Northern Dorset Local Action Group

Northern Dorset Local Action Group

Terms of Reference – 1 July 2015

NOTE: This document adheres to RDPE 2014 – 2020 LEADER Guidance Note GN101, Governance arrangements for Accountable Bodies and LEADER Groups version 1.0, June 2015.

Amendments:

If you have any questions or need further advice please contact the Dorset LEADER Programme Team.

The Local Action Group is the partnership responsible for the Local Development Strategy under the authority of the Accountable Body. It has responsibility for the leadership, implementation, monitoring and review of the Local Development Strategy, and is responsible for taking all major decisions affecting its successful delivery, including decisions on the allocation of funding to projects to achieve the LDS objectives. Members are volunteers and operate under a set Terms of Reference.

The Accountable Body is responsible for delivery of the programme on behalf of the LAG, holds itself responsible for successful conclusion of the programme, and undertakes to ensure that financial propriety and compliance is observed in its management of the programme. The Accountable Body is also responsible for personnel, accountancy and administrative services to the LAG and the programme. It must carry out its responsibilities in accordance with the National Operations Manual.

1. Duties

1.1The Accountable Body will:

• Enter into Funding Agreement with Rural Payments Agency Rural Delivery (RPA RD)
• Prepare and submit annual Delivery Plans and Attestation Reports
• Ensure that as many sectors of the community as possible can contribute to the delivery of the Local Development Strategy (LDS)
• Provide advice and technical support to LAG on RDPE policies and processes, and in particular advise the LAG on issues of eligibility and compliance, including conflicts of interest
• Provide advice and support to project applicants to enable them to submit eligible applications for funding which meet the LDS priorities and objectives
• Process applications for funding, and undertake appraisals of them, with volunteers and contracted appraisers
• Ensure that projects selected for support
• Meet eligibility criteria (subject to RPA RD confirmation)
• Fit with the priorities of the LDS
• Undergo a transparent and compliant application and selection process
• Enter into Grant Funding Agreements with approved projects, incorporating appropriate conditions in accordance with decisions made by the LAG
• Manage projects’ performance against their funding agreements
• Undertake project visits to verify progress and ensure compliance
• Process grant claims and present these to RPA RD for authorisation and payment
• Maintain project and programme records to audit standards, and make these available for audit as required
• Prepare regular progress and financial reports to the LAG and RPA RD
• Employ and manage LAG Programme staff, and provide secretariat for meetings
• Incur eligible expenditure for Running Costs and Animation, and submit quarterly claims in arrears

1.2The Local Action Group will:

• Develop and agree the Local Development Strategy (LDS)
• Recruit a wide range of LAG members, reflecting the makeup of the area and the priorities of the LDS
• Conduct its business in a compliant manner, acting on the advice of the Accountable Body on legal and technical issues as necessary
• Promote bidding opportunities, with clear selection criteria, to all potential applicants in the LAG area
• Select and prioritise projects according to their contribution to the LDS objectives and targets
• Monitor the implementation of the LDS, and review as necessary
• Make effective links with other key organisations within and outside the LAG area
• Approve projects with funding levels, outputs, timescales and any conditions
• Approve the Annual Delivery Plans

LAG Sub- GroupsThe Local Action Groupdelegates its decision making powers to an Executive Committee.

2. LAG Membership

2.1The LAG will comprise members of the public, private, community and voluntary sectors, ensuring that it represents a broad range of interests across the area. Membership should reflect both the area’s geographical extent and its sectoral composition.

2.2Members do not have to have to live in the area of benefit, but must have knowledge of the area or of the sectors that we support. Organisations working across the area but located outside it may join the LAG as “advisors” but without voting rights.

2.3There must be more than 50% representation from the private/voluntary sector on the LAG and on any decision-making group. No more than 49% of the members on any group awarding funding may be from the public sector or from any single interest group e.g. farming or tourism.

2.4Members must identify whether they represent themselves, as individuals, or are representing an organisation when they join the LAG.

2.5Recruitment to the LAG will be primarily by open advertisement. Co-option of members is permitted to achieve geographical, sectoral or demographic balance in the membership. Partner organisations are invited to nominate a named representative.

2.6Members engaged in activity related to their position on the LAG must comport themselves appropriately and respectfully in relation to other LAG members, programme staff, applicants and members of the public. Inappropriate behaviour may result in exclusion from the LAG at the discretion of the Chair. All members will be required to sign the Code of Conduct at the beginning of their membership.

