Rule [13] *1
GENERAL
PROVISIONS RELATING TO PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCILS
Officers of the council
1. (a) The minister of the parish shall be
chairman of the parochial church council (hereinafter referred to
as "the council").
(b) A lay member of the council shall be elected as
vice-chairman of the council.
(c) During the vacancy of the benefice or when the
chairman is incapacitated by absence or illness or any other cause
or when the minister invites him to do so the vice-chairman of the
council shall act as chairman and have all the powers vested in the
chairman.
(d) (i) The Council may appoint one of their
number to act as secretary of the Council. Failing such appointment
the office of secretary shall be discharged by some other fit
person who shall not thereby become a member of the council,
provided that such person may be co-opted to the Council in
accordance with the provisions of rule 14(1)(h);
(ii) where a person other than a member
of the Council is appointed to act as secretary, that person may be
paid such remuneration (if any) as the council deems appropriate
provided that such person shall not be eligible to be a member of
the council;
(iii) [The]*2 secretary shall have charge of all
documents relating to the current business of the council except
that, unless he is the electoral roll officer, he shall not have
charge of the roll. He shall be responsible for keeping the
minutes, shall record all resolutions passed by the council and
shall keep the secretary of the diocesan synod and deanery synod
informed as to his name and address.
(e) (i) The council may appoint one or more of
their number to act as treasurer solely or jointly. Failing such
appointment, the office of treasurer shall be discharged either
-
by such of the churchwardens as are members of
the council or, if there is only one such churchwarden, by that
churchwarden solely; or
by some other fit person who shall not thereby
become a member of the council, provided that such person may be
co-opted to the council in accordance with the provisions of rule
14(1)(h).
(ii) Where a person other than a member of the
Council is appointed to act as treasurer that person may be paid
such remuneration (if any) as the Council deems appropriate
provided that such person shall not be eligible to be a member of
the Council.
(f) The council shall appoint an electoral roll
officer, who may but need not be a member of the council and may be
the secretary, and if he is not a member may pay to him such
remuneration as it shall think fit. He shall have charge of the
roll.
(g) If an independent examiner or auditor to the
council is not appointed by the annual meeting or if an independent
examiner or auditor appointed by the annual meeting is unable or
unwilling to act, an independent examiner or auditor (who shall not
be a member of the council) shall be appointed by the council for a
term of office ending at the close of the next annual meeting. The
remuneration (if any) of the independent examiner or auditor shall
be paid by the council.
(h) For the purposes of this paragraph, where a
special cure of souls in respect of a parish has been assigned to a
vicar in a team ministry, or where there has been no such
assignment but a special responsibility for pastoral care in
respect of the parish has been assigned to a member of the team
under section 20(8A) of the Pastoral Measure 1983, that vicar or
that member, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the minister
unless incapacitated by absence or illness or any other cause, in
which case the rector in the team ministry shall be deemed to be
the minister.
Meetings of Council
2. The council shall hold not less than four
meetings in each year. Meetings shall be convened by the chairman
and if not more than four meetings are held they shall be at
quarterly intervals so far as possible.
Power to call meetings
3. The chairman may at any time convene a meeting
of the council. If he refuse or neglect to do so within seven days
after a requisition for that purpose signed by not less than
one-third of the members of the council has been presented to him
those members may forthwith convene a meeting.
Notices relating to meetings
4. (a) Except as provided in paragraph 8 of this
Appendix, at least ten clear days before any meeting of the council
notice thereof specifying the time and place of the intended
meeting and signed by or on behalf of the chairman of the council
or the persons convening the meeting shall be posted at or near the
principal door of every church, or building licensed for public
worship in the parish.
(b) Not less than seven days before the meeting a
notice thereof specifying the time and place of the meeting signed
by or on behalf of the secretary shall be posted or delivered to
every member of the council or, if the member has authorized the
use of an electronic mail address, to that address. Such notice
shall contain the agenda of the meeting including any motion or
other business proposed by any member of the council of which
notice has been received by the secretary. The notice required by
this sub-paragraph shall not be required for a council meeting
immediately following the annual parochial church meeting being a council meeting which has been called solely for the
purpose of appointing or electing any officers of the council or
the members of the standing committee thereof provided that the
notice required by sub-paragraph (a) hereof has been given.
(c) If for some good and sufficient reason the
chairman, vice-chairman and secretary, or any two of them, consider
that a convened meeting should be postponed, notice shall be given
to every member of the council specifying a reconvened time and
place within fourteen days of the postponed meeting.
