Committees
A committee is a body to which any business has been committeed or referred. There are three principal kinds of committees: (1) regular or standing committees; (2) special committees or working parties and (3) joint committees. Sometime the Latin phrase ad hoc meaning ‘for this purpose’ is used to describe a special committee.
Standing committees
Standing committees are those which have a permanent existence and which are formed under the constitution or rules of the society. Their job is to carry on the detailed work of administration delegated to them by the governing body of the society or authority. For example, local authorities have specialist standing committees for finance, planning, housing and so on which report to the full Council.
Working parties
Special committees are those set up to carry out particular tasks or to investigate particular matters which are too complex to be discussed by a large meeting. For this reason, working party is probably as good a term as any to describe a special committee and is increasingly used.
Joint committees
A joint committee is one which is established between two bodies. It is usually composed of an equal number of members from each, the chair generally being taken alternately by a representative from each side. If a joint committee has a permanent status, it will be called a joint standing committee; if it is appointed only for a particular purpose, it will be known as a special joint committee or a joint working party.
Committee functions
The functions of standing committees may either be executive or advisory. If they are executive it means that the committee has the job of administering the day-to-day affairs of the parent body. If they are advisory or consultative, the committee merely make recommendations which should not (except in urgent cases) be acted upon until they have been presented to and confirmed by the parent body. Members of standing committees are appointed for a definite period, whereas membership of a working party lapses when its job is finished and the working party itself is wound up. A working party is usually advisory in the sense that its task is to consider certain subjects only, and to report its conclusions on them as soon as it has completed its deliberations.
Committee quorum
The number to form a quorum is usually fixed when a committee is appointed. In the case of important committees, particularly those making executive decisions, it may be a majority of members.
Ex officio members
Sometimes the chair and secretary of the parent body attend committee meetings as ex officio members, that is, members by virtue of their office in the appointing society. Ex officio members have a right to express their views but possess no voting powers, unless expressly conferred by rule or resolution. Similarly, ex officio members do not form part of the committee for the purpose of counting a quorum. Frequently, however, a committee is formed entirely of lay members who appoint the chair and secretary from among themselves when, of course, they have the same voting rights as other members.
Co-opted members
Sometimes a committees is given power to add other persons to its numbers. They may be members of the organisation, or others brought in from outside because of their expert knowledge of the questions to come before the committee. They are referred to as ‘co-opted members’ and their functions are confined to giving the committee the benefit of their advice. They should never be allowed to vote, particularly when any question of policy is under consideration, unless express authority has been conferred by the meeting which appointed the committee.
General Procedure
The methods of dealing with business in a committee will vary to some extent with the nature of its duties. But in general the practice following is similar to that in ordinary meetings of the society. There are certain differences, however, which are:
- general discussion usually precedes the moving of a motion;
- motions need not necessarily be seconded;
- members may speak as often as they can catch the chair’s eye;
- members may remain seated when speaking.
Signalling the chair
A member wishing to speak in committee should raise their hand whilst the discussion is proceeding, and so indicate to the chair that they wish to speak next. Then the chair puts their name down on a list of speakers. If other names are already down, the chair can signal how many speakers will come before the applicant. Then when the member speaking has finished, the chair can read out the names of those who wish to speak and the order in which they will come.
Informality
But this is not to suggest that the procedure in committees should be too formal. In general, procedure in committees is much less formal than in large meetings. Members will discuss matters between themselves rather than making formal speeches, and although they should usually avoid interrupting other members when they are speaking, the occasional interjection should not be discouraged by the chair.
Size of committees
The way meetings are run will depend very much on the size of the committee. Large committees will probably be more formal than smaller committees and there is a certain size – perhaps around eight or ten members – when spontaneity of discussion is lost and formality begins to take over. Larger committees often take longer to make decisions, and the decisions are not always of the same quality as those of smaller bodies.
Summing up discussion
Where committees are reasonably small, it is unnecessary to insist on a formal motion being moved. Instead, the chair should try to gauge the general feelings expressed in discussion and sum them up into a decision. They may find it helpful to make notes of key points made in discussion to assist them in this. If, in summing up, they find that what they assumed was a general view is not that of all the members, they should then ask for a motion to be moved, when the matter would be decided in the normal way of debate.
Procedure – standing committees
The first job at meetings of standing committes is to confirm the minutes of the previous meeting. If they have been sent out to each member they need not be read over at the beginning of the following meeting. The chair usually says: ‘May I sign the minutes as a correct record?’ The members then respond with ‘Agreed’, or if there is any question as to accuracy, this is immediately gone into. Agendas for standing committees should be sent out to members with the circular convening the meeting. If this has not been done and if copies are not available for all members, the chair should read over the agenda. The business then proceeds in much the same way as at ordinary general meetings of members, apart from the differences mentioned above.
Procedure – working parties
Terms of reference
The agenda of a working party or special committee usually consists of its terms of reference which will have been laid down by a resolution from the parent body. It is probably best to divide the subject into sections and to consider each separately. The chair should take care that the working party does not go outside its terms of reference; this can result in time and effort being wasted and can cause confusion.
Drafting a report
Discussion at working parties will be informal, as in small committee meetings. One way of coming to a view might be to pass a series of resolutions which would provide the basis for drafting a report, but probably a better way is for the chair and secretary to prepare a draft report containing what seem to be the views of the working party and submit it to the other members for consideration. Alternatively, the secretary might take notes of the points on which agreement seems likely, and then some member with ability at drafting might be appointed by the working party to rough something out. A draft report should be arranged in paragraphs, each of which should be numbers for purposes of reference.
Interim report
Where the deliberations cover a lengthy period, an interim report, giving the progress of the working party to date, might be issued.
Considering a draft report
The draft report should be circulated to members in advance of the meeting, and each paragraph discussed in turn. Members will make suggestions about improvements in the drafting, although where there are contentious sections it may be necessary to take a formal vote. Finally, the Chair will put a formal motion: ‘That this draft report (or the report as amended if any amendments have been made) be adopted as the report of this working party’.
After this motion has been carried, the report is signed by the chair, and is then ready for presentation to the parent body.
Rival draft reports
Any member of a working party may draft a report independently of the chair and secretary and submit it to the working party. It should usually be possible to arrange a compromise and dovetail the two reports into one. But if not, the reports must be treated as rivals, and a motion may be moved: ‘That the general policy of the report of the chair and secretary be accepted.’
This means in effect that the report referred to shall be the one to stand for further consideration by the working party. The author of the rival draft would probably move an amendment to delete the words ‘chair and secretary’ from the motions, and insert their name. Discussion may be allowed on the motion or amendment, after which the vote is taken. The report which is rejected then disappears from consideration, after which the successful draft report is considered in detail as described above.
Minority report
Even after the report has been carried, by a majority vote, some members may feel that they cannot support it. In such circumstance, they can write a minority report or attach a note to the main report explaining the differences between their views and the conclusions of the working party. The minority report or note should be signed by the members favouring it. Minority reports by members of small committees (such as of branches of an organisation) should be avoided wherever possible.
Suspending working parties
If it seems to members of a working party that they are not likely to accomplish satisfactorily the business referred to them, the sittings of the working party may be suspended by the following motions: ‘That the working party report progress.’
If this motion is carried, the business is discontinued, and the chair reports to the appointing body the result of the work to date. The chair may then ask permission from the parent body for the working party to sit again. If this is given, the working party resumes its meetings.
Dissolving working parties
There is another motion which, if accepted, virtually dissolves the working party: ‘That the chair leave the chair.’
If this is carried, it means that the working party cannot sit again until it has received instructions from the parent body.