4. Committee Secretary Role and Guide for Good Practice for Chair and Members

Secretaries should support the Committee Chair and members in transacting the business of a Committee and will often need to act in consultation with the Chair.

Secretaries will normally have the following responsibilities:

• Maintenance of membership and circulation lists.
• Maintenance of the Committee Team, including agenda, papers and minutes for previous meetings.
• Maintenance of Board Intelligence shelf, agenda and minutes for those committees where it is used.
• Maintenance of up-to-date terms of reference (subject to approval by any parent committee).
• Ensuring relevant committee webpages are up-to-date.
• Maintenance of a briefing document for new members of the committee and provision of training/guidance for new members, including access to BI and relevant training.
• Making arrangements for meetings, including timing, venue and hospitality (where not already set through the Schedule of Meetings).
• Broad knowledge of the working of the committee including relevant statutes, ordinances, regulations, codes of practice and procedures including acting as a source of advice on such issues.
• Promotion of the business of the committee, including facilitating and co-ordinating procedures which are the responsibility of the committee.
• Agendas – responsible for seeking items from committee members, drafting of the agenda, and some committee papers, in consultation with the Chair.
• Circulation of papers for meetings.
• Attendance at meetings and producing minutes and reports of meetings to other committees or individuals.
• Proactively ensuring that decisions and actions are followed up in a timely way.
• Secretaries should read and understand Committee papers and proactively seek out missing information and edit papers where necessary. This may require liaison with the paper writer and secretaries should check with the paper writer if the paper is unclear or requires further editing. It is important to ensure that the action specified in the paper matches the meeting agenda. 

A Chair:

• Promotes and supports the committee's aims and objectives (does not pursue their own agenda).
• Plans committee meetings and agenda in collaboration with committee secretary and where appropriate key stakeholders such as the Head of a relevant Professional Service.
• Attends all meetings and keeps an ongoing awareness of committee work and related matters between meetings.
• Chairs the meeting fairly and impartially, introduces agenda items but does not dominate discussion nor allow individual members to dominate. Where appropriate, introduces speakers and invites relevant members to comment on agenda items, whilst ensuring that debate is not unnecessarily long. Draws discussions to a clear and timely conclusion on each item.
• Reports to committee members on developments and decisions that affect the work of the committee.
• Facilitates members' active participation and effective decision-making.
• Approves minutes and reports of committee meetings before their distribution.
• Approves urgent and non-controversial matters on the committee’s behalf between meetings.
• May be involved in the selection and appointment of new members and assists with their induction. 

The characteristics of a good Chair include:

• Good listening and communication skills, including a willingness to listen to ways in which meetings can be improved.
• Fosters an inclusive environment by respect for all members and encourages participation and engagement. Has an understanding of the diverse experiences and perspectives of different Committee members.
• Impartiality together with a firm but flexible and facilitating focus upon achieving the aims of the meeting.
• Ability to summarise discussion fairly and succinctly to ensure that all present accept and are clear about what has been decided.
• Ability to gain consensus and avoid unproductive dispute. Willingness to exert authority when necessary but in an appropriate manner.
• Tenacity in ensuring follow-through. 

The characteristics of a good committee member include:

• Good listening and communication skills.
• Prepares for meetings by reading papers and engages with relevant points prior to meeting.
• Attends all meetings and keeps an ongoing awareness of relevant Committee actions between meetings.
• Bring their own expertise and experience to the meeting while respecting the views of others.
• Fosters an inclusive environment by respect for all members and an understanding of diverse experiences and perspectives.
• Willingness to challenge and act as a critical friend while working in a constructive manner to ensure the business of the Committee is fulfilled.