Chairman at meetings
5. Subject to the provisions of rule 23 the chair
at a meeting of the council shall be taken -
(a) by the chairman of the council if he is
present;
(b) if the chairman is not present, by a clerk in
Holy Orders, licensed to or with permission to officiate in the
parish duly authorized by the bishop with the clerk's agreement,
following a joint application by the minister of the parish and the
council or, if the benefice is vacant, by the council for the
purposes of this sub-paragraph;
(c) if neither the chairman of the council nor the
clerk mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) above is present, by the
vice-chairman of the council:
Provided that at any such meeting the chairman
presiding shall, if he thinks it expedient to do so or the meeting
so resolves, vacate the chair either generally or for the purposes
of any business in which he has a personal interest or for any
other particular business.
Should none of the persons mentioned above be
available to take the chair for any meeting or for any particular
item on the agenda during a meeting then a chairman shall be chosen
by those members present from among their number and the person so
chosen shall preside for that meeting or for that particular
item.
Quorum and agenda
6. No business shall be transacted at any meeting
of the council unless at least one-third of the members are present
thereat and no business which is not specified in the agenda shall
be transacted at any meeting except by the consent of
three-quarters of the members present at the meeting.
Order of business
7. The business of a meeting of the council shall
be transacted in the order set forth in the agenda unless the
council by resolution otherwise determine.
Short Notice for emergency meetings
8. In the case of sudden emergency or other
special circumstances requiring immediate action by the council a
meeting may be convened by the chairman of the council at not less
than three clear days' notice in writing to the members of the
council but the quorum for the transaction of any business at such
meetings shall be a majority of the then existing members of the
council and no business shall be transacted at such meeting except
as is specified in the notice convening the meeting.
Place of meetings
9. The meeting of the council shall be
held at such place as the council may direct or in the absence of
such direction as the chairman may direct.
Vote of majority to decide
10. The business of the council shall be decided
by a majority of the members present and voting thereon.
Casting vote
11. In the case of an equal division of votes the
chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.
Minutes
12. (a) The names of the members present at any
meeting of the council shall be recorded in the minutes.
(b) If one-fifth of the members present and voting
on any resolution so require, the minutes shall record the names of
the members voting for and against that resolution.
(c) Any member of the council shall be entitled to
require that the minutes shall contain a record of the manner in
which his vote was cast on any resolution.
(d) Minutes of meetings of the council shall be
available to all members of the Council. The members shall also
have access to past minutes which the Chairman and Vice-Chairman
jointly determine to be relevant to current Council business.
(e) The independent examiner or auditor of the
Council's financial statements, the bishop, the archdeacon and any
person authorised by one of them in writing shall have access to
the approved minutes of council meetings without the authority of
the Council.
(f) Other persons whose names are on the church
electoral roll may have access to the approved minutes of Council
meetings held after the annual parochial church meeting in 1995
except any minutes deemed by the Council to be confidential.
(g) Other persons may have access to the minutes of
Council meetings only in accordance with a specific authorization
of the Council provided that, where minutes have been deposited in
the diocesan record office pursuant to the Parochial Registers and
Records Measure 1978, the authorization of the council may be
dispensed with.
Adjournments
13. Any meeting of the council may adjourn its
proceedings to such time and place as may be determined at such
meeting.
Standing committee
14. (a) The council shall have a standing
committee consisting of not less than five persons. The minister
and such of the churchwardens as are members of the council shall
be ex-officio members of the standing committee, and the council
shall by resolution appoint at least two other members of the
standing committee from among its own members and may remove any
person so appointed. Unless removed from office, the appointed
members shall hold office from the date of their appointment until
the conclusion of the next annual meeting of the parish.
(b) The standing committee shall have
power to transact the business of the council between the meetings
thereof subject to any directions given by the council.
Other committees
15. The council may appoint other committees for
the purpose of the various branches of church work in the parish
and may include therein persons who are not members of the council.
The minister shall be a member of all committees ex-officio.
[Independent examiner or auditor]*3
16. An independent examiner or auditor of the
Council's financial statements shall -
(a) have a right of access with respect to books,
documents or other records (however kept) which relate to the said
financial statements;
(b) have a right to require information and
explanations from past or present treasurers or members of the
council and, in case of default, the independent examiner or
auditor may apply to the Charity Commissioners for an order for
directions pursuant to section 44(2) of the Charities Act 19931 or any
statutory modification thereof for the time being in force.
Validity of proceedings
17. No proceedings of the council shall be
invalidated by any vacancy in the membership of the council or by
any defect in the qualification or election of any member
thereof.
Interpretation
18. Any question arising on the interpretation of
this Appendix shall be referred to the bishop of the diocese and
any decision given by him or by any person appointed by him on his
behalf shall be final.
Notes
*1 The reference
should be to Rule 15.
*2 The text should be
'the'.
*3 This side note does
not appear in the statutory text.