Motion #06

Changes to SOC

Synopsis

This motion responds to support in the recent consultations by the Party Structure Working Group to increase the number of people in SOC and to split out its work into two different committees, one dealing with the constitution and one dealing with conference.

Motion

SOC notes: This motion will require a two-thirds majority to pass.

Constitution

Insert a new Clause 10 , reflect this in the page contents of the constitution and re-number the sections of the constitution accordingly

New Clause 10: Standing Order Committee

i) Standing Orders Committee. There will be a Standing Orders Committee (SOC) which shall be the final authority for the interpretation of the Constitution and Standing Orders for all parts of the Party. ii) The SOC shall consist of not more than five members elected every two years in the Annual Ballot using a single transferable vote ballot (not more than two of whom shall be members of the Regional Council). iii) Where there is a dispute about Standing Orders for the Conduct of Conference this shall be resolved by SOC.

Amend

Amend the following clauses of the existing Clause 10 to Amend [existing] Clause 10 iii) to replace references to the current SOC, where it is replaced by the Conference Business Committee (CBC), so it reads:

Amend [existing] Clause 10 ii) a) so it reads:

a) it shall be required to receive reports only from the Standing Orders Committee, Conference Business Committee, Policy Development Committee, and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee;

Amend [existing] Clause 10 iii) so it reads:

1. iii) Conference Business Committee (CBC). Conference shall elect a Conference Business Committee. (CBC) which will be responsible for the order in which resolutions are taken during the Conference, subject to the approval of Conference.

Amend [existing] Clause 10 iv) so it reads:

1. iv) The Conference Business Committee shall consist of not more than five members elected by Annual Conference (not more than two of whom shall be members of the Regional Council).

Amend [existing] Clause 10 v) so it reads:

v) Conference Business Committee will be responsible for compiling and maintaining a Record of Organisational Statements to include instructions made by Conference to bodies within the party. vi) The Conference Business Committee shall also carry out such duties as are provided for in Standing Orders for the Conduct for Conference

Amend [existing] Clause 17 ii) to add a reference to the CBC, so it reads:

ii) In all elections for SOC, CBC, Policy Development Committee, Campaigns Committee, International Committee, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Equalities & Diversity Committee, the Regional Council, and the Party Executive there will be an election, even when there are no more candidates than positions to be filled. In such an event provision will be made for negative voting, in a form to be decided by SOC from time to time, such that if any candidate receives more negative than positive votes such candidate shall not be elected.   Amend Standing Orders for the Conduct for Conference

Throughout SOCC change Standing Orders Committee / SOC for Conference Business Committee / CBC except as provided below.

Amend F5 so it reads

F5 SOC or CBC proposal of motions F5.1 Neither SOC nor CBC shall propose or second policy motions. F5.2 SOC may propose a motion or motions to amend the Constitution, and any other Standing Orders which are specified in the constitution as requiring approval and amendment by Conference and, if such a proposal is moved by SOC, individual members of SOC shall acquire the right to propose or second amendments to that proposal. However, individual members of SOC shall not acquire such right in respect of motions to amend the Constitution or other Standing Orders which are proposed by anyone other than SOC. F5.3 CBC may propose a motion or motions to amend these Standing Orders and, if such a proposal is moved by CBC, individual members of CBC shall acquire the right to propose or second amendments to that proposal. However, individual members of CBC shall not acquire such right in respect of motions to amend these Standing Orders which are proposed by anyone other than CBC. F5.3 Individual members of SOC and CBC may neither propose nor second motions or amendments to motions in the First or Final Agendas except as provided in F5.2 above or in F7 below. However, members of SOC and CBC may speak to such motions.

Amend F6.1 so it reads:

F6 SOC Report F6.1 CBC shall submit a Report with the Final Agenda. This Report shall be divided into sections covering: • The Final Agenda and Ordering of Motions for Conference; • A notification of how many motions and amendments have been ruled out of order and where these are published; • A report on CBC’s participation in the Agenda process including any motions or amendments that CBC is submitting to Conference; • Timetabling, chairing and other procedural matters affecting Conference including elections to be held at Conference, with the recommendations of CBC; and • A report by CBC of any changes that they have adopted to their Standing Orders.

Amend F7.2 so it read:

F7.2 CBC shall be responsible for ensuring that the Agenda of every Annual General Meeting shall include motions to accept the reports of the Party Treasurer, Executive, Co-chairs of Green Party Regional Council (GPRC), SOC, Policy development Committee (PDC), Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee (ADRC) and other governance bodies as required by the Constitution. If any such motions to accept reports have not been received by the due date from the appropriate Party Officers, the motion to accept the report shall be proposed formally by CBC from the floor of Conference.

The following clauses should not be amended so they remain:

H9.2 It shall be assumed for any count that a simple majority is needed, unless SOC advise that a two-thirds majority is needed. K1.7 SOC and the ERO appointed by SOC shall be responsible for carrying out any member ballots required by Conference as in Section L. L3 c) SOC will facilitate a democratic process to obtain a statement from members opposed to the motion. If more than one statement is proposed, then the statement that has the support of greatest number of valid members’ signatures will be accepted by SOC and the ERO as the statement against. L4. Vote The vote will be conducted by the ERO, who will agree a timetable and procedure with SOC. Voting papers sent by post should be distributed with other Green Party materials. If the ERO is a signatory of the motion to initiate a membership ballot, SOC will be required to select an acting ERO. M.3 Following any changes to governance bodies as agreed by Conference, SOC shall delete references to these and other bodies in these Standing Orders to reflect those changes, shall insert the names of the new bodies that have taken over their powers or duties, without recourse to Conference for prior approval. M.4 All corrections made by Standing Orders Committee outside of Conference will be published to members as soon as possible and will be reported to the next Conference as part of the Standing Orders Committee report. M5. SOC shall ensure that an example Local Party Constitution is drawn up and published, and may draw up and publish additional notes to guide Local and Regional Parties on constitutional matters.

