19. Committee Minutes: Guidance for Note-Taking and Writing

Note taking is a personal thing. The more you know about an issue, the shorter your notes are likely to be. You may find that your notes get shorter as you attend more meetings and get more used to the topics and areas that the committee discusses.  

A Committee secretary does not need to write down everything that is said in a meeting and minutes are not a verbatim (word for word) record.  

Try to concentrate on recording:

• Conclusions and decisions
• Actions and who is responsible for carrying the action out.

If you are the kind of person who prefers to write (or type) everything, there is nothing wrong with this approach but be aware that you are highly unlikely to need to record everything in the final minutes produced. 

Be alert to comments, especially from the Chair, which are accepted/agreed by the committee. A good Chair will help make decisions clear. Occasionally it may be necessary to ensure that a specific form of words are recorded for a particular decision, the Chair should make this clear if it is the case. Don’t be afraid to ask the Chair afterwards if you are unsure of the decision reached.  

Some minutes will only require a record of the decision.  

e.g. "After [extensive] discussion, it was agreed that ….”  

Some minutes will require a summary of issues raised in discussion rather than a summary of the discussion itself.  

e.g. "The following points were raised during the discussion…"

Some issues will require a full record of reasons for a decision.

e.g. financial matters, tender evaluations, decisions that require consensus, staffing issues

Generally, comments should not be assigned to individuals unless made in the context of their role. Therefore, it is usual for people to be referred to by their job title (or role on the Committee if speaking as the Chair or Secretary) rather than their name in the minutes.

e.g. “The Dean of the School of X confirmed that the laboratory for X was not fit for purpose” 
e.g. “The Chair informed the Committee that the budget for the project was £X”

Prepare a draft, send to your Chair for amendments/additions, and circulate as soon as possible following the meeting.