Constitution


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CONSTITUTION

Amended 14 November 2007

1 NAME OF THE COUNCIL

The name of the Council shall be the Scottish Accident Prevention Council, hereinafter referred to as the SAPC or the Council.

2 AFFILIATION

The Council shall be allied to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, hereinafter referred to as RoSPA.

3 AREA OF OPERATION

The area of operation of the Council shall be Scotland.

4 AIM

To reduce the number and severity of accidents within Scotland.

5 OBJECTIVES

To promote good practice in accident and injury prevention

To provide support for members in their accident and injury prevention work

To influence policies in relation to accident and injury prevention

To sponsor and undertake research into accident and injury prevention.

6 METHOD

The Council shall pursue its aim by:

(a)	Fostering co-ordination and communication among Local Authorities, Health Services, Police, Fire & Rescue Services and other appropriate organisations within Scotland in all accident prevention activities, with special reference to publicity campaigns, training schemes and education in its widest sense;
(b)	Ensuring the maximum co-operation within the area between Central and Local Government and all others engaged in the promotion of accident prevention, particularly with a view to encouraging education of the public;
(c)	Promoting publicity in accident and injury prevention;
(d)	Acting as a forum for the expression and interchange of ideas;
(e)	Encouraging participation in national accident and injury prevention programmes and schemes;
(f)	Making recommendations for appropriate awards;
(g)	Holding conferences, courses and other events;
(h)	Lobbying central government on matters of legislation and policy;
(i)	Responding to consultation documents, where appropriate.

7 MEMBERSHIP

The Council shall consist of one representative from each organisation in membership of the Council.

Organisations in membership of the Council will be entitled to be represented at Meetings of the Council by one person who shall have full voting rights. The members of Principal Committees shall be entitled to attend meetings of the Council. Each organisation shall have only one vote. Associate members may attend meetings of the Council but will have no voting rights.

The Council may, from time to time, admit to membership of the Council any individual or organisation with a genuine interest in accident prevention and who makes an application to do so. Such application will be considered by the Executive Committee and, if approved, the applicant will be admitted to membership on payment of the appropriate membership fee.

Honorary membership will be extended to Past Presidents and to individuals upon whose expertise the Council can draw. Honorary members would have the right to attend, at their own expense, any meeting of the Council or its Committees. They shall have no voting rights nor shall they be able to hold any office within the Council or its Committees.

Member Organisations shall pay, not later than the last day of June in each year, such Annual Subscription as may be determined by the SAPC. Any Member whose subscription is not paid shall be deprived of the privileges of membership until paid. If such subscription is not paid by the last day of August in any year the membership of such organisation shall be terminated. Provided that its annual subscription is paid for the year each member organisation shall be entitled to be represented at Meetings of the Council and shall be entitled to send representatives to the Principal Committees.

8 OFFICE BEARERS

The Office Bearers shall consist of a President, a Vice President, and a Treasurer. One member shall not hold more than one of these offices at any one time. They shall be ex-officio members of the Principal Committees and be entitled to vote on these Committees. The Office Bearers shall be the Trustees of the Council.

9 TERMS OF OFFICE

An Office Bearer who ceases to be eligible to serve in the capacity in which they were elected, may not continue in that office and shall stand down.

The Council may remove any Office Bearer who they are satisfied:

is unable or unfit to carry out their duties;
has failed without good cause to attend three successive meetings of the Executive; or
has conducted themselves in such a manner which is contrary to the work of the Council.

In the event of the President, Vice-President or Treasurer being found unfit to hold such office, which shall be a matter for the Council to decide, the holder of that office shall vacate such post immediately upon such a decision being made, whereupon the Council shall elect a new holder of the vacated office as specified in Standing Order 12.

10 PRINCIPAL COMMITTEES

The following Principal Committees shall be formed with Terms of Reference and composition as detailed in the Standing Orders of the Council:

(i)	Home Safety Committee;
(ii)	Road Safety Committee;
(iii)	Water & Leisure Safety Committee.

Additional Principal Committees may be formed when required with terms of reference and composition as agreed by the Council.

