Corporate report

British Hallmarking Council: Council standing orders

Updated 2 August 2022

The Hallmarking Act 1973 makes provision for the constitution of the British Hallmarking Council at Schedule 4. Schedule 4 paragraph 16 provides that the Council may make Standing Orders for regulating the proceedings (including quorum) of the Council or any of its committees, from time to time as the Council thinks fit. These Standing Orders supplement the requirements of Schedule 4.

This document provides Standing Orders for the Council. Separate Standing Orders govern the Council’s Applications Committee, Education & Enforcement Committee, Joint Assay Offices Committee and Technical Committee.

The following are Standing Orders of the Council:

1. Frequency of meetings

1.1 The Council shall normally meet twice a year, usually in spring and autumn (Ordinary Meetings) and at such other times as the Chair or Council shall decide (Special Meetings).

1.2 The following provisions shall apply to Special Meetings:

1.2.1 A Special Meeting shall be convened by the Secretary upon the written request of the Chair or any six members of the Council. Written requests may be made by email or post.

1.2.2 A written request for a Special Meeting to be held shall include details of the business to be transacted at that meeting.

1.2.3 A Special Meeting shall be held as soon as reasonably practicable following the receipt of the request by the Secretary, taking into account the availability of sufficient members of the Council to form a quorum.

1.3 The following provisions shall apply to Ordinary Meetings and Special Meetings:

1.3.1 Where, in the reasonable opinion of the Chair, a meeting by alternative means would be appropriate for efficient handling of the meeting’s business, the meeting may be held by alternative means such as video conferencing or telephone conferencing or similar form of communication provided that all persons participating in the meeting are able to hear and speak to each other throughout such meeting, or are able to receive communications, including by electronic mail, from each of the other participants in the meeting.

1.3.2 Where a meeting is to be held physically but a participant or more than one participant is unable for good reason to attend in person, such as illness or other reasons beyond the participant’s control, the meeting may include participation by alternative means such as video conferencing or telephone conferencing or similar form of distance communication provided that all persons participating in the meeting are able to hear and speak to each other throughout such meeting, or are able to receive communications, including by electronic mail, from each of the other participants in the meeting.

1.3.3 The provisions with regard to quoracy and decision-making as set out in the Hallmarking Act Schedule 4 and in these Standing Orders shall apply as if a physical meeting were to take place.

1.4 Where, in the reasonable opinion of the Chair, it is not reasonably practicable to convene a Special Meeting or where the matter requiring a decision of the Council is urgent and delay would be likely to prejudice the interests of the party affected by the outcome of a decision to be made by the Council, the Council may make that decision by email, telephone or other reasonable means of distance communication and the provisions with regard to quoracy and decision-making as set out in the Hallmarking Act Schedule 4 and in these Standing Orders shall apply as if a physical meeting were to take place.

2. Quorum

The quorum at any meeting shall be seven members who are entitled to vote. If a quorum is not present within 30 minutes of the start time of the meeting, the meeting may proceed, but subject to the provision of paragraph 1.4, no decision will be taken on matters on which a vote is required until the next meeting or until a Special Meeting is convened. A member voting by proxy under paragraph 3 below shall count towards the quorum.

3. Appointment of a proxy

If, for unavoidable reasons, a Council member is unable to attend a Council meeting, he/she may appoint a proxy to vote on his/her behalf on the business of the meeting. The Form of Proxy in Appendix 1 or other written document containing sufficient information to express the member’s intentions clearly must be received by the Secretary before the start of the meeting.

4. Notice of meetings and agenda

4.1 The Secretary shall give members of the Council not less than seven days’ notice of the time and place of the meeting.

4.2 The Secretary shall issue an agenda for each meeting.

4.3 Except in cases of urgency or where circumstances make it impractical to do so, the agenda for a meeting and any supporting papers will be made available electronically and/or sent to Council members seven days in advance of the meeting.

4.4 Any Council member requesting inclusion of an item on the agenda must provide details of the item in writing to the Chair and Secretary not later than 5.00pm on the eighth working day before the meeting, failing which it cannot be considered unless the member can provide a good reason why it could not have been made available sooner and why it should be considered, in which case the Chair will consult with the Secretary to make the final decision on inclusion of the proposed item.

4.5 A Council member may raise an urgent item by requesting the consent of the Chair in advance of the meeting, where possible supported by a paper setting out the substance of the matter. The decision as to whether the matter can be included on the agenda will be made at the Council meeting.

5. Adjournment of meetings

The Chair may adjourn a Council meeting in appropriate circumstances. When adjourning the meeting the Chair will specify the time and place to which the meeting is to be adjourned.

