Here are the concerns with the proposed Constitution which have been raised and addressed by the Officers:
Concern 1: The 2015 Constitution says that changes can only be made at a meeting with a 2/3rd majority show of hands, why aren’t we doing that?
Response: Well this is a bit of a Catch 22, the 2015 Constitution says only Representative Members can vote, however, since we have no Representative Members, technically no one can vote. The Chair has made a finding under clause 4.10, based upon a decision taken by all the Officers and Working Group Leaders that the proposed LCF 2019 Constitution is now the only article of association for the LCF. This will be tabled for ratification at the Extraordinary Meeting scheduled for the 4th of March 2020.
Concern 2: This Constitution gives too much power to the Chair, and what’s this thing called the Executive?
Response: This is not true; the powers given to the Chair under 2019 are considerably less than in any other constitution. The Chair of the LCF has always been able to appoint Officers, under every version of our constitution. This is in recognition over time that the leadership needs to work together, especially in a voluntary organisation such as the LCF. People won’t work with people they don’t like, it’s that simple. Power is now greatly disseminated amongst a group now defined as the Executive. While this group may be referred to as the leadership, it only existed by long-held convention. The proposed LCF 2 01 9 Constitution brings it legitimacy. The Executive is made up of established Working Group Leaders and the Officers. It is the Executive that creates new Working Groups and approves any additional Officers as the needs require. The Chair is now the public voice of the Executive.
Concern 3: Who are the members gonna be? Can’t I just show up and vote?
Response: Membership is open to everyone who lives or works in Limehouse. Membership is also open to groups and partners. The LCF wants as many members as it can get, from every corner of our community. We also want everyone to take part in decisions the LCF makes, but if our voice and our resolutions are going to carry weight and be taken seriously we must safeguard our community from rogue elements and special interest agenda s . Therefore in order to vote, like in any local election you need to register your membership, once your legitimate residency and/or employment are validated you become a voting member. No one can just show up and vote.
Concern 4: Won’t we lose our designation as a Neighbourhood Planning Forum if we change the Constitution?
Response: No we won’t lose our designation. We’ve been in consultation with Tower Hamlets over our constitution; they recognise the problems with the 2015 version , which they agree is unlawful. The proposed LCF 2019 Constitution is acceptable to them and in comments they said it was “generally well written”.
Concern 5: This whole registration membership thing, I’m concerned about my privacy.
Response: We are to o ! The governance as you may know is the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). As a local community organisation the LCF is exempt from much of the record keeping other organisation s are required to do. However, we have agreed to abide by the regulations and promise to keep safe your personal information; we have recently taken extra steps to make sure that they are accessible only to key trusted individuals and can never be copied en masse or exported.
Concern 1: The 2015 Constitution says that changes can only be made at a meeting with a 2/3rd majority show of hands, why aren’t we doing that?
Response: Well this is a bit of a Catch 22, the 2015 Constitution says only Representative Members can vote, however, since we have no Representative Members, technically no one can vote. The Chair has made a finding under clause 4.10, based upon a decision taken by all the Officers and Working Group Leaders that the proposed LCF 2019 Constitution is now the only article of association for the LCF. This will be tabled for ratification at the Extraordinary Meeting scheduled for the 4th of March 2020.
Concern 2: This Constitution gives too much power to the Chair, and what’s this thing called the Executive?
Response: This is not true; the powers given to the Chair under 2019 are considerably less than in any other constitution. The Chair of the LCF has always been able to appoint Officers, under every version of our constitution. This is in recognition over time that the leadership needs to work together, especially in a voluntary organisation such as the LCF. People won’t work with people they don’t like, it’s that simple. Power is now greatly disseminated amongst a group now defined as the Executive. While this group may be referred to as the leadership, it only existed by long-held convention. The proposed LCF 2 01 9 Constitution brings it legitimacy. The Executive is made up of established Working Group Leaders and the Officers. It is the Executive that creates new Working Groups and approves any additional Officers as the needs require. The Chair is now the public voice of the Executive.
Concern 3: Who are the members gonna be? Can’t I just show up and vote?
Response: Membership is open to everyone who lives or works in Limehouse. Membership is also open to groups and partners. The LCF wants as many members as it can get, from every corner of our community. We also want everyone to take part in decisions the LCF makes, but if our voice and our resolutions are going to carry weight and be taken seriously we must safeguard our community from rogue elements and special interest agenda s . Therefore in order to vote, like in any local election you need to register your membership, once your legitimate residency and/or employment are validated you become a voting member. No one can just show up and vote.
Concern 4: Won’t we lose our designation as a Neighbourhood Planning Forum if we change the Constitution?
Response: No we won’t lose our designation. We’ve been in consultation with Tower Hamlets over our constitution; they recognise the problems with the 2015 version , which they agree is unlawful. The proposed LCF 2019 Constitution is acceptable to them and in comments they said it was “generally well written”.
Concern 5: This whole registration membership thing, I’m concerned about my privacy.
Response: We are to o ! The governance as you may know is the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). As a local community organisation the LCF is exempt from much of the record keeping other organisation s are required to do. However, we have agreed to abide by the regulations and promise to keep safe your personal information; we have recently taken extra steps to make sure that they are accessible only to key trusted individuals and can never be copied en masse or exported.