The Principal Committees of the Council will be reformed at the first Annual General Meeting after Local Government Elections. Local Authorities may nominate one Elected Member and one Officer to each of the Principal Committees, other organisations may nominate one person. Members appointed to serve on the Committees will serve until the Annual General Meeting following the next Local Government elections.

At the first meeting of each of the three Principal Committees following an Annual General Meeting at which these Committees were reformed, each Committee shall elect a Chair and Vice-Chair for the period to the next Annual General Meeting at which the Principal Committees are reformed. No Office Bearer can hold the position of Chair or Vice Chair of any Principal Committee. In the event of a Chair or Vice-Chair demitting office, the person elected to fill the vacancy shall hold the office for the unexpired period. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Principal Committees shall be eligible for re-election.

11 COMMITTEE FORUM

The Committee Forum shall be composed of members of the Principal Committees along with the office bearers. The Terms of Reference are as detailed in the Standing Orders of the Council.

12 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee shall consist of the Office Bearers and Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Principal Committees. If a Chair or Vice-Chair be unable to attend they should nominate another member of the relevant committee to attend in their place, the name of the nominated person must be intimated to the Secretary prior to the meeting.

The Executive may consider any matter submitted to the Council or referred to by the Council and make recommendations thereon. The Executive shall have plenary powers to conduct, on behalf of the Council, any urgent business which, in the opinion of the President (or if he/she is not available, the Vice-President) ought to be dealt with before the next meeting of the Council or one of its Principal Committees.

The Executive Committee shall have the right, by a two-thirds majority of its membership, to expel any member or organisation if it can be shown that such member was clearly working against the interests of the SAPC. They shall have a right of appeal to the AGM, whose decision will be final.

13 SUB-COMMITTEES

The Executive and the Principal Committees may appoint such sub-committees or working parties as it may from time to time decide and shall determine their composition, terms of reference, duration, duties and powers, subject always to the approval of the Council.

14 PRINCIPLES OF CO-OPTION

Each of the Principal Committees shall have the power and the responsibility to co-opt. Co-options shall be placed on the agenda of the first suitable meeting of the relevant Principal Committee. A co-opted member shall serve from the date of his/her co-option until the next Annual General Meeting at which the Principal Committees are reformed. Co-opted members may serve on only one Committee, shall have no voting rights within that Committee, nor shall they be eligible for an official position within the Council. Suggestions for co-option to the Principal Committees should be submitted by letter, fax or email to the Secretary of the relevant Committee 28 days prior to the meeting of the Committee concerned. (A fax or email must be supported by hard copy within three working days of receipt of the original fax or email.)

15 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held which will be the primary policy-making body of the Council. The notice calling the AGM shall be sent to all members. The Agenda shall include the reports from the Executive Committee, motions submitted for debate in accordance with the Standing Orders and a duly audited financial account. The Annual General Meeting of the Council shall be held not later than 31 October each year. The AGM following Local Government elections shall normally elect the following Office Bearers: a President, Vice-President and a Treasurer, who shall take up post from the end of voting.

16 FINANCE

Proper books of accounts shall be kept by the Treasurer who shall be responsible for advising the Council on all financial matters affecting the Council's activities. The Council may receive funds for general or specific purposes. Where funds are for specific purposes the Treasurer shall maintain accounts that demonstrate that the funds have only been used for that purpose.

Moneys received on behalf of the Council shall be paid into a bank account in the name of "SCOTTISH ACCIDENT PREVENTION COUNCIL" at a bank approved by the Executive Committee. Cheques drawn against the Council's account shall be signed by the Treasurer, the Secretary or, if over �1000, both approved signatories.

At each meeting of the Executive Committee the Treasurer shall produce a financial statement, in a readily understood form, showing the cumulative position and changes since the last statement.

The Executive Committee may authorise expenditure out of the Council's funds for the furtherance of the objectives of the Council.

In all cases travelling and out of pocket expenses shall be agreed by the Executive Committee before any expenditure is incurred. The Executive shall decide what items can be charged as expenses and at what rate. No expenses shall be given otherwise.

