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Visit Peak District & Derbyshire Constitution

Constitution and Operating Procedures

1. Purpose 
This paper summarises the constitutional and operating procedures for the Partnership and its Board. The Board will supplement or expand upon the points raised in this note in the future to meet its requirements.
 
2. Objectives 
2.1 The strategic objective of the Partnership is to foster the economic success of the tourism industry while enhancing the quality of life of local people and safeguarding the environment by providing drive and coherence to destination marketing and visitor services, by helping operators to maximise their effectiveness and profitability, and by championing improvements to the quality and scope of the tourism product.
 
2.2 Detailed objectives and priorities are specified in the annual Business Plan agreed by the Board.
 
2.3 The Partnership Board will oversee the strategic direction of the Partnership.
 
3. Status 
3.1 The Partnership is an unincorporated voluntary association of public sector and business sector partners. As such it has no legal entity in its own right. The legal obligations for employment; the receipt and accounting of funds and contractual matters will be undertaken on behalf of the Partnership by its ‘Accountable Body’. The Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce is the agreed Accountable Body for the Partnership under the terms of the Service Level Agreement agreed between the Chamber and the Partnership.
 
3.2 Any variation to the Accountable Body acting on behalf of the Partnership will be agreed by the Board.
 
4. Partnership Board 
4.1 Membership
 
The Board will comprise 15 Members, including:
  • One independently appointed chair from the private sector
  • Seven Local Authority Members:
  • One Member nominated by Derbyshire County Council
  • One Member nominated by Derby City Council
  • One District Council Member to represent South Derbyshire DC, Amber Valley DC (when they join the DMP), Erewash DC and the National Forest partners
  • One District Council Member to represent Chesterfield BC, Bolsover DC and North East Derbyshire DC (Historic Borders) 
  • Three Members to represent Derbyshire Dales DC, High Peak BC, Staffordshire Moorlands DC and the National Park (Visit Peak District Partnership)
  • Six private sector Members (comprising a mix from sectors of the tourism industry and a geographic spread of Peak District and Derbyshire)
  • One senior representative nominated by the University of Derby
  • One senior representative nominated by the Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce.
     
 
4.2 The local authority nominated representatives will be an elected member.
 
4.3 Substitutes
The local authority Members may appoint nominated substitutes to attend meetings on their behalf. Substitutes shall have full voting powers.  Each LA will make its own substitutes.
 
4.4 Advisors
The Chief Executive of the Partnership, both the Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Council and Chief Executive of the National Park Authority (to jointly represent the DMP Management Group) and a representative of East Midlands Tourism may attend Board meetings in an advisory capacity, but shall not have voting rights.
 
The Board shall appoint further advisors as required.
 
The DMP Management Group shall put forward any officer advisors for local authority Board Members as needed and who may attend but shall not have voting rights.
 
4.5 Term of Appointment
Members will serve for a period of two years and may be re-elected to serve for a further period of two years subject to approval by the Board.
There is no maximum period of office a Member may serve, but the Board shall take into consideration when renewing periods of appointment that there is an appropriate mix of representation, skills and interests of both local authority and business sector Members to represent the range of interests across the Peak District and Derbyshire territory as a whole.
 
4.6 Vacancies
Members shall give one month’s notice in writing to the Chair of their intension to resign from the Board.
A Member not attending any meeting for a continuous period of six months shall have his/her membership terminated by the Board (except for reasons of illness or other personal circumstances).

The Board may establish an Appointments Panel for the purposes of determining any new Members to the Board and the Panel may determine its own procedures for seeking and agreeing the appointment of new Members. The full Board shall ratify the appointment of new Members.

In the event of severe misconduct, the Board has the authority to suspend or terminate the appointment of any Member.
  
4.7 Sub committees/Panels
The Board and Chief Executive of the Partnership will be supported by a DMP Management Group and may establish any further sub committees or Panels and delegate to them, or any individual, such delegated powers at it sees appropriate.
 
The DMP Management Group will comprise the Chief Executive of the Partnership and senior officers to coordinate the arrangements with partner organisations in support of the Business Plan.
 
5. Procedures at meetings 
5.1 In the absence of the Chair, the first item of business at a meeting will be to appoint a chair from the Members present.
 
5.2 Decisions at meetings will be arrived at on the basis of consensus. Where items are put to the vote, decisions will be determined by the majority of votes cast with each Board Member having one vote. In the event of an equality in votes, the chair shall have an additional casting vote.
 
5.3 The Board shall agree an annual timetable of meetings. Notice of meetings together with agenda and supporting papers will dispatched seven days in advance of a meeting.
 
5.4 Minutes for each meeting will be maintained recording those present and decisions taken at meetings.
 
5.5 Special meetings of the Board may be convened on a matter of urgency by the chair, or at the request of three Members in writing, specifying the business to be considered.
 
5.6 The quorum for a meeting shall be one third of the total Members ie five Members for Board meetings and shall include at least one local authority Member and one Business Sector Member.
 
5.7 The decision of the chair on matters of procedure at meetings will be final.
 
5.8 Where a Member or Adviser has a direct prejudicial or direct personal financial interest in an item of business under consideration, they should declare that interest, not vote or be present whilst that item is under consideration, and the interest be recorded in the minutes. 
 
6  Conduct 
6.1 The Board will adopt the ‘Nolan’ principles for standards of conduct in public life regarding the conduct of business relating to the Partnership.
 
6.2 Whilst Board meetings will not be subject to the formal local authority rules on Access to Information (ie its meetings are not open to the press or public), the Board will conduct its affairs in a spirit of openness and transparency.
 
6.3 An Annual Report will be produced to report publicly on progress of the DMP to the tourism industry, to partner organisations and the general public. A presentation and meeting of the Annual Report can be arranged if required.
 
7. Finance, contractual matters and staffing 
7.1 The Chief Executive will submit proposals, for the Board’s consideration and approval, detailing an annual budget for the Partnership specifying heads of expenditure and sources of income including proposed contributions from partner organisations and staffing arrangements.
 
The budget period shall be 1st April to 31st March each year.
 
The proposed annual budget should be agreed by the Board in time for partner organisations to agree their financial contributions by no later than the end of December each year.
 
7.2 The Board shall determine what action it considers appropriate in the event of the DMP and a partner organisation failing to agree a contribution or if the DMP fails to deliver it’s targets.
 
7.3 The Chief Executive of the Partnership will be responsible to the full Board. His/her appointment, dismissal, or any disciplinary action to be taken against the Chief Executive will be subject to full Board approval.
 
7.4 The staffing of the DMP will be in the form of posts employed by the Accountable Body or by staff being seconded by agreement with partner organisations. The Board will approve pay levels/grades of all new appointments to the DMP in consultation with the Accountable Body.
 
7.5 All contracts will be entered into by the Accountable Body.
 
7.6  The Accountable Body will receive, disperse and account for all funds on behalf of the Partnership and shall maintain proper financial and accounting systems including any appropriate accounting arrangements required with partner organisations.
 
7.7 Board approval will be required for any specific items of expenditure identified in the approval of the Business Plan. The Chief Executive has delegated responsibility to authorise all other expenditure in furtherance of the objectives agreed in the annual Business Plan.