The following working arrangements have been adopted by the Forum in accordance with the Regulations, which provide for each Access Forum to determine its own proceedings (save as provided for in Regulations 6, 7, 8 and 10). In the event of any inconsistency between the Regulations and these working arrangements, the Regulations shall take precedence.
5.1 The first meeting of each annual season of the Forum will usually be held in November, although the Forum can agree to vary the season if necessary. The Forum must hold at least two meetings every year and usually holds three meetings each year.
5.2 At its first meeting of each annual session the Forum members shall elect from amongst their number a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman to hold office for that annual session. In selecting the Chairman and Vice-Chairman the Forum should seek (so far as is reasonably practical) to maintain a balance between the various interest groups represented on the Forum. Members of the appointing authorities should avoid offering themselves to these posts if possible.
5.3 In accordance with Regulation 6(8) a member of the Forum who is directly or indirectly interested in any matter brought up for consideration at a meeting of the Forum must disclose the nature of his or her interest to the meeting.
5.4 Meetings of the Forum will be open to the public, other than in the exceptional circumstances defined in Section 7(7) of the Regulations. At the discretion of the Chairman of the meeting observers or members of the public may be invited to participate in discussions on specific agenda items. In accordance with the Regulations a person exercising the right of admission to a meeting of the Forum may be excluded from a meeting to suppress or prevent disorderly conduct or other misbehaviour at a meeting.
5.5 A quorum of at least 8 members must be present at the start of each meeting.
5.6 If neither the elected Chairman nor the Vice-Chairman of the Forum is able to attend a quorate meeting the members present shall choose one of their number to chair the meeting.
5.7 The agenda for each meeting will be prepared by the Secretary in accordance with guidance provided by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, who will jointly ensure that all Forum members have an opportunity to identify any issues they wish the Forum to consider at a given meeting.
5.8 As appropriate, reports for each meeting will be prepared by members of the Forum, officers of the appointing authorities or representatives of other bodies or interest groups.
5.9 The agenda and any available papers for a meeting of the Forum will be distributed to members a maximum of 10 but not less than 5 working days in advance of the meeting.
5.10 In accordance with Regulation 7(3) and (4) copies of the agenda for a meeting of the Forum and copies of any report for the meeting shall be open to inspection by members of the public at the offices of the appointing authorities at least 3 clear days before the meeting except for the limited circumstances set out in Regulation 7(4) (a) and (b).
5.11 An item of business may not be considered at a meeting of the Forum unless either [a] the requirement to make documents available for inspection by the public has been complied with; or [b] by reason of special circumstances, which must be specified in the minutes, the chairman of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.
5.12 The Forum will seek to achieve a consensus position wherever possible. If the Chairman of the meeting feels that a formal vote should be taken on any specific proposal it will be conducted by show of hands and on a simple majority vote basis. In the event of a tied vote the Chairman of the meeting will exercise a casting vote. Where appropriate the advice issued by the Forum should acknowledge relevant minority viewpoints.
5.13 Minutes of each meeting will be prepared by the Secretary and made available to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman for comment within 15 working days of the meeting and distributed to all members within 25 working days of the meeting. It is important that the Minutes capture the range of views expressed during each discussion and by whom, and clearly identify points on which it was agreed that further work should be undertaken including an action sheet.
5.14 The Regulations require that certain documents relating to the work of the Forum must be open to inspection by members of the public at all reasonable hours at the offices of the appointing authorities for 2 years. If a member of the public would like to see such documents, they can contact the Secretary (DLAF Coordinator).
5.15 Members will establish working groups investigating specific issues/areas of work as and when required, on behalf of the wider Forum. These groups may undertake their work either by meeting in person and/or by email. These groups will make suitable recommendations to the Forum either between or at the next convenient meeting, depending on the nature and timetable of the work. These groups will present a written report to Forum meetings detailing working group membership, issues considered, work in progress, recommendations and outcome.
5.16 On some occasions consultation exercises - or other requests for advice from the Forum's S94(4) bodies - may call for a Forum response to be issued in between meetings of the Forum. In such cases the Chairman [or in his/her absence the Vice-Chairman] will ensure that all Forum members have an opportunity to contribute, and then authorise a response on behalf of the Forum. Consultation responses prepared under this provision will be reported to and ratified at the next full meeting of the Forum.
5.17 The Secretary for the Forum is provided by Dorset Council.
5.18 The Dorset Council will reimburse the reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred by members in attending Forum meetings.
5.19 The Forum will prepare an annual report on the discharge of its functions, using the Forum Annual Review Form, as prescribed by Defra and Natural England. That report shall be published by the appointing authorities. It is at the discretion of the Forum whether they choose to produce and publish an additional annual report in another format.
