The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society

Helensburgh & District Branch

Constitution & Rules

May 2019

 

 

Approved by AGM, Thursday 17th May 2019

Secretary: Mrs Irene Smith
Socair,
Portincaple,
Argyll
G84 0ET
Tel: 01436 810 336
e-mail: secretary@rscds-helensburgh.org.uk

Recognised as a Scottish Charity – No. SC024747

THE ROYAL SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE SOCIETY
HELENSBURGH AND DISTRICT BRANCH

CONSTITUTION

1.NAME

1.1
The name of the Local Association shall be “The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Helensburgh and District Branch” (hereinafter called “the Local Association”).

2. ASSOCIATION WITH THE ROYAL SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE SOCIETY

2.1
The Local Association is an autonomous body consisting of :-
a) members of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (hereinafter called “the Society”).
b) Associate members of the Local Association.

3. OBJECTS

3.1
The objects of the Local Association shall be to advance the education of the Public in the area of Helensburgh and District in traditional Scottish country dancing and in furtherance :-
a) To preserve and further the practice of traditional Scottish Country dancing;
b) To provide, or assist in providing, instruction in the dancing of Scottish Country Dances;
c) To promote the enjoyment and appreciation of Scottish Country Dancing and Music by any suitable means;
d) Generally to do such other things as are, or may be considered by the Local Association to, further the foregoing objects of the Society in the local area.

4.MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

4.1
Membership of the Local Association shall be open to all persons interested in the objects of the Local Association. Persons over the age of 16 may choose to become a member of the Society. Any member of the Local Association who has attained the age of 18 must be a member of the Society. Only such members as have attained the age of 18 shall have the power to vote

4.2
Persons under the age of 18 may become associate members of the Local
Association and the privileges accorded to such associate members shall be regulated from time to time by the Committee of Management.

4.3
The rates of subscription for Members shall be such as may be determined from time to time by the Local Association in General Meeting.

5. OFFICE BEARERS

5.1
The Office-Bearers of the Local Association shall consist of the Chairman, the Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Assistant Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer, and the Youth Coordinator who shall all be elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Local Association in the manner hereinafter provided.

5.2
The Chairman shall hold office for one year and on completion of his / her year of office shall be eligible for re-election.

5.3
The Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Assistant Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer, and the Youth Coordinator shall hold office for one year but shall be eligible for re-election.

5.4
The Committee of Management shall have power to appoint an Interim Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and/or Youth Coordinator to fill these vacancies occurring between Annual General Meetings but any office bearers so appointed shall serve only until the next Annual General Meeting when he/she shall be eligible for election.

5.5
The Local Association may appoint an Honorary President and Honorary Vice-Presidents. These appointments shall be made following a recommendation from the Committee approved in General Meeting.

6. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT

6.1 Memberships / Meetings

6.1.1
The affairs of the Local Association shall be administered by a Committee of Management, (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) composed of the Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Assistant Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Youth Coordinator, any other office-bearers appointed (including the President and Vice-Presidents) and 9 ordinary members.

6.1.2
The title to all property, heritable and moveable, acquired by, or on behalf of, the Local Association shall be vested in the Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer of the Committee for the time being ex-officis.

6.1.3
The ordinary members of the Committee shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting of the Local Association. On completion of his / her year of office an ordinary member shall be eligible for re-election to the Committee.

6.1.4
All members of the Committee must be members of the Local Association and be at least 18 years old.

6.1.5
The members of the Committee of Management are the charity trustees as defined in The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.

 

6.2 Powers and Duties of Committee.

6.2.1
A Quorum of the Committee shall be five members.

6.2.2
The Committee shall have power to constitute Sub-Committees on an adhoc basis either from its own membership or by co-opting other members of the Local Association and entrust them with such duties as it considers necessary for the efficient working of Local Association affairs. Such co-opted members shall not have voting powers.