The Council�s financial year shall run from 1 April to 31 March. Those in membership of the Council shall pay an annual subscription of such amount as shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting and shall fall due for payment on 1 April. The Annual Accounts will be presented to the Council at the Annual General Meeting.

17 SECRETARIAT

(a)	The Secretary of the Council shall be an Officer of RoSPA, subject to the approval of the Chief Executive of RoSPA or his/her representatives.
(b)	The office of the Council shall be at the office of the Secretary.
(c)	The Executive Committee shall have the right to appoint secretaries to the Principal Committees.

18 MEETINGS

The Council shall meet as required, but at least once per year at the Annual General Meeting.

19 REPRESENTATION ON OUTSIDE BODIES

The Council may appoint representatives to other groups, such as RoSPA�s National Committees, when invited to do so. The Council reserve the right to determine the duties and powers of their representatives.

20 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of the Council shall not be amended except by resolution carried by a majority of two thirds of those present and entitled to vote at a Meeting of the Council. The terms of any proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be issued in full along with the notice calling any such General Meeting. Details of any proposed alteration to the Constitution shall be notified by letter, fax or email to the Secretary at least eight weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting. (A fax or email must be supported by hard copy within three working days of receipt of the original fax or email.) Such proposals shall be placed on the agenda of a meeting of the Executive Committee, to be held not later than four weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting.

21 STANDING ORDERS

The Council shall have power to draw up standing orders as it deems necessary.

22 DISSOLUTION

The Council may be dissolved by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at a General Meeting. Any outstanding funds shall only be spent on activities consistent with the aims and objectives of the Council and should be managed by RoSPA staff in Scotland.

STANDING ORDERS

Amended 14 November 2007

1 CONVENING MEETINGS

(a)	The dates of meetings of the Council and its Committees shall be determined by the Council. Each Committee shall have the right to change the dates of its meetings and set the times and places.
(b)	The dates, times and places of other meetings of the Council shall be determined by the Executive Committee. The President or the Vice-President shall have plenary power to convene a meeting if the matter to be decided cannot wait until the next scheduled meeting of the Council or Executive Committee.
(c)	If a requisition to call a meeting, signed by five members representing not less than three constituent organisations, is received by the Secretary a meeting of the Council, or the relevant Committee, shall be convened within 28 days and a summons to attend shall be sent to all members within seven days.
(d)	A summons to attend any meeting, stating the time and place thereof, shall be sent to every member of the Council or the relevant Committee. The summons will be sent to the members� designated address by post, or by email if requested, at least fourteen days before the meeting.
(e)	The appropriate secretary shall append to every summons for a meeting of the Council, or of a Committee, notices of all business of which notice has been duly given under Order 8 hereof, or the consideration of which has been deferred at a previous meeting.
(f)	The Executive and the Principal Committees shall each meet as often as required, but at least twice per year, as determined by that Committee. Any dispute about the frequency of meetings shall be determined by the Council.

2 CHAIR OF MEETING

(a)	The President shall preside at all meetings of the Council and its Executive Committee. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall preside and, if both are absent, another member shall be appointed to preside.
(b)	If the Chair and Vice-Chair are absent from any meeting, the Committee shall appoint another member to preside.
(c)	The Chair of a meeting shall have a personal vote, and in the case of an equality of votes, a casting vote.
(d)	The Committee Chair shall be an ex-officio member of all sub-committees and working groups which report to the Principal Committee, and hold full voting rights.

3 DUTIES OF THE SECRETARIES

(a)	To attend all meetings of the Council, or the Committees as appropriate.
(b)	To prepare minutes and reports by the Council, or its Committees, and circulate them to members as appropriate.
(c)	To receive and retain correspondence.
(d)	To sign notices and correspondence on behalf of the Council, or its Committees.
(e)	To assist members in their preparation and implementation of accident prevention schemes, where appropriate.

The secretaries of the Principal Committees shall pass approved copies of minutes of all meetings of the Committee, and sub-committees, and notification of any changes to representatives, including co-options, to the Secretary of the Council.

