Membership conditions
Membership
1. Membership will be decided by the Chair after being advised by DWP. There will be an application process based on an expression of interest, outlining what an individual feels they can bring to the group and its work, and cv with clear criteria to be demonstrated around:
- Commitment to the agenda
- Skills and capacity to bring to the group
- Consideration of achieving a representative cross section of members (ie whilst it is not practical to have members from every conceivable group, we should aim to have a broad balance across academia, providers, employers, trade unions, faith organisations, gender, the various ethnic minority groups and also groups that are national as well as ones that have a more regional focus)
- Applications will generally be by calls for applications via the EMESG website, but where the Chair and DWP agree that there is a gap in skills and/or from a particular stakeholder group, then individuals (or organisations) may be approached to fill these gaps. Any applicants received outside of any call for applications and will only be considered if the Chair, in consultation with DWP feels there is a gap in membership that needs filling, and following the completion of an application form
- Generally membership will be based on individuals, but it is also recognised that certain bodies should in effect have standing membership due to their standing in society (such as EHRC, TUC, CBI).
2. On appointment membership will initially be for a period of 5 years, but will also be reviewed annually, and if the chair and Department feel that additional skills are required, new membership will be advertised publicly. Similarly the chair and Department will want to feel that members have been fully active in their membership and if not address with them whether it is still appropriate for them to be on the group. The chair will then consider seeking further appointments along with the Secretariat.
3. In 2010, in order to achieve the best possible group, recognising the need to review matters after several years of being in existence, all existing members were asked to re-apply for membership and additional applications sought. These were then considered by the existing Chair, advised by DWP.
4. The ideal membership, in order to be effective as a group with a diverse range of individuals, is recognised as approximately 12.
5. In recognition of the London focus of existing members (and that most national organisations are based in London) and that potential members from the regions and nations of GB may find it difficult to commit due to travel issues, then individuals will be able to participate in meetings via a conference call.
6. The Chair position is through open recruitment. A Vice Chair may be selected from one of the names put forward by the Group and with the agreement of the Chair and DWP officials.
Key priorities
7. Membership, including the Chair and any other people to co-opted onto the group, will be decided by the chair in consultation with members and DWP. Generally this will be based on asking for volunteers, but the Chair and DWP will want to satisfy themselves that any projects are run by an effective group that can deliver the work assigned to it. As with membership of EMESG, project group members will be expected to actively participate in meetings and actions between meetings.
Expenses
8. Membership of EMESG is unpaid, and this includes any loss of any actual or potential earnings as membership is also entirely voluntary. However, members will be compensated for any additional travel costs incurred due to attending EMESG or Project Groups (and work associated with this only when agreed in advance) in line with DWP’s own internal staff policy. The cheapest option should always be taken, including booking ahead, booking specific times on tickets and only booking Standard Class tickets. Receipts must always be provided and no reimbursement without receipts can be considered, or retrospective claims approved for expenditure that were not authorised in advance.
Communications
9. In order to be efficient in the use of public resources and timely all communication will be via e-mail or posting on this website. Any members who have difficulties with this should discuss with the Secretariat.
10. Future agendas for meetings will be sent out 2 weeks in advance of meeting and papers at least a week in advance.
11. Draft Minutes of meetings will be posted onto the EMESG website and sent to members within one week of approval by the Chair, prior to be officially approved at the next meeting.
Conflict of interests
12. Members will be expected to declare any potential conflicts of interest in advance, in particular if they are receiving or bidding for Government contracts. Whilst the cross government ministerial group, EMESG, awarding or funding bodies, will not want to risk being brought into disrepute, no member would want to potentially adversely affect their business interests.
13. The Chair, advised by DWP, will decide how best to deal with any such cases, for instance by asking a member to leave the meeting if potentially commercially sensitive information is to be discussed.