When to create a new committee

What creating a committee means

In CouncilPapers, a committee is more than just a name. Each committee has:

• Its own meeting schedule
• Its own membership list
• Its own minutes history
• Its own default agenda content
• Its own committee type, which controls how it is treated across the system

Creating a committee is the right choice when a group meets regularly, produces formal agendas and minutes, and needs its own distinct record within the council's history.

When to create a committee

Create a committee in CouncilPapers when the group:

• Has a formal constitution or terms of reference
• Meets on a regular or scheduled basis
• Produces agendas and minutes that form part of the council's official record
• Has a defined membership

Common examples include: Full Council, Planning Committee, Finance and Governance Committee, Personnel Committee, Open Spaces Committee.

When not to create a committee

Short-term working groups and task-and-finish groups do not necessarily need to be set up as committees. If the group is informal, time-limited, or does not produce formal minutes, it may be simpler to manage its work within an existing committee's agenda rather than creating a separate one.

That said, creating a committee for a working group does formalise its work and gives it a distinct record in CouncilPapers. This is a matter of judgement for the clerk and the council.

Committee types

When creating a committee you must assign it a type. The available types are:

Committee types will be used in future to control how different committees are treated - for example, Working Group meetings may not be listed publicly. Assigning the correct type from the outset ensures your council is correctly configured as these features are introduced.

A note on the number of committees

There is no limit to the number of committees you can create, but a large number of committees can become cumbersome to manage. Most parish and town councils operate with between two and six committees. If in doubt, it is usually better to start with fewer committees and add more as needed.