Civ com meetings

Civilian Committee
21

I’m going to stand with the OC at this point. We have our meetings on sqn nights I don’t want my staff to attend the committee meetings on mass and it’s nothing to do with snobbery or the like but if all the staff are at the meeting who’s with the cadets?

What I do is the staff can speak to me about ideas that they want to discuss with the committee and then once we agree and clarify everything on what they are suggesting then I have them come in and discuss with them at the next meeting.

However, when our civ comm are down at the sqn they do go and talk to the staff members individually and interact with them not as a committee but as a friend/colleague so they know who each other are and can talk about anything with out needing a formal meeting to interact. Also if we have a staff night out then the civ comm is invited too as they are part of the staffing team of the sqn.

22

In Scotland the civ comm all need PVG/DBS.

23

A lucky one, maybe.

My unit does OK and generally only has a functioning civcom about 50% of the time - frequently we’re just down to having a chairman and treasurer.

24

MatB, if you only have a Chairman and a Treasurer, who takes the minutes of the meeting? At the moment our Chairwoman has just resigned so we will need to appoint a new Chairperson. As we are sharing the Treasurer position, it would make sense for one of us to do it but our Committee is very fragile at the moment as we have had 4 meetings and nothing is getting done. I am quite pro active and like to get things moving, and I think we have a few lazy folk on that think things will happen by themselves. If the Committee ends up with just a Chairman and a Treasurer, is it still a functioning Committee?

25

This is the issue with volunteers that the ivory towers seem to forget. You get what you get, sometimes the pool is very small.

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26

Thank you

27

I have a very good working relationship with my committee. I will attend meetings but sometimes only for the parts relevant to the management of the Squadron depending on other commitments - if they are organising a fundraising activity etc I do not need to hold their hands all the time.

My committee meet every 6 weeks and on parade evenings where I a available and we have the space to do it. It was suggested to do other evenings so no cadets but the members didn’t like the idea so it was not carried.

If my staff have a suggestion or need funding they come in and discuss it, but apart from that its the committee and myself otherwise there are too many distractions. We also appoint a cadet representative who can have a direct input with feedback etc from the cadets.

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28

A Cadet representative is a fantastic idea!!!

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29

Which, I happen to know, the ACO lost and was forced to step down and eat humble pie.

No. You need to have at least the three officers to be lawfully correct. You also need to demonstrate a quorum. But having said that Wings and Regions flaunt that irrespective. So it comes down to whether you know your legal responsibilities (check out the Charity Commission website as a start) and how far you wished to be personally exposed in being responsible.

In terms of meeting night, everyone is a volunteer so as long as the practicalities allow, then being on the same night allows the CO to drop in for 15 minutes and report activities to/ask for without losing another night.

A cadet representative is a great idea indeed, but doesn’t remove the need to operate correctly.

33

Deleted off topic ramblings from a madman. Don’t feed the troll.

3 Likes
35
36

I think that they get around the minutes problem by simply not having meetings.

I’ve said it plenty of times before - I think that a civcom is (other than the fact that we’ve made the regulations such that we HAVE to have one) a nice-to-have. I’m sure that many units have great ones that bring plenty of value, but plenty more are either fairly neutral or completely absent, and thus an additional admin burden on the staff.

I can’t see what roles they do that can’t be done by staff.

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37

Not sure if you can answer this… our Chair resigned over the phone to me and then came into the Squadron and I asked her if she would stay on the Committee and she said no. This was said in front of two other people. Since then we have not heard from her. I did say to the CO I was not sure what she was doing and I was just going ahead and getting things sorted and arranged and he said that was fine. So, are we now doing things illegally or are we still okay since she hasn’t sent a letter in saying she was resigning? I do not want to be doing things that I shouldn’t or the rest of the Committee too.

38

One more quick question please, with regards to the Bank Statements, do they go to the Treasurers home address or to the Squadron? Our CO wants them to go to the Squadron and wishes to open them but we are not sure this is right?

39

They go to the treasurer not the squadron, or if they go to the squadron they go in a committee in tray or something.

As for minutes anyone can take minutes. But only those that are present at the meeting they pertain to can propose or second.

40

The CO has no reason to receive or see bank statements but will of course be aware of funds from the Treasurer’s statement at Civcom meetings. It isn’t some great secret, but it is charitable money for which you and not the staff are responsible as trustees.

The proven (if distasteful for some) model is that the Civcom owns the trainset and is responsible for maintaining it and keeping it running, but the CO gets to decide who uses it, when and how.

As a charity, your civcom is an independent support mechanism for the squadron, sharing its objectives and aims.

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41

Financial independence and responsibility for charitable money and assets that are forbidden to be controlled by uniformed staff under Queen’s Regs.

42

It should be clear that the Committee has the responsibility for the Charity not the OC or the ACO, and therefore as Treasurer, the bank should use his/her particulars. Under Charity Law, the Treasurer is a Trustee and therefore accountable and cannot then hide behind the coattails of uniformed personnel.

And signatories for cheques could be two of three Trustees (but NO staff), although I found that Banks will pass cheques with only one signature, but if you use online banking, you would tend to limit access - having only the Treasurer with access is logical but he/she should fully understand the legal implications.

I think you could do well to read and understand the guidance available from the Charity Commission, none of which is embodied in ACP10 or ACP11. There might be one or two surprises which even your Wing Chair wont tell you about.

If you look at Scotland where all ACO Charities have to be registered with OSCR, you will find Trustee details recorded, except for some Wings, but then the ACO is not good at interpreting rules.

Interesting that your Squadron has been operating for two years without a proper Civcom- who has been managing the money then?

And as for meetings it seems logical that the Civcom would meet on a parade night. In Summer where there is scope for outdoor activities room should be available,and assuming sufficient staffing, the OC would be available to attend, being on site. Sparing him/her time and of course as parenst are Civcom members it will save them time and travel. It is not as if Civcom meetings are last minute affairs.

And of course on a parade night it gives the Civcom chance to see the fruits of their fundraising efforts.

But as a Committee, it can chose to meet anytime any place, and if the business at hand does not involve the OC, then date and time does not necessitate convenience on that count - but essentially you work together for the benefit of your Cadets.

Teflon mentioned the Squadron Associations This has been imposed on what we had before - we have Associations to which parents are members by virtue of subscription; the Association elects a Committee to manage the affairs of the Association, and from that Committee, some or all will act as Trustees of the Charitable funds - but as Rumpole said, you should have at least three. But none of this includes staff, uniformed or otherwise, if ACP11 is to be believed.

This arrangement is self contained and supposedly independent and the ball is now in your court.

43

Are we subject to Queen’s Regs any more?

2 Likes
44

It might be worth contacting your Wing Chair. In the absence of a Chair, they ‘should’ sit on the committee, but they will be able to support you through all the queries you currently have on here, including letting you know your min and max numbers.