Rural Services Partnership

The group shall be known as the Rural Services Partnership hereinafter called “The Group”.
It will operate as a simple unincorporated partnership.
Subject to 7 below the group will be open to bodies directly and/or indirectly supporting or providing in whole or in part service to the most rural areas of England.
The term most rural area would equate to at least one of the areas meeting the criteria for automatic membership of the SPARSE Special Interest Group of the Local Government Association. Membership would be open to both local and national service providers but on a foreseen basis of three local service providers to every one national service provider.
Membership will be predominantly for public sector service providers but private sector service providers shall also be invited to be members of the group when the group determines to extend invitation to them.
To ensure a good cross section of service operation the group will not normally give membership to more than 10 service providers from a particular service unless the group or any body authorised to make decisions on its behalf specifically decides otherwise.
The group may give specific authorisation for a sub or core group or to its officers to make decisions on its behalf.

All group members shall unless specifically excluded from such payment pay the subscription set from time to time.

A financial year for the group shall run from 1st April in one year to 31st March in the next.

The group shall ensure it has a Secretary, a Treasurer and an Auditor.

The group shall have one annual meeting in every year announced as its annual meeting, the date, time and venue of which will be given at least one month before it takes place to all members by the Secretary.
Voting at meetings shall be by a simple majority.
An agenda for the annual meeting shall be sent out by the Secretary to all members at least seven days before it takes place.
The annual meeting shall consider (a) annual accounts (b) the auditors report (c) the election of a Chairman and Vice Chairman (d) delegations (e) the amount of the annual subscription (f) an annual report on its activities.
The emphasis of the work of the group will be on (a) networking (b) establishing the added value for the community in joint working and/or commissioning (c) examining and sharing best practice (d) research (e) lobbying usually from a base informed by research outcomes.
The group shall have a bank account administered by the Chief Officer who shall have been its Treasurer. The bank mandate will allow either the Chief Officer/Treasurer or the Secretary to sign cheques on behalf of the group.
It is envisaged that the group will work in conjunction with the Local Government Association Special Interest Group SPARSE and there shall be at least one annual meeting between the two groups and any decisions taken at this meeting which will be by simple majority of those present with the intention of reporting back and discussing at the next available meetings of both groups.
The agenda for the Sparse and Rural Services Partnership meeting shall be circulated by e-mail to members of other groups for their information. The group shall present its annual report on its activities to Sparse, the Local Government Association, DEFRA, ODPM and the Commission for Rural Communities.