Standing Orders

Standing orders are the written rules of a local Council and are essential l to regulate the proceedings of a meeting. A Council may also use standing orders to confirm or refer to various internal organisational and administrative arrangements. The standing orders of a Council are not the same as the policies of a Council but standing orders may refer to them.

Local Councils operate within a wide statutory framework. NALC’s model Standing Orders incorporate and reference many statutory requirements to which Councils are subject. It is not possible for the model Standing Orders to contain or reference all the statutory or legal requirements which apply to local Councils i.e. it is not practical for model Standing Orders to document all obligations under data protection legislation. The statutory requirements to which a Council is subject apply whether or not they are incorporated in a Council’s Standing Orders.

The model Standing Orders do not include model Financial Regulations; Financial Regulations are Standing Orders to regulate and control the financial affairs and accounting procedures of a local Council. The Financial Regulations, as opposed to the Standing Orders of a Council, include most of the requirements relevant to the Council’s Responsible Financial Officer.

Standing Orders