When new Honorary Members are accepted, the Secretary shall write to them asking them if they wish to receive notification of meetings.

4 MINUTES

(a)	The minutes of the proceedings of the Council, and of its Committees, shall be drawn up by the appropriate secretary (or his/her nominee).
(b)	A copy of the minute of each meeting of the Council, or its Committees, shall be sent to each member not later than the date of issue of the summons to attend the next meeting. Copies of all minutes of meetings of the Council and its Committees shall be approved at the next scheduled meeting of the Council, or Committee.
(c)	Copies of all meetings of the Council, and its Committees, shall be held by the Secretary for a period of five years and made available, upon request, to members of the Council.
(b)	The Minutes shall contain a record of those attending the meeting and those submitting apologies. The approval of the minutes and any conditions associated with the approval shall be recorded in the minutes of the following meeting. The minutes shall contain a record of any decisions made by the meeting. In the case of any confidential items that are discussed only the decision shall be recorded.

5 ORDER OF BUSINESS AT MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL

(a)	To record members present and apologies received.
(b)	To approve, as a correct record, the minute of the previous meeting.
(c)	To consider business arising from the minute.
(d)	To consider business remaining from the previous meeting.
(e)	To consider any business which the Chair has directed should be considered.
(f)	To consider correspondence.
(g)	To consider any urgent business approved by the Chair.
(h)	To decide date and venue of next meeting.

Items for the agenda of meetings of the Council and its Committees should be sent to the Secretary at least four weeks before the meeting. The Chair of the meeting may, with the consent of the majority of the members present and voting, give precedence to urgent business.

6 QUORUM

A quorum of the Council shall be a quarter of the members entitle to vote. A quorum of a Committee shall be a quarter of the members forming such a Committee. Members unable to attend a meeting of the Council or of any of its Committees are entitled to nominate a deputy to attend. If any meeting fails to achieve a quorum any matter requiring decision should be put to the next meeting.

In the event of two successive meetings of a Principal Committee of the Council failing to achieve a quorum, the Executive Committee may deal with the matters which would have been put before that Committee. An Extraordinary Meeting of the Executive Committee may be called if necessary.

7 VOTING

The right to vote at any meeting of the Council shall be held by all members of the Council. The right to vote at any meeting of the Committees shall be held by all members of that Committee. Voting at meetings of the Council and the Committees shall be on the basis of one vote per member present and entitled to vote, in the case of a tie the Chair shall have the casting vote. Voting on a motion may be a show of hands. Where a simple majority of those present and eligible to vote so request, it shall be by ballot.

8 NOTICE OF MOTION

Where appropriate, notices of motion may be accepted at any time at the discretion of the Chair.

Once a motion of which notice has been given has been put to the meeting and declared not carried, such a motion shall not be revived at that Committee within a period of six months.

9 CONDUCT OF DEBATE AT COUNCIL MEETINGS

(a)	The Chair shall decide all questions of order, relevancy and competency, and his/her ruling shall be final and shall not be open to discussion.
(b)	The Chair shall determine the order of speaking.
(c)	A motion or amendment shall not be discussed unless it has been proposed and seconded.

No member shall disregard the ruling of the Chair. If, in the opinion of the Chair, a member has consistently disregarded his/her ruling, he/she may request that the member be silent or leave the meeting. If either of the requests listed above are disobeyed, the Chair may suspend the meeting.

10 ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING

(a)	The Council may adjourn a meeting to any day or hour as it deems necessary.
(b)	The Chair may at any time, if he/she thinks it desirable in the interests of order, adjourn a meeting to any time to be named by him/her.
(c)	When a meeting is adjourned for more than ten working days, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be sent to each member, specifying the business to be transacted.

11 PRESS

(a)	Members of the Press shall be admitted to meetings of the Council and the Committees, provided that the Council or Committee, by resolution, may temporarily exclude members of the Press whenever it is considered desirable to do so.
(b)	(b) The business of the Council and Committees shall not be communicated to the Press otherwise than by the Secretary or by such persons appointed to do so.