2.7Relevant training and background information related to responsibilities associated with Local Action Group membership will be made available to any members requiring this.

2.8We will hold three LAG meetings a year at different venues around the LAG area to promote networking, monitoring and evaluation of the programme and projects and to carry out the core business of the LAG, as follows:

• Spring Meeting; Monitoring and evaluation:
• the programme and setting targets for the next year’s delivery plan
• projects through presentations and feedback from project holders
• Summer Meeting; visits to projects and social event
• Autumn Meeting; Election of Chair and LAG representatives to Executive Committee and project presentations

2.9Election of LAG Chair and Representatives

2.91Six LAG members are elected to the Executive Committee. Two are these are the LAG Chair and vice-chair and four are ordinary members. The Election will take place at the Autumn meeting each year. 15 working days before the meeting the Programme Manager will issue the agenda for the meeting and an invitation for registered LAG members to put themselves forward as candidates. Candidates put forward their names and supporting information 5 working days before the meeting.

2.92At the meeting candidates will be invited to introduce themselves and outline their experience, aptitude and rationale for wanting to take the posts. Where there are more than the required number of candidates votes will be cast anonymously through paper ballot. Where insufficient candidates have come forward members with appropriate skills and experience can be co-opted onto the committee.

3. The LAG Executive Committee

3.1The number of voting members should not exceed 20.

3.2Expertise in the following areas should be represented by at least 1 member:

• Rural Business
• Tourism
• Forestry and /or Farming
• Community
• Voluntary Sector
• Culture and Heritage

3.3The LAG Executive Committee will include six elected representatives of the LAG. See Section 2.9 for arrangements concerning the election of LAG Representatives.

3.4The LAG Executive Committee will include voting representatives nominated by partner organisations, including up to six public sector partners, which includes the Accountable Body:-

• Dorset County Council, the Accountable Body
• North Dorset District Council
• East Dorset District Council/Christchurch Borough Council
• West Dorset District Council
• Dorset Association of Town and Parish Councils
• Federation of Small Businesses (Dorset)
• Dorset Cultural Partnership
• National Farmers Union (Dorset)

3.5An additional officer of the Accountable Body may attend meetings in an advisory capacity.

3.6If representing an organisation, Executive Committee named members may nominate one official substitute who may vote on their behalf. The substitute may be an officer of that organisation, who may attend meetings in an advisory capacity if not substituting for a named member.

3.7The Chair and vice Chair are elected by the LAG at their Autumn meeting. See Section 2.9 for arrangements concerning the election of LAG Representatives.

3.8Executive Committeenamed members shall be appointed for one year, with an option to extend for a further year, if not an elected representative. Thereafter, all members will be invited to re-apply to the LAG, alongside an open recruitment process.

3.9Executive Committee meetings will be held every eight to twelve weeks, unless cancelled by the staff team by giving 7 days notice. Meetings will take place in a central location within the LAG area. A calendar of meetings will be agreed each year for the next twelve months.

3.10Regular attendance at meetings is required. Non-attendance for more than 3 consecutive meetings may result in loss of a place on the Executive, at the discretion of the Chair.

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4. Process for dealing with Expressions of Interest

4.1 Where an EoI is eligible a strategic fit assessment will be undertaken by a member of the Programme Team. The assessor will make a recommendation then submit the form to the Accountable Body representative (Programme Manager or Compliance Officer) for review before the LAG’s decision-making group makes its decision at a meeting or by written procedures.

4.2 Where there is no quorum or no clear, majority decision under written procedures, the decision will be deferred to the next meeting of the LAG’s decision-making group.

4.3 An assessor and /or decision-maker undertaking a review of an EOl is expected to register any conflict of interest as soon as they are aware of it. See Conflict of Interest Policy. If this occurs the Programme Manager will immediately assign another team member to undertake the review.

5. Process for dealing with Challenge Calls

5.1Where competitive calls for projects are issued applications will be submitted to a call deadline. All Challenge Applications will be appraised after the deadline, sifted by the Programme Manager and prioritised according to the selection criteria and call specification.

5.2Recommendations will be submitted to the LAG Executive Committee who will invite the most relevant project(s) to submit a full application.

6. Conduct of Business

6.1The administrative arrangements for all LAG meetings will be undertaken by the programme staff team from the Accountable Body.