Delete Appendix B Clause 4.2

Delete Appendix B Clause 4.2 and renumber

  Standing Orders Committee Standing Orders

1. Introduction These Standing Orders are intended to set out basic principles that should shape the way in which SOC makes decisions. It is in addition to the rules and procedures established in the Constitution. Should there be a conflict of interpretation between these standing orders and the Constitution then the Constitution takes precedence. These standing orders will be agreed at Conference from time to time via the SOC report.
2. SOC Convenor Within a week of the end of each Autumn Conference SOC will appoint a convenor. In the event of a vacancy SOC must appoint a replacement within a week. The SOC convenor is appointed, or removed by a vote of no confidence, by a minimum of three members of SOC, or a simple majority if there are less than five members of SOC. Within a week of their appointment following each Conference, the convenor must notify all members of SOC, the Conferences Committee Convenor, Policy Development Committee Convenor, the Green Party regional Committee (GPRC) Co-chairs and the Green Party Executive (GPEx) chair, of the time & place for meetings to discuss the first and final agenda for the forthcoming Conference. The Convenor will maintain a copy of these standing orders.
3. Principles of Decision-Making SOC will operate to the highest standards of accountability and transparency as regards decision-making. The key principles (in addition to those set out in the Constitution are): a) Decisions will always be in writing and make reference to the relevant sections of the party’s Constitutional documents or other relevant principles; b) Where possible decisions will be taken by consensus of all members of SOC; where this is not possible (except where stated otherwise) all decisions will require that both a majority of members voted and that a majority voted for the proposal; c) co-optees to the Committee will be allowed to vote but their votes will not count towards determining if either of the required majorities have been reached; d) All decisions shall be taken with the knowledge of each member of SOC or one its sub-committees where possible; e) Some decisions must be taken at one of the two meetings in (2) above. However it is recognised that there are times when it is desirable to take decisions in other ways.
4. Decisions That Must Be Taken at a Formal Meeting of SOC 4.1 a) The content of the SOC report b) Changes to these Standing Orders 4.2 All other decisions can be taken at either a formal meeting, by a discussion and vote on the e-list or by remote conference. The procedures for these are below. 4.3 Decision by E-list. The SOC Convenor will maintain an E-mail list (‘E-list’) to which all SOC members and the Returning Officer can post items and any Green Party member can join on a ‘read-only’ basis. SOC members must therefore ensure that the SOC Convenor has a current email address, contact number, or other means of contacting you. The SOC Convenor will have the sole discretion to determine whether an item is suitable for decision by E-list with the exception of a vote of no confidence in the SOC Convenor. Before doing so the Convenor should consider the complexity of the decision to hand and the ability to have a proper discussion via the E-list. Generally, it is anticipated that prior to a request for a formal decision by email, a discussion about the issue will have taken place on the E-list and this will assist the Convenor in reaching his/her decision. Once the Convenor has decided to use the ‘E- List Green Party Standing Orders for the Conduct of Conference Revised Autumn 2021 list’ they should post a simple email covering each decision to the list stating in the subject ‘DECISION BY XX/YY/ZZ ON [SUBJECT]’. In the text of the email the Convenor should explain the decision to be made, make the relevant references to the Constitution and confirm the deadline for a response. The deadline for response should be no less than 48 hours. Further, if the deadline is less than 72 hours the Convenor should attempt to alert the SOC members of the vote by the fastest means possible taking into account the accessibility requirements of the particular members of SOC at the time. Members of SOC should vote by simply replying to the list ‘FOR’ ‘AGAINST’ or ‘ABSTAIN’. 4.4 Decision by Remote Conference Notice of a remote conference should be published on the SOC E-list along with a note of the business to be discussed during the conference at least 24 hours in advance of the remote conference. SOC may invite relevant people to participate in the conference. Requests from members to ‘listen in ’ will normally be accepted. However, such members have no automatic right to actively participate in the discussion. Minutes covering decisions taken, the reasons for them, and votes cast will be circulated by the Convenor (or a person nominated by the Convenor) on the E-list within 24 hours of the end of the remote conference. So that a contemporaneous record is kept of these conferences, when the Convenor posts the minutes onto the E-list he/she will do so by invoking the ‘E-list’ on a proposal to accept the accuracy of the minutes.
5. SOC Rulings SOC will receive requests for rulings from time to time. SOC should refrain from issuing rulings based on vague and hypothetical situations since this could lead to the application of rulings out of context.
6. Emergency Business - Suspension of Standing Orders If all members of SOC agree, these standing orders can be suspended for the purposes of a particular decision. However specifically business covered by 4.1 above cannot be discussed whilst these standing orders are suspended.
7. Changes to these Standing Orders 7.1 These Standing Orders can only be amended at a formal meeting of the Committee. 7.2 These Standing Orders will be agreed at Conference from time to time, but no loner than annually, via the SOC report.
8. The SOC Report The SOC Report should contain the following: (a) Rulings made and the reasons for them (b) A list of the decisions made by E-list and Remote Conference