7. DUTIES OF OFFICE-BEARERS

7.1 Chairman.

The Local Association Chairman is the executive officer of the Local Association. He/She shall preside at Local Association Meetings and at meetings of the Committee. In the absence of the Chairman from a meeting a chairman shall be appointed from among those present. The chairman of any meeting, whether a Local Association or Committee meeting, shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote.

7.2 Honorary Secretary.

It shall be the duty of the Honorary Secretary to see that regular meetings are held, to conduct the correspondence of the Local Association, and to keep proper minutes of such meetings. Additionally the Honorary Secretary shall :-

a) Prepare an annual report of the activities of the Local Association during the preceding year. Prepare a Trustees’ Report for OSCR
b) Keep a register of Members of the Local Association.

7.3 Honorary Assistant Secretary.

It shall be the duty of the Honorary Assistant Secretary to assist the Honorary Secretary in the general administration of the Branch as directed by the Honorary Secretary.

7.4 Honorary Treasurer.

It shall be the duty of the Honorary Treasurer to receive, bank and account for all monies collected by whatever agency from members of the Local Association or from other sources. Additionally the Honorary Treasurer shall :-
a) Cause proper account books to be kept and ensure that the annual accounts of the Local Association are properly examined or audited as required by law and in accordance with the regulations laid down by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
b) Make the annual Local Association accounts available for inspection at reasonable times and present the accounts for adoption by the Local Association at the Annual General Meeting.

7.5 Youth Coordinator.

It shall be the duty of the Youth Coordinator to Register with the Central Registered Body in Scotland as the Lead Signatory for the Association and to ensure that the Association complies with the requirements of the latest edition of “The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act” and any other associated legislation.

8. LOCAL ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

8.1
a) The Annual General Meeting of the members of the Local Association shall be held within six months after the end of its financial year, at such place and at such time as may be determined by the Committee.
b) All members shall be given 14 days written notice of a General Meeting. Every notice shall contain a statement of the business to be discussed at the meeting.
c) Members under the age of 18 may attend, and with the permission of the Chairman, speak at a General Meeting but may not vote.

8.2
The order of business at an Annual General Meeting shall, as nearly as may be, be the following :-

a) Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting and of Special General Meetings, if any, held in the course of the preceding year.
b) Honorary Secretary’s Report on the preceding year’s working of the Local Association.
c) Honorary Treasurer’s Report and Accounts.
d) Appointment of Office-Bearers, and Committee.
e) Motions
f) Any other competent business.

8.3
A special General Meeting may be called at any time by the Chairman or shall be called on a requisition signed by not less than one-tenth of the membership of the Local Association entitled to vote when such membership does not exceed 500. Where membership of the Local Association exceeds 500 a minimum of 50 or one sixteenth, whichever is the greater, of the membership entitled to vote sign a requisition calling a Special General Meeting.

8.4
One-quarter of the membership entitled to vote or twenty-five members of the Local Association entitled to vote, whichever shall be lesser, shall constitute a quorum.

8.5
The Local Association in General Meeting may enact such rules (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) as it may determine for the proper working of the Local Association.

9. FINANCE

9.1
All monies raised by, or on behalf of, the Local Association shall be applied to further the objects of the Local Association and for no other purpose: provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent payment in good faith of reasonable and proper remuneration to any employee of the Local Association and fees to professional and technical advisers: or the payment to members of the Committee of reasonable out of pocket expenses.

10. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF MEMBERS

10.1
The Committee may suspend temporarily or terminate the membership of any person whose conduct is in their opinion prejudicial to the interests of the Local Association. Suspension or termination shall not alter the rights or status of the person concerned as a member of the Society.

10.2
Before suspending or terminating any person’s membership, the Committee shall notify in writing the person concerned stating the reasons for the proposed suspension or termination and giving that person the opportunity of replying and of appearing before the Committee, if the member so wishes, to seek revocation of the suspension or termination.