6. Minutes

6.1 The Secretary shall keep minutes of each meeting which shall include a record of the members of the Council present at the meeting.

6.2 At each meeting, the minutes of the preceding meeting shall be confirmed (or confirmed as amended) and be signed by the Chair as a true record of that meeting.

6.3 The signed minutes of the meeting shall be conclusive proof of the proceedings of that meeting.

6.4 The draft minutes of each meeting and list of action points from that meeting will be circulated to the Council within 28 days of the meeting.

7. The Chair

7.1 The Chair shall have power to make decisions on:

7.1.1 Items of routine business that would not normally merit discussion at a meeting of the Council; and

7.1.2 Matters relating to the implementation of decisions which have already been approved at previous meetings.

7.1.3 Where issues arise that, in the reasonable view of the Chair, are too urgent and important for consideration to be deferred until the next Ordinary Meeting or Special Meeting, the provisions of paragraph 1.4 would apply.

7.2 The Chair shall be the Accounting Officer as designated by the Council’s sponsoring body in government, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (“BEIS”).

7.3 The Chair shall be invited to all committee meetings and shall have the right to attend.

8. Co-opting members of the Council’s committees

The Council shall have power to co-opt suitable people onto its committees on such terms, including length of term, as it sees fit. Co-opted members of committees need not be members of the Council.

9. Members’ conduct, interests, and acting for an improper purpose

9.1 Members of the Council shall comply with the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies as issued from time to time by the Cabinet Office to the extent that it is consistent with the Hallmarking Act 1973; the provisions of the Hallmarking Act 1973; and the requirements of the Framework Document issued by BEIS which sets out the framework within which the Council operates.

9.2 Members of the Council shall make a declaration of their personal interests which may, or may be perceived to, conflict with their duties as a member of the Council. When considering what interests should be declared, in particular any non-financial interests, members should ask themselves whether a member of the public acting reasonably, would consider that the interest in question might influence their discussions and their decisions. A register of such interests will be maintained by the Secretary and updated annually.

9.3 Members of the Council shall remove themselves from the discussion and determination of matters in which they have a financial interest. Where the interest is non-financial, members of the Council shall not participate in the discussion and determination of a matter where that interest might suggest bias or the appearance of bias. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not preclude the Council receiving at meetings representations from assay-office appointed members in respect of applications for sub-offices and any other matters affecting assay offices for the purposes of informing the Council’s decisions.

9.4 Members of the Council must act for the purposes of the Council, as set out in the Hallmarking Act 1973 s 13, and for no other, improper, purpose. Members of the Council must be guided by those statutory purposes at all times when participating in Council decision-making. Members must not therefore act as advocates for, or representatives of, any other body or individual or allow the interests of any other body or individual to be determinative of, or unduly influence, the position they should adopt as members of the Council. Any member not acting, or appearing not to act, in accordance with these principles, may be required by the Council to refrain from participating in debate and/or from voting.

9.5 For clarity and the purposes of paragraphs 9.3 and 9.4, a Member’s appointment by an assay office does not in itself give rise to apparent bias or an assumption of acting with improper purpose in relation to the affairs of that assay office at any time during that Member’s appointment. An assay office’s interest is not a disabling interest for a member appointed from that assay office. The Hallmarking Act 1973 Schedule 4 clause 6 provides that a person wholly or mainly employed by an assay office, other than the clerk to an assay office, shall not be eligible for membership of the Council.

10. Expense claims

10.1 The Hallmarking Act 1973 permits the payment of travelling and/or subsistence and/or other allowances to members or to any member of a committee (Schedule 4 paragraph 20). Council will therefore reimburse the members for all reasonable travelling, hotel and other out-of-pocket expenses that they incur during the proper performance of Council-related activities. Members are required to support all expense claims with receipts. Travel by car will be reimbursed at the rate agreed and published by the Council. The Council’s current Financial Procedures document will set out the current mileage rate and additional detail on claiming expenses.

10.2 The Chair’s allowance shall be decided for the whole term of office at the election of that Chair, subject to interim review. The amount shall be agreed and published by the Council.

10.3 Members of the Applications Committee may claim an hourly rate as agreed and published by the Council for considering sub-office applications and related matters. Allowances will be paid by the Council following receipt of an invoice and will be re-charged to the relevant assay office. For the avoidance of doubt, the hourly rate does not apply to attendance at Council meetings, for which the provisions of paragraph 10.1 will apply.

Sue Green
Secretary to the British Hallmarking Council
April 2022

Appendix 1. Form of Proxy

Proxy form for the British Hallmarking Council (“the Council”)