The National Association of British Market Authorities Rules

1. CONSTITUTION

(i) The title of the Association is the National Association of British Market Authorities. (ii) Any local or public authority in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands, possessing Market Rights and powers of control of Markets, Fairs, Abattoirs or Cold Stores, shall be eligible for membership of the Association. (iii) Any local or public authority as defined in (ii) above which has become a member of the Association shall be represented at any of the Association’s meetings or Conferences by elected members, officers and other authorised representatives of that authority.

2. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Association shall be as hereunder: (i) To facilitate communication between Members and others, and between the Association and Departments of the Government and other public bodies on matters of common interest affecting the administration of markets, fairs, abattoirs or cold stores and matters incidental thereto (ii) To take such action as may be deemed desirable in the public interest

(a) in promoting or opposing new legislation; (b) in amending existing legislation; (c) in regard to the administration of legislation, relating to markets, fairs, abattoirs, cold stores, and matters incidental thereto:

(iii) To protect the interests, rights and privileges of Members by agreed or common action (iv) To promote and encourage a high standard of administration of market undertakings (v) To obtain and circulate to Members such information as my appear conducive to the advancement of the objects of the Association.

3. INTERPRETATION

Throughout these rules, the expression “Member” means a local or public authority which is a member of the National Association of British Market Authorities and does not include a person.

4. MANAGEMENT

The Management Board as defined in Rule 5 shall be responsible for the general management and operation of the Association except where a matter of urgency arises and, in such circumstances, the provisions of Rule19 shall apply.

5. MANAGEMENT BOARD

(i) The Management Board will comprise the President, President-Elect, Vice-President, Immediate Past President and the Chairs of the Forums referred to in Rule 6 together with three members elected to represent the interests of the Authorities within each of the subscription bandings relating to Unitary/Metropolitan and District Councils together with one member representing the Town/Parish Councils. (ii) In the event that one or more of the Forum Chairs hold office as President, President-Elect, Vice-President, Immediate Past President the relevant Vice-Chair shall serve as a member of the Management Board. (iii) The Management Board shall meet as often as necessary. (iv) The President shall act as Chair of any meetings of the Management Board.

6. FORUMS

(i) The Association shall establish the following Forums

(a) Retail Markets Section Forum (b) Wholesale Markets Section Forum (c) Livestock/Public Abattoir and Cold Stores Section Forum

(ii) Forums shall consider matters relating to their Sections and take such action thereon as authorised by the Association’s Annual General Meeting or Management Board as appropriate. (iii) Any Member, having under its control that section of the market undertaking which is the concern of a particular Forum, shall be eligible to attend any meeting of that Forum. (iv) Each Forum at its first meeting shall appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair who shall hold office up to and including the next Annual General Meeting. (v) Forums shall meet as often as is necessary (vi) The President, President-Elect, Vice-President, Immediate Past President shall be ex officio members of all Section Forums

7. WORKING GROUPS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVE GROUPS

(i) The Association’s Annual General Meeting or Management Board as appropriate shall have power to appoint Working Groups and other Representative Groups as may be deemed necessary for the conduct of the business of the Association. (ii) Any such Group established under this paragraph will only deal with such business referred to it and shall submit a report thereon, if required, to the Annual General Meeting or Management Board.

8. VOTING

At all meetings of the Association each Member shall be entitled to one vote only. The President, President- Elect, Vice-President, Immediate Past President shall not be entitled to vote except as representatives of Members qualified to attend the meeting except that the Chair of the meeting shall be entitled to a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.

9. NOTICE OF MEETINGS

At least ten clear working days notice of all meetings, except the Annual General Meeting, of which at least eight weeks’ notice shall be given.

10. MINUTES

The minutes of the proceedings of the Meetings of the Association shall be circulated to all Members within ten working days.

11. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

(1) The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held each year to deal with business of which notice shall be given (2) The President shall act as Chair of any General Meeting of the Association

12. SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS

The President shall be empowered to convene a Special General Meeting of the Association for the consideration of urgent business and shall convene such a meeting on his own initiative or upon receiving a requisition signed by not less than ten of the Members of the Association

13. PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT-ELECT AND VICE- PRESIDENT

(i) Progression to the position of President to the Association shall normally be through the successive offices of Vice-President and President–Elect (ii) The Annual General Meeting shall approve a person for the office of Vice-President and that person shall hold the office of Vice-President until the next following Annual General Meeting, when he or she shall succeed to the office of President-Elect (iii) The President-Elect shall succeed to the office of President at the next following Annual General Meeting

14. OFFICERS

The Association shall engage such Officers as are deemed necessary for the efficient conduct of the Association’s business and enter into such other contracts as are appropriate. Arrangements in respect of the engagement of officers and contracts shall be the responsibility of the Management Board.

15. SUBSCRIPTIONS

(i) The subscriptions of each member shall be in accordance with a scale to be determined by the Annual General Meeting from time to time and shall be payable in advance on the 1st April in each year (ii) Any Local or Public Authority admitted to membership shall be liable to payment for a full year’s subscription for the year during which application is made unless otherwise determined by the Management Board (iii) Any Member may resign upon notice and the subscription due from that Member shall be payable to the 31st March following the date of such notice of resignation (iv) The membership of any Local or Public Authority whose subscription is two years in arrears as shown by audited accounts shall be terminated without prejudice to the Association’s right to recover such arrears

16. ACCOUNTS

A statement of the audited Accounts of the Association shall be prepared and submitted to the Annual General Meeting each year and to the Management Board preceding the Annual General Meeting.

17. MINUTES

The Chairman of the meeting shall move “that the minutes of the previous meeting held on be signed as a correct record”. If the accuracy is not questioned the Chair shall sign the Minutes.

18. ALTERATIONS OF RULES

No amendment, addition or rescission of these Rules shall be made except at an Annual General or Special General Meeting of the Association. Notice of any proposed amendment, addition or rescission shall be submitted at least twenty eight working days before the date of the meeting at which such amendment, addition or rescission is to be proposed, and details of such notice shall be set out on the Agenda for the meeting.

19. URGENT ACTION

(i) The Association will delegate one of its officers to act, in consultation with the President or President-Elect, Vice-President or immediate past President and the appropriate Committee Chair, or Vice-Chair when the Chair is not available, on behalf of the Association in cases of urgency and to implement general policy. (ii) Where an urgent decision is required as indicated in the previous paragraph the Officer will consult with the Association’s other officers and appropriate officer advisers and present any views that they might have on the particular matter in question at the time the consultation referred to in the previous paragraph takes place. (iii) Any financial expenditure incurred under these provisions shall be limited to £2,500 or such other sum as from time to time may be determined by the Association’s Annual General Meeting. (iv) Where the Officer has acted in accordance with these provisions he will formally report such action to the first available meeting of the Management Board.