Motions rejected

Question

Standing Orders detail that motions that are rejected should be recorded with an explanation by the proper Officer
To me this indicates that a list should be retained of all such motions
Do any Parish Councils keep lists of rejected motions and do they make them available via their website?

Answer 1

Good question and I'll be interested in seeing any other answers.  I know that our Clerk has rejected a couple but she has told me about it (Chair) and her decision was sensible. The motions were all very vague in response to emails received from various sources. Last one I can remember was about making more green spaces. A councillor emailed and said 'can we put this on the agenda'. That was all, no solid suggestion about actually doing something or even making further enquiries.
But I have no idea if the Clerk keeps a list and have never heard of it having to be published.

Answer 2

A list should be kept, but there is no requirement to publish it. Having said that, it's not confidential information, so if a member of the public asks, they should be allowed free access to it, otherwise it could result in an FOI and a lot of time wasted on something unnecessarily.

Comments

Does the clerk have the right to put their own motion on the agenda ie without any Cllr input?

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There are many items that the Clerk will put on the agenda, mainly standing items that are included in standing orders or financial regs, periodic reviews of policies and procedures etc, but a Clerk should not be seen to be dictating policy.

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If a para 9  motion is submitted on time must it be either accepted or rejected i.e. can the clerk say I reject it as I need to think about it some more

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If you’ve asked for it to be included on a particular agenda and the motion is submitted in time then to me it’s a rejection and should be listed,do you know if  the Clerk has discussed it with the Chair z?

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The problem is if its a rejection is your only option then to re submit it next month i.e.  there is no pending tray ?  In my case I asked that the committee consider a certain question and the clerk's reply was that she needed to think about it first.  If that is possible it defeats the object of the procedure IMHO.
This whole question of what is the actual/role  scope of the Clerk needs sorting out .  Trouble is everyone says ask NALC to  decide