Motion #18
The Constitution (10xii) reads:
The role and organisation of the Conferences Committee shall be set out in the Conferences Committee Standing Orders, which shall be prepared by the Committee and subject to the approval of Conference.
This motion asks Conference to approve the Standing Orders for Conferences Committee as prepared by the Conferences Committee, as per Section 10 of the Constitution of the Green Party of England and Wales.
Standing Orders for the GPEW Conferences Committee
A. Constitutional definition of the Conferences Committee.
The Conferences Committee is defined in the GPEW’s constitution 10 (ix-xiv).
ix) There shall be a Conferences Committee, responsible for Party Conferences and for assisting in the organisation of other conferences to be held by the party.
x) The aim of the Conferences Committee shall be to provide Autumn and Spring Conferences which meet a wide range of needs for the party and members, offer a wide range of activities, and attract a wide range of members. This encourages participation and empowers members to make decisions for the Party. In general, the Committee shall hold successive Conferences at different locations to facilitate attendance from the range of Regions.
xi) The Conferences Committee shall comprise:
(a) five members elected at the Annual Party Conference to serve until the end of the following Annual Conference, with vacancies to be filled by election, or by co-options by the Committee to be ratified, at an intervening Conference. To be eligible for nomination for election, such members shall have attended at least two Party Conferences, including one in the current year. These may include the Conference at which they are nominated.
(b) one member of the local party covering the location of the next Conference, nominated by the local party, to serve until the end of that Conference.
(c) any additional members co-opted by the Committee for particular purposes. Additional members shall not vote at meetings of the Committee.
xii) The role and organisation of the Conferences Committee shall be set out in the Conferences Committee Standing Orders, which shall be prepared by the Committee and subject to the approval of Conference.
xiii) The Conferences Committee shall be entitled to send a representative to meetings of the Executive, who shall be accorded the right to speak and make proposals, but not to vote. xiv) The Conferences Committee shall provide a report to each AGM and Spring Conference and also any extraordinary conference.
B. Conferences Committee Standing Orders
Within four weeks of the end of each Autumn Conference, Conferences Committee will appoint a Convenor. In the event of a vacancy, Conferences Committee must appoint a replacement at the following meeting. The Conferences Committee convenor is appointed, or removed by a vote of no confidence, by a simple majority of the elected members.
The Conference Manager is an employee of The Green Party and the job description is appended to these Standing Orders.
The role of the Conferences Committee is defined in the GPEW’s Constitution as to be “responsible for Party Conferences and for assisting in the organisation of other conferences to be held by the party.” The Conferences Committee will work closely with the staff Conference Manager to provide Autumn and Spring Conferences which meet a wide range of needs for the party and members, offer a wide range of activities, and attract a wide range of members. This encourages participation and empowers members to make decisions for the Party. In general, the Committee shall hold successive Conferences at different locations to facilitate attendance from the range of Regions and Wales. All Conferences will include a method of online participation for remote members. It will be the role of the Committee to include all feasible access provisions, including but not limited to British Sign Language interpreters, palantypists, and easy access to any stages used.
Meetings of the conferences committee The Conferences Committee shall conduct business through discussions in regular online conference calls, telephone, email, or any other method agreeable to the committee members.
Decision making The conferences committee shall seek to reach decisions by consensus where possible. If consensus does not seem achievable, then a decision may be taken by majority vote of elected members; in this case, if the votes for and against a proposal are equal, the convenor may have a casting vote, even if they have already voted on a proposition.
Agendas for, and reports from, meetings The Conference Manager shall be responsible for preparing the agenda for each meeting and for writing a report (minutes) of the meeting. Either of these tasks may be handed over to another member of the Conferences Committee or any other Party member by agreement of the committee.
Conferences Committee email list The Conference Manager shall be the administrator of the committee’s email list, unless the conferences co-ordinator and committee agree otherwise. Discussions will normally take place on this email list although they may take place by any other means that the committee agrees is acceptable.
Availability of these standing orders Once agreed by Conference, these standing orders and any changes to them shall be posted to the appropriate section of the members’ website. They shall also be drawn to the attention of candidates for election and made available to newly elected members of the conferences committee within 14 days of their election.
Superiority of the GP Constitution If there is a discrepancy between these standing orders and the provisions of the Green Party’s constitution, the constitution shall have priority.
Note from SOC: The below text is out of order
Appendix 1 Job Description of the Conference Manager. RESPONSIBLE TO : Conferences Committee Convenor and the Chief Executive Officer. tbc