6.2The agenda is drawn up by the programme staff in consultation with the Chair of the LAG. Any registered LAG member can request an item to be added to the agenda, at the discretion of the Chair. The programme team circulate the agenda and papers, electronically,five working days before each meeting or 15 working days before an election meeting.

6.3The programme staff team record decisions and will publishdraft minutes within 10 working days of a meeting. Minutes will be approved by the Chair at the next LAG meeting. Unrestricted meeting papers will be available through the Members section of the LAG website. Agendas and approved minutes will be available on the public section of the website.

6.4Late business may be introduced by tabling papers with the approval of the staff team in conjunction with the Chair or Vice Chair of the LAG.

6.5LAG members who are directly involved or have a direct interest in any application submitted will declare an interest and take no part in the consideration of the application unless invited by the Chair to respond to questions pertaining to the application. If members represent an organisation which has an involvement in an application, but that organisation will not receive any financial benefit, representatives should declare an interest but can participate fully in the consideration (See also the Code of Conduct).

6.6Decisions will be by a majority of those present. The Chair or Vice Chair has a casting vote.

6.7The quorum for meetings will be one third of voting members, as long as no single interest group or public sector members are more than 49% of those present.

7. Decision making

7.1The programme staff team will attend LAG Meetings to provide information. Information for meetings should be sufficiently detailed to allow informed decisions to be made. Information should include:

• Details of projects to be approved
• Quarterly financial statement on overall spend on all projects and core cost spend
• Quarterly statement on achievement of outputs, outcomes, targets, milestones
• Notification of significant gaps in achievement of objectives, spend or outputs
• Notification of significant problems on funded projects

7.2The LAG’s recommendation as to whether a Full Application should be approved or rejected can only be decided at a meeting of the LAG Executive Committee. Written procedures, by email,are only accepted in exceptional circumstances, such as

• Circumstances beyond the control of members prevented the full quorum attending a meeting
• Due to technical difficulties members were unable to receive all the necessary evidence to help them make a decision in time for the meeting

Written procedures can be used as part of the decision – making process for an Expression of Interest.

If written procedures are used a full record must be kept if why written procedures were permitted, how the information was circulated and to whom, who responded and how the response was checked for quoracy and any conflicts of interest. The response should be received by the Programme Team within 10 working days.

7.3Named Members and Official Substitutes attending in place of the named members are entitled to vote, by show of hands, except where disallowed in accord with paragraph 6.5. Decisions will be by a majority of those present. The Chair or Vice Chair has a casting vote.

7.4Views and decisions of the LAG will be recorded by the staff team and signed by the Chair at the beginning of the following meeting.

7.5Decision notices and offers of grant will be made by the Accountable Body, which will, where appropriate, have the ability to refer a matter, or elements thereof, back to the LAG for further consideration.

7.6Information on successful Grant Awards will be reported through the LAG’s website, local press and social media.

8. Dealing with requests for variations to Grant Funding Agreements

8.1The LEADER programme guidance states that decisions can be made by the LEADER Project Manager (usually the Programme Manager), the LAG Chair or the LAG’s decision making body. Occasionally a project needs a quick response to a request which may fall outside the meeting schedule.

8.2Where a decision is made by either the LAG or the LAG chair, these decisions are delegated to the LAG chair. Where there is a Conflict of interest or the chair is unavailable, the vice chair

8.3Where a decision must be made by the LAG these will be made at LAG Executive Committee Meetings, except in situations where a quick response is required and there is no imminent meeting scheduled. On these occasions the decision can be made by written procedures, subject to any declarations of interest.

9. Appeals Procedures

Any applicant who has a concern about the way in which their application has been handled should write in the first instance to the Chair of the Local Action Group who will notify the complainant of any action that they propose to take in relation to the appeal within 10 working days.

Applicants can ask the LAG to review a decision if they think that:

• The decision was based on an error of fact;
• The decision was wrong in law; or
• The LEADER group made a procedural error.

Applicants must make this request within 60 days of receiving any decision.

9. Variance to Terms of Reference

The Terms of Reference for the LAG will be reviewed annually by the Accountable Body and the LAG, and they may vary or add to these Terms of Reference by agreement with the RPA.

SignedName

DatePosition: Chair

On behalf of the Northern Dorset Local Action Group

SignedName

DatePosition

On behalf of Dorset County Council(the Accountable Body)

NDLAG TOR 2015 v4.026/01/2017 1