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Guide for Committee Chairs

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Introduction

The powers and responsibilities of the Chair of a Croquet England Committee are defined in two documents, which are published in the governing documents section of the public website:

These documents are working documents and are updated from time to time. They can be rather daunting to those not familiar with them, so this guide attempts to provide you with a route map to key areas.

The Standing Orders were updated by the Board of Trustees in August 2024. The Practice Book was updated and approved by the Executive in October 2024.

Committees are encouraged to meet as frequently as necessary to conduct their business, either face-to-face or by video conference (PB 8.2 & 8.4). They are required to meet at least once a year but shorter more frequent meetings are stongly encouraged (PB 8.2). Transparency in all decisions needs to be paramount and Chairs are required to ensure that all decisions are documented and that minutes are published expeditiously (PB 8.16-8.19). Appropriate publicity should be given to key matters.

Please let the Secretary know of any errors or omissions and ask for clarification if needed, if only to help your successors.

Overall Management and Reporting Structure

The Constitution of Croquet England provides that the charity trustees shall manage the affairs of Croquet England Charitable Incorporated Organisation (the CIO) and may, for that purpose, exercise all the powers of the CIO. Clause 18 of the constitution provides that the Board of Trustees may delegate any of their powers and functions to an Executive and to Committees appointed by that Executive.

The Board of Trustees has delegated the day-to-day operation of the Organisation to the Executive, including the authority to execute financial transactions and to implement policies.

The Executive has defined the names and membership of the Standing Committees and has defined their procedures and responsibilities. Section 8 of the Practice Book lays out the repsonsibilities and procedures that are applicable to all committees, including guidance on attendance, quorums, agendas, minutes and reporting. Section 9 of the Practice Book gives the specific role and responsibilities of each committee.

Every committee is assigned to an Executive Director with whom they should work closely. The committee reports to their Executive Director who acts as a two-way conduit with the Executive. Committees. They have a degree of autonomy and are empowered to act without reference back unless the decision they intend to take contradicts established policy or procedures, involves expenditure exceeding agreed budgets or may have an impact on the work or responsibilities of Croquet England as a whole or on another committee. (PB 8.8)

The Practice Book allows for exceptional circumstances: "Exceptionally, the Chair of a Standing Committee may take such other action within the scope of the committee as the Chair considers necessary in the interests of Croquet England. Such action should be reported to committee members and the relevant Director as soon as practicable, and certainly within seven days." (PB 7.6)

The Executive normally meets ten times a year (via a video conferencing platform) and the Secretary to the Executive or the responsible Executive Director may request that written reports are supplied in advance of an Executive meeting. Issues concerning policy or requiring endorsement should be sent to the Secretary to the Executive, for distribution to the Executive, at least 10 days before the meeting.

Committee Membership

The Chairs of each committee are formally appointed by the Executive at its first meeting following the AGM (PB 7.4), having been proposed by the responsible Executive Director (PB 7.8).

Designated Committee Chairs, in liaison with their Executive Director, propose the members of their committee (PB 7.6), for ratification by the Executive, up to a maximum of 7 (PB 7.6) (except for the Coaching Committee, because it may include the Federation Coaching Officers and representatives of the Academies) (PB 7.15).

The office and the Secretary should be informed of any membership changes when they happen, so that the database (which feeds the committees page on the website) can be updated.

The Practice Book specifies the quorum for meetings as at least half the number of members currently appointed or co-opted to serve on it (PB 7.11) and gives the conditions for teleconferences and any decisions taken by the Chair after an email discussion. Each Committee must ensure that its decisions and minutes are recorded (PB 7.17-7.24).

Procedure at committee meetings is set out in the Practice Book (PB 8.1-8.10).

Committees are encouraged to appoint a Vice-Chair, both to deputise and assist the Chair when required, and with a view to succession (PB 8.9).

A Standing Committee may, with the approval of the responsible Executive Director, co-opt individuals of appropriate experience to serve on the committee, either to fill any vacancies in the 6 appointed members or to serve a particular purpose. Co-opted members may serve until the following AGM (PB 7.11)

Committee chairs can serve for a maximum of 4 years in succession, save in exceptional circumstances (PB 7.8).

Committee Responsibilities

Each committee has a set of general responsibilities stated in the Practice Book (PB 8), as well as specific responsibilities. In addition, they can be tasked with other things by the Board of Trustees or the Executive.

All Committees have an obligation to ensure that Croquet England's commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to safeguarding are applied to all its strategies and actions. (PB 8.1)

Among the general responsibilities is the preparation of lists of the committee's objectives and plans, along with preparing income and expenditure budgets for the forthcoming year and longer-term forecasts on the request of the Treasurer (PB 8.7).

Meetings of the Committees are summoned by the Chair, who is responsible for ensuring that an agenda is circulated to all Committee members and to the responsible Executive Director 3 days before the meeting and published on the website at least 24 hours before the meeting commences (PB 8.15). Agendas should include specified standard items (PB 8.16)

Committees are responsible for appointing their own minutes secretaries (PB 8.17).

The relevant Executive Director, the Secretary and the Operations Manager should be informed of committee decisions expeditiously, and minutes and new or updated procedures should be published on the website, normally within 4 weeks of the meeting (PB 8.20).

Communication and Record-Keeping

Committees are responsible for appointing a member of the committee to keep their website presence up-to-date (PB 8.24) and to communicate with Individual Subscribers and Affiliate Clubs through that, The Croquet Gazette and eNews. Anything that may be regarded as sensitive or contentious should first be discussed with the relevant Executive Director (PB 8.20).

The Practice Book requires a list of significant decisions taken during the past 12 months to be sent to the Secretary by 1 September for possible inclusion in the general list of significant decisions and its extract, which are available as a source of precedents (PB 8.21).The date the decision was taken and reference to the relevant minute should be stated.

There is a Zoom presentation on Website training for Committee Chairs that features Eugene Chang and Dave Kibble and has explanations as to how to use Zoom and how to use and edit the website.

A number of guides have been written regarding the use of the Croquet England website. These include:

Financial Matters

Section 11 of the Practice Book sets out the Budget Process and Expenditure Approval.

The delegations policy identifies which groups or individuals have authority to take decisions, spend money or otherwise make financial commitments on behalf of Croquet England.

Standing Committees are asked by the Treasurer to submit their budget for the following calendar year, and forecasts for following years, each autumn.

Committee members can claim travel expenses for attending physical meetings. Other expenses should fall within agreed budgets and be accompanied by receipts wherever possible.

The Office

Although the office may be able to help with some of your committee's activities, its resources are limited and, except in a few specific instances, the Operations Manager does not have a specific responsibility to do so. Please consult the Chief Executive Officer before making requests for significant assistance.

Complaints and Volunteer Grievance Procedures

Croquet England's procedures are specified in the Complaints Procedure and the Volunteer Grievance Procedure.

Checklist for Incoming Chairs

The following is offered as a checklist of actions for someone taking over as chair of a committee:

 

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