. This includes public liability cover of £10,000,000.

Public Liability Certificate

Employer’s Liability Certificate

Document Retention Policy

The Council recognises the need to retain documents for audit purposes, staff management, tax liabilities and in the event of any legal disputes and proceedings. A document retention scheme has been agreed which takes into account various statutory obligations.

The Document Retention Policy can be read here