Diary 2001 - 2020

Worshipful Company of Basketmakers diary. Highlights, events and important dates for the coming year

Notes on Committee and Other Appointments

This Procedure Note is intended to give guidance on the matters normally taken into account by the Nomination and Appointments Committee and the GPC when making recommendations to the Court. It is intended for guidance only and is not meant to be prescriptive as all recommendations are made taking into account all the issues known to affect a particular appointment. If more detailed guidance is needed this should be sought from the learned Clerk or from the Prime Warden.

General

While many appointments will be for a fixed term (often one year), no appointment or membership of any particular committee should normally last longer than five years. As a general rule, save for the Wardens, no member should be appointed to more than one committee.
All appointments (including appointments to Committees) should bear in mind the need for succession planning as well as the need for the Company to be run efficiently at the present time.
If the Court has a membership of about 14 assistants who are below the Chair, a newly appointed assistant may well wait at least ten years before appointment as Prime Warden and some may never become Prime Warden. This statistic should govern the expectations of newly appointed Assistants as well as helping the Nominations and Appointments Committee plan ahead by ensuring that prospective Wardens have the necessary experience to fulfil their duties.

Stewards

The expectation is that four stewards will be appointed each year for a two year term. Thus there will be eight stewards appointed at any one time.
Potential Stewards must be Liverymen of the Company and will probably be of some years standing.
Matters affecting the appointment of particular individuals as Stewards will probably include:

Availability and commitment to the role, awareness of the function and purpose of the livery in general and the Company in particular, a sociable and friendly nature, past attendance at Company functions.

Court Assistants

The expectation is that, once the number of Assistants has been reduced to below 14, no more than one or two Court Assistants will be appointed each year subject to the total no exceeding 14 (or such other number as the Court permits from time to time), unless appointments are required to fulfil specific roles.
Potential Court Assistants must have previously served as Stewards and will generally be under the age of 60.
Court Assistants who are below the Chair are expected to take an active part in the management of the Company. After a short initial period, they should expect to be appointed to committees and/or take on particular appointments. All potential Court Assistants should be asked to confirm their acceptance of this expectation before their names are submitted for appointment.

Wardens

Potential Wardens must be members of the Court of Assistants. In the absence of special circumstances, they will probably have served for several years as Court Assistants and be aged under 70 on first appointment.
The expectation is that there will be a progression from Under Warden to Upper Warden to Prime Warden with each office being held for one year. However each appointment is made annually by election by the Court of Assistants, so this progression is not automatic.
Matters affecting the appointment of particular individuals as Wardens will probably include: Their seniority within the Company, their ability to fulfil their Office, their availability to discharge their role effectively, their known interest in the Company and the City of London.
Appointment to the office of Prime Warden is a privilege which requires a significant commitment of time and money to discharge effectively. Potential Wardens requiring further information on these aspects of the appointment should discuss these issues with the learned Clerk or the current Prime Warden.
The Nominations and Appointments Committee plans ahead by keeping a list of potential Wardens who might take office in future years. This list helps the individuals concerned to plan their own availability to succeed in due course. It is however only an indicative list and is subject to change at any time.

Honorary Assistants

Two categories of Court Assistant, namely Past Prime Wardens and those Assistants who consider themselves unlikely to be able to serve as a Warden, may in certain circumstances be invited to apply for the rank of Honorary Assistant pursuant to 1(F) of the Bye-Laws. This invitation is used to recognise exceptional service to the Court and is not an entitlement gained from Court membership.
Court Assistants who retire from the Court without having obtained the rank of Past Prime Warden or Honorary Assistant will be known as Past Assistants to recognise their service to the Court and the Company.
Past Prime Wardens who retire from the Court shall continue to be known as Past Prime Wardens.

Affiliations and other enterprises

The Committee’s duties include making recommendations to the Court for the appointment of liaison officers.
The role of acting as liaison officer for our various affiliations and other enterprises should preferably be performed by Assistants below the Chair. However, there may be specific limitations or credentials attached to certain roles which from time to time might best be fulfilled by a Past Prime Warden.
No member of Court (other than the Wardens) should have more than one role to fulfil, whether as liaison officer or committee member, but if exceptional cases prevail an appropriate explanation should be recorded in the minutes of the Nominations and Appointments Committee, the GPC and the Court.
Most liaison roles should circulate on a three year cycle.
A liaison officer should have a deputy approved by the Committee both for additional cover and for succession planning.

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