10.3
The person whose membership has been suspended or terminated shall have the right of appeal at a Local Association General Meeting when a two-thirds majority of those present and entitled to vote shall be necessary to confirm the suspension or termination.

10.4
Where suspension or termination has been confirmed as in 3 above, the matter shall be notified to the Society.

11. DISBANDMENT

11.1
Notice of intention to disband the Local Association shall be given to the Secretary of the Society at least two months before the date proposed for such disbandment.

11.2
If the Local Association is to be dissolved, thee winding up-process shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, and shall require a motion passed by the Local Association in General Meeting which shall have received the vote of not less than two-thirds of the votes cast.
In the event of the dissolution of the local Association, any assets remaining after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall not be paid to, or distributed among, the members of the local Association, but shall be given or transferred to a recognised charitable body or bodies with similar purposes, with the approval of the appropriate bodies dealing with Scottish charities. The archives and records in whatever medium shall be deposited as a historic record with appropriate Scottish institutions existing at the time of dissolution. This also shall apply to any particular memorabilia of the Local Association. The Committee, whose members were in office in the year of dissolution, shall demit office as Trustees of the Local Association only when this process is completed.
Reference in this constitution to the Charities and Trustee’s Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 should be taken to include;
a) any statutory provision which adds to, modifies or replaces that Act.
b) any statutory instrument issued which in pursuance of that Act or in pursuance of any statutory provision falling under (a) above.

12. REPRESENTATION IN THE SOCIETY

12.1
Subject to any restrictions on numbers and any procedures contained in the Society’s constitution, the Local Association, in General Meeting (which failing, the Committee) may appoint a delegate or delegates, all of whom shall have attained the age of 18, to attend a general meeting of the Society and represent the Local Association at such meeting. In the event of a nominated delegate being unable to attend such meeting, an accredited substitute, who shall also have attained the age of 18, shall be allowed.

13. ALTERATION OF CONSTITUTION

13.1
The Constitution of the Local Association shall only be altered by Resolution passed by the Local Association in General Meeting and only after receiving the vote of not less than two-thirds of the members present and entitled to vote. No alteration shall be made which would have the effect of causing the Local Association to cease to be recognised by the appropriate authority as a Scottish charity. Any change to name, purpose, amalgamation or winding up requires the prior consent of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)

14. GENERAL

14.1
The Local Association shall be governed in accordance with this Constitution and with Rules made by the Local Association in General Meeting.

 

THE ROYAL SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE SOCIETY
HELENSBURGH AND DISTRICT BRANCH

RULES

1.The Financial Year of the Branch shall be from 1st April of one year to 31st March the following year.

2. The General Meeting of the Branch shall be held during May and preferably the second Thursday in May.

3. Each Branch member shall be sent a notice of the date of any General Meeting, an Agenda and a copy of the minutes of the previous General Meeting, but anything done at such Meeting shall not be invalidated by non-receipt of such notice calling the Meeting.

4. The Chairman elected in General Meeting shall normally hold office for a second year but no member so elected shall hold office for more than two years consecutively and one year ex officio as Past Chairman.

5. A Chairman Elect shall be proposed for election at the AGM immediately prior to the AGM at which they will be Proposed for election as Chairman, and shall be a voting member of the Committee for that year.

6. The Honorary President and Honorary Vice President(s) shall be eligible to vote at any Committee Meeting at which he / she is / they are in attendance.

7. The tenure of office of ordinary Committee Members shall normally be no more than three years consecutively however a Committee Member may be re-elected should there be no other nominees to fill committee vacancies. In the event of a Committee Member resigning/dying the committee of management may co-opt a member of the Local Association onto the committee until the next AGM.

8. The official classes operated by the Branch shall be agreed in General Meeting. The Committee shall determine annually the duration of classes, the fees payable by members and the fees payable to teachers and musicians.

9. All Motions for discussion and/or voting on at the AGM must be lodged with the Branch Secretary 6 weeks before the AGM or by the date stated in the Notice calling the Meeting, whichever is the earlier.