12 ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS

The terms of office will be governed by local government elections. The election of Office Bearers will normally take place at the first Annual General Meeting after Local Government elections. Nominations of President, Vice-President, and Treasurer must be submitted by letter, fax or email and received by the Secretary not less than 28 days before the date of the Annual General Meeting. (A fax or email must be supported by hard copy within three working days of receipt of the original fax or email.) Both the proposer and the seconder shall be constituent but separate members of the Council or its Principal Committees. The nominee shall indicate in writing that he/she is willing to accept such office if elected.

The election shall be by ballot (if necessary). If more than two nominations are received for one office, voting shall continue until one nominee has obtained more than half the votes.

In the event of any of these Office Bearers demitting office before the completion of the period, the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall be elected by the same process and hold that office for the unexpired period remaining. If it is not suitable to call a meeting of the Council the election process will be carried out by postal voting. No Office Bearer, other than the Treasurer may be elected to the same office until a period of 12 months has elapsed. Persons appointed to serve an unexpired portion of a term of office, however, would be eligible for re-election.

13 EXECUTIVE COMMITTE

Terms of Reference

(i)	Co-ordinate the efforts and activities of the Council and its Principal Committees.
(ii)	Manage the finances of the Council and allocate funds as appropriate.
(iii)	Receive and consider reports from the Principal Committees and comment on their activities and performance.
(iv)	Organise the Council�s annual calendar of events.
(iv)	Promote the activities of the Council by the use of appropriate publicity, issue press releases and maintain contact with the press and broadcasting organisations.

14 COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL

(a)	The Home Safety Committee
(b)	The Road Safety Committee
(b)	The Water & Leisure Safety Committee

Terms of Reference

(i)	To consider home, road, water or leisure safety matters as appropriate.
(ii)	To report to the Executive Committee.
(iii)	To formulate SAPC policy in relation to relevant safety issues.
(iv)	To promote and foster appropriate safety activities in Scotland.
(iv)	To appoint such sub-committees as are deemed necessary and to consider their reports and recommendations.

(d) Committee Forum

(i)	To consider cross-cutting and general safety matters.
(ii)	To encourage co-operation between the Principal Committees.
(iii)	To report to the Executive Committee.
(iv)	To formulate SAPC policy in relation to safety.
(v)	To promote and foster safety activities in Scotland.
(vi)	To appoint such sub-committees as are deemed necessary and to consider their reports and recommendations.

15 COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

(a)	Each Committee shall consist of members, associate members and co-opted members.
(b)	Members shall either be registered members of the SAPC themselves, having paid the appropriate fees, or represent authorities or organisations which are so registered.
(c)	Associate members shall be representatives of those organisations with an interest and expertise in the relevant field of the Committee. Associate members will have voting rights on the Committee to which they are appointed. They may attend meetings of the Council but will have no voting rights. They may hold positions within the Committee but shall not be Office Bearers of the Council. A list of associate members will be held by the Secretary and reviewed annually.
(d)	Each Committee may co-opt up to four persons.
(e)	The size of the Committees shall be the number of nominated representatives. Co-options shall not count towards the size of the Committees.
(f)	Wherever possible, individuals should serve on only one of the three Principal Committees.
(g)	If a member of one of the Principal Committees demits office during the course of his/her term, the authority, board or organisation which he/she represents, are entitled to nominate a replacement to serve the unexpired period.
(h)	Attendance at meetings is vital to the work of the Council and, should a member of any Committee not attend three consecutive meetings of that Committee, the Chair shall have the right to contact the member concerned, and thereafter, the authority or organisation which he/she represents.
(i)	If a member continues to fail to attend meetings the Council shall have the right to remove them from the list of members and to seek an alternative representative.

16 CHAIR�S INVITATIONS

The Chair of a Committee shall have the right to invite any person to attend who can contribute by virtue of his/her experience or expertise to a particular meeting or agenda item, and may extend an invitation to the appropriate officers of RoSPA to attend on a regular basis.

17 SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

With the consent of two-thirds of those members present and voting, any of the preceding Standing Orders may be suspended, but only so far as concerns the business under discussion at the meeting.