Introduction

1. This Policy defines the presentation aspects of new and current Policies, Procedures and other documents, used by Washingborough Parish Council, which are required by law or are recommended by higher levels of Local Government, advisory bodies etc.
2. Also defined are the procedures for the creation, revision, review, adoption and approval of said documents.

Format and numbering

3. All documents will display, on every page, the date on which a full council meeting approved the adoption, revision or review of the document.
4. The first (front) page will display the Parish Council logo and the Parish Council name in a central position in the upper half of the page. Below the Council name will be the document title and the date of adoption, revision or review.
5. The second page will contain:
   1. A table showing the document history,
   2. Notes indicating the legal requirement, model or template source, review period, significant changes and any other relevant matters.
6. All document pages, excluding the front (title) page, will be numbered and the total number of pages shown at the bottom of each page.
7. It is recommended that all documents be created in an accessible friendly font, using font sizes that broadly follow this reference policy. Accessible friendly fonts include Arial, Atkinson Hyperlegible, Helvetica, Calibri, Tahoma and others.
8. Documents will carry a Header and Footer on each page containing:
   1. Header
      1. the Parish Council name,
      2. the document title,
   2. Footer
      1. the page number and total number of pages (“page x of YY”),
      2. the applicable date (see para 1).
9. Within documents, section and paragraph numbering is recommended wherever possible, as in this Policy, to make review and reference as easy as possible. Alternative presentations are acceptable provided document clarity is not compromised.
10. All documents should be written to conform to the Accessibility requirements for websites. This will ensure that customers will be able to successfully view them with a screen reader if needed. This will also make the transfer of documents to the website easier and more reliable.
11. Any document which is saved in a Portable Document Format (PDF) should be created using the latest PDF/A protocol which is necessary for them to be viewed by a screen reader.
12. Some documents are required to conform to defined formats by legislation or for a specific purpose, the Accessibility statement for the website being an example. The above format requirements will not, therefore, apply.

Document Type

13. The Document Title for all documents must accurately reflect their purpose. Note: It is acceptable for a Document Title to reflect more than one document type in the title, for example ' Grievance Policy and Procedure'. In such cases the document structure should clearly show separation between 'policy' and 'procedure'.
14. Types
    1. Policies - Policies are documents that set out the guidelines and rules governing the subject matter concerned,
    2. Procedures - Procedures are documents that list the steps required to accomplish a certain goal or goals,
    3. Terms of Reference - Terms of Reference are documents that set out the scope and limits of responsibility for a person or working group,
    4. Web pages - Website pages usually provide information, hold data in other formats, such as images (jpg format) or documents in pdf format.

This is not an exhaustive list.

Review and Approval

15. It is the responsibility of the Parish Council to ensure that all new documents are created within the scope of this policy and are approved.
16. It is the responsibility of the Parish Council to ensure that all pre-existing documents covered by the scope of this policy are reviewed on or before their policy Review Date and approved as such.
17. Persons reviewing documents should do so by reference to Appendix A
18. Creation of new documents and revision of existing documents may be assigned to a person or Working Party as agreed by Council, and the draft document offered for formal approval to the Full Council when work is complete. The revision and approval process will normally follow the outline procedure in Appendix B, but can be flexible, depending on circumstances.
19. Subject to amendments that may be requested and agreed by council, the final draft will be approved at a public meeting of the Parish Council.

Review Period

20. The review period of all documents is defined in the table:

1. Details of recognised bodies are provided in Appendix C,
2. Documents will be allocated into one of three groups which, initially, will be based on their creation, last review or revision date. See appendix D for a suggested list.
3. Supporting documents include “Guidance” on Policies, “Forms” (for complaints or applications) etc.
4. Time defined documents are those which are required for a specific purpose and / or duration such as the “Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Unaudited Annual Governance & Accountability Return” which must be displayed for a set period.

Appendix A

Document revision process flowchart

Document Review — Prompt Questions

1. When reviewing any document, the following questions can be used to ensure the result is effective:
   1. Is the document required?
   2. When was it last reviewed?
   3. Should the frequency of review be amended?
   4. Does the document follow the consistent format as laid down in this policy?
   5. Is the Document Title clear and does it properly define Purpose and Scope?
   6. If it is a Policy, does it provide clear direction on the implementation of rules and regulations through associated Procedures?
   7. If it is a Procedure, does it offer a clear and unambiguous series of steps from which users can resolve questions and problems?
   8. Does the content accurately reflect what is required or what actually happens?
   9. Have there been incidents or problems since the last routine review that could prompt amendments to the document?
   10. Does the final document properly reflect obligations on Equal Opportunities for those affected?
   11. Is the document consistent with and does it further the vision and aims of Washingborough Parish Council?
   12. Will training or re-training of councillors or staff be required after the document is re-issued?

‘Model’ Review Procedure

2. The Clerk should annually investigate the resources of recognised bodies (websites, newsletters etc) to establish if documents due review require revision due to changes in legislation or the model / template that they are based upon. A list of known recognised bodies is at Appendix C.
3. A copy of each current document should be checked to ensure that the format and numbering requirements have been met. These should be updated as necessary.
4.  If no changes are required, then the document(s) should be added to the agenda of the next Full Parish Council meeting for recording as reviewed and approved for use. The Agenda Item should record that legislation and models have been checked.

Normal Review Procedure

5. A Working Party of councillors should carry out a proof-read of each document and any errors or corrections will be collated. Significant changes or a high number of corrections will initiate the revision process.
6. If no changes are required, then the document(s) should be added to the agenda of the next Full Parish Council meeting for recording as reviewed and approved for use.

Post Council Approval action

7. Once the document is approved by council, the front and second pages will be updated to reflect the approval (Adoption, Revision or Review) and the date.
8. It is recommended that a printed copy be kept by the Clerk for viewing by a member of the public if required under the Records Retention Policy.
9. If appropriate, a copy of the document will be added to the Parish Council website in both HTML and PDF/A formats.

Appendix B

Document Creation and Revision — Recommended Outline Process

1. Where possible, document creation should begin with finding a model or template from a recognised body and modifying that to suit council requirements.
2. Document creation and/or revision will normally be assigned to a working party set up for the purpose.
3. After creation of either the first draft of a new document or first revision of an existing document, the writer/revisor will circulate the document to the working party with a request for comments.
4. Comments may be made through a meeting discussion or via email (recommended). If email comments are requested the writer will set a deadline date after which it will be assumed all comments have been received.
5. The writer/revisor will change the document according to comments received. The document will be again circulated to the work group for comments by a set deadline date or discussed at a group meeting.
6. Subject to outline working party approval, the draft or revised documents will be added to the agenda of the next full council meeting for approval.
7. The scheduled review period will be discussed as part of the approval process. This may vary between documents and document types.
8. After approval, the Post Council Approval Action should be followed.

Appendix C

Recognised Bodies - these are bodies who:

1. have the power to provide models, templates or advice about Policies, Procedures and Guidance documents,
2. have the power to issue financial regulations and guidance,
3. are recognised as an outstanding body in their category.

This list is not exhaustive or exclusive.

Appendix D

A 4 year schedule was adopted by council and will be displayed here when Policies have been added.

Adoption of Policy

Washingborough Parish Council has adopted this Policy and has formatted it for on-line use. However, the written document (link below) is the formal document and will always have precedence.

Link to document - Creation, Revision and Review of Documents Policy

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