A. Name

1. The Group shall be called SWINDON TENANTS VOICE (STV) and will comprise volunteer tenants and leaseholders of Swindon Borough Council.

B. Aims and Objectives

1. To bring together tenants & leaseholders to provide them with a voice and to promote their interest in working in partnership with their landlord, Swindon Borough Council, to improve housing services.
2. To give tenants and leaseholders the opportunity for full discussion on matters affecting the management of their homes with members and officers of the Council and any other relevant organisations.
3. To nominate members of STV to serve on the Housing Advisory Forum and other relevant task groups and working parties.
4. To identify all areas where tenants may be able to influence decisions made by the Council.
5. To nominate ‘Link Tenants’ to work with various members and officers of the Council on specific tasks.
6. To encourage and promote new and existing forms of tenant participation in the management of their homes.
7. To share ideas about good practice with other tenant groups throughout the country to bring about an improvement to services provided in Swindon.
8. To promote the interests of all Swindon Borough Council’s tenants and leaseholders, and to assist in maintaining good relations between all members of the community.
9. To promote Swindon Borough Council tenants’ and leaseholders’ rights and the maintenance and improvement of housing.
10. To work towards the elimination of all forms of discrimination that tenants and leaseholders may experience, encouraging all members of usually excluded groups to participate in The Group.
11. STV shall be non-political.
12. To ensure that the Tenant Participation Agreement is reviewed annually.

C. Membership

1. Membership of STV is open to all Swindon Borough Council’s tenants and leaseholders regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation.  
2. STV upholds equal opportunities and works for good relations with all the community.
3. Membership will be conditional on signing and adhering to STV’s code of conduct.  (Attached as an Appendix)

D. Officers of the group

1. STV shall elect the following officers from amongst its members:-

Chairperson

Duties:-  The Chairperson will:-

• Be the official spokesperson for STV
• Chair meetings
• Set the agenda for meetings in conjunction with other officers of the Group and the Housing Participation team
• Provide a report at the A.G.M. on how the objectives of the Group have been achieved over the year
• Have a casting vote only

• Attend appropriate training

Vice-Chairperson

Duties:-  The Vice-Chairperson will:-

• Deputise for the Chairperson if he/she is not available
• In the event that the Chairperson stands down, assume the role of   Chairperson until the next Annual General Meeting
• Attend appropriate training

Secretaty/Note-take (x2)

Duties (all these duties will be carried out in conjunction with the Tenant Participation team):-  The Secretary will:-

• Ensure that all members of STV are kept informed of meeting dates
• Ensure that the agenda and minutes of the previous meeting are sent out at least seven days before the next meeting
• Keep an up-to-date record of contact information for members of STV
• Deal with general correspondence in consultation with other officers of STV
• Keep records in a confidential manner, in line with the requirements of current legislation
• Attend appropriate training

1. Officers will be elected at an Annual General Meeting (A.G.M.) to stand for a maximum of one year.
2. If an officer, other than the Chairperson, resigns, or is unable to continue in his/her role, before the term of office is completed, a successor will be elected at the first available full STV meeting to stand for the remainder of the term, until formal elections can take place at the next A.G.M.
3. If members of The Group wish to remove the Chair during his/her term of office, this may be done at a full STV meeting that is quorate by a vote of at least two thirds of the members present in favour.  

E. Full meetings of Swindon Tenants Voice

1. The quorum of any full meeting shall be one third of the current membership of STV, or a minimum of ten members.
2. Meetings shall be fixed by STV annually in advance, usually on a bi-monthly basis, but with a minimum of five meetings per year.
3. Any member of STV, other tenant groups, or Council officers may submit items to be considered for inclusion on the agenda of a meeting of Swindon Tenants Voice, provided that the Chairperson is given sufficient details of the item a minimum of fourteen days before the meeting.
4. The agenda of a meeting shall be decided by the Chairperson, and minutes of the previous meeting shall be circulated to STV members at least seven days in advance of the meeting.  Reports should explain the context of the issues and outline what options are available, but be as brief as possible.  Agenda items should be clearly identified as being for information, discussion or decision.
5. An addendum to the agenda must include items submitted by members of STV, but not included, with an explanation by the Chairperson.
6. Copies of minutes and reports shall be available to any tenant, leaseholder or other interested party on request, subject to minutes having been agreed by STV as a true record.
7. The Chairperson shall deal with business in the order it appears on the agenda, except that the Chairperson may, with the consent of those present, bring forward items, which are considered urgent or to enable a report to be given which STV has requested.  The Chairperson may permit urgent new business to be raised without prior notice, or defer items to the next meeting, with the consent of those present.
8. Where agreed by STV, reports or recommendations shall be submitted to the appropriate Council meeting.
9. Meetings will be open to all members of the public as observers. Observers may only speak if invited to do so by the Chairperson.
10. The Chairperson may ask Council officers and Council members to   leave a meeting for a specific item, subject to the agreement of those present, and giving an appropriate reason for doing so.

F. Annual General Meetings (A.G.M)

1. There shall be an Annual General Meeting held on, or close to, September each year.
2. The quorum for the meeting will be one third of current members.
3. Officers of STV will normally be elected at the A.G.M.
4. Changes to the Constitution may only be agreed at an A.G.M.or at an Extraordinary General Meeting ( E.G.M ) and must be proposed and seconded by members of STV.  Any changes need to be carried by a two-thirds majority vote of current members present at the meeting. Any proposed changes to the Constitution must be notified to the Secretary fifteen days prior to the A.G.M. or the E.G.M.
5. The Secretary will notify all members of the date and business of the meeting not less than ten days before the date of the A.G.M.
6. The Chairperson will give a report on how the objectives of STV have been achieved over the past year.

G. Extraordinary General Meetings (E.G.M)

1. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be held if at least one third of current members of STV request it. Members of STV will be given a minimum of ten days notice of the date, time and venue of the meeting.

H. Conduct

1. All Members shall at all times, conduct themselves in a reasonable manner during STV meetings and any meetings they may attend on STV’s behalf. All members shall act in accordance with the STV code of conduct to which they have signed. Any member can be excluded from a meeting if in breach of the code of conduct. Any Member shall be excluded from an STV meeting (and STV) for disruptive or offensive behaviour, or using abusive, racist and offensive comments or remarks.
2. Any Member excluded for such reasons shall have 7 days in which to contact one of STV Secretaries in writing, with a copy being sent to the Chairperson, either with a written apology or to ask for the decision to be reviewed.  The Secretary will liaise with the Chairperson and the victim of any offensive remarks (if an individual) and the Chairperson will decide whether to:

• Accept the apology
• Give a warning
• Exclude the person from future meetings
• Refer to full STV

The Secretary will write to the person within 28 days of receiving any correspondence from the excluded member.  The Secretary will give the reaction to the apology, or decision of the review, with reasons, a copy of which will go to all members of STV.

3. The excluded Member may appeal this decision, by writing to one of STV’s secretaries within 28 days of receiving the review decision. This appeal will be considered at the subsequent full STV meeting.  The decision made at this meeting (which could be to give a final warning, exclude for a fixed period or indefinitely) will be final for the incident in question.

I. Dissolution

1. Any proposal to dissolve STV may be put forward at an A.G.M. or E.G.M, subject to 15 days notice being given.
2. To be successful, any such proposal must be supported by a two-thirds majority vote of current members present at the meeting.

September 2006