1.0	INTRODUCTION

1.1	The Charter Trustees for Scarborough were established in 2023 following local government reorganisation in North Yorkshire. On creation of the new North Yorkshire Council on 1 April 2023 the Council of the Borough of Scarborough was dissolved. In order to ensure the continuation of the mayoral tradition The North Yorkshire (Structural Changes) Order 2022 made provision for Charter Trustees to be established for the wards listed in the order, which covered the unparished parts of Scarborough town.

	The Charter Trustees are those councillors which represent the North Yorkshire Council divisions set out below: Castle Eastfield (PART) Falsgrave and Stepney Northstead Weaponness and Ramshill Woodlands

	The Charter Trustee Regulations 2009 set out the provisions under which the Charter Trustees may operate.

	The main duties of Charter Trustees are to ensure the continuation of the civic and ceremonial traditions of the town through the appointment of a Charter Mayor and Deputy Charter Mayor.

	The Charter Trustees Regulations 2009 provide that any historic property of the Borough of Scarborough which relates to the Charter Trustee area shall transfer to the Charter Trustees. An inventory of all such historic property has been produced which the Charter Trustees shall be responsible for maintaining.

	Charter Trustees have no powers to deliver local services or take on responsibilities in a way that a parish council could.

	There are two distinct aspects to the office of Mayor: one is to be the Chair of the Charter Trustees and the other is a ceremonial role within the town.
2.0	MISSION STATEMENT, FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHARTER TRUSTEES See Appendices A and B.
3.0	ROLE OF THE CHARTER MAYOR

3.1	Nomination, Appointment and Term of Office The Charter Trustees will elect one of their number to be Charter Mayor and another to be Deputy Mayor every year. The elections will take place at the Annual Meeting. Volunteers for Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be sought and informally agreed in advance of the Annual Meeting using the process set out at 3.2 below. This informal selection should take place in good time to enable the people selected to make adequate preparations. The Term of Office shall run from one Annual Meeting until the next (1) The Charter Mayor and Deputy Charter Mayor shall be elected annually by the charter trustees from amongst their number – CT Regs 2009 7(1) (2) The election of the Charter Mayor shall be the first business transacted at the Annual Meeting of the Charter Trustees - CT Regs 2009 7(3) (3) A person ceases to be a Charter Mayor or Deputy Charter Mayor upon ceasing to be a charter trustee or if not re-elected to office – CT Regs 2009 7(4) (4) On a casual vacancy occurring in the office of Charter Mayor or Deputy Charter Mayor, the charter trustees shall as soon as practicable, meet for the purposes of electing one of their number to such office - CT Regs 2009 7(5) The Charter Mayor must be available for those Annual Meetings which sees their election to and retirement from office. On election at the Annual Meeting the new Charter Mayor will be invested with the chain of office and will sign the declaration of acceptance of office. The newly appointed Charter Mayor will then chair the meeting as the Charter Trustees appoint a Deputy Charter Mayor.

3.2	Procedure for selecting the Charter Mayor and Deputy Charter Mayor
	The purpose of the procedure is to ensure that agreement can be reached in advance of the Annual Meeting to ensure that the Annual Meeting can proceed in an orderly manner and to enable the Member selected to make preparations in advance of the appointment. 1. The Clerk to the Charter Trustees to write to Charter Trustees in December requesting Members to advise if they would like to be nominated for the role of Charter Mayor or Deputy Charter Mayor together with details of their proposer and seconder from the other Charter Trustees. 2. Following the deadline, if there is more than one candidate for any position, the Clerk informs each candidate of the other names submitted and any candidate who wishes to withdraw may do so at that stage. 3. If there is more than one candidate remaining, a ballot will be held. The ballot can be repeated as often as necessary until there is a clear majority for one candidate. 4. The result will be reported to the next ordinary meeting of the Charter Trustees, or by email if there is no meeting. The formal appointment will take place at the Annual Meeting. 5. In an election year the selection procedure may need to be run again if the Member selected is not successful at the polls. If this happens the Clerk will write to the Charter Trustees immediately after the election to commence a second selection procedure.
3.3	Roles and Responsibilities The Charter Mayor and, in the absence of the Charter Mayor, the Deputy Charter Mayor will have the following roles and functions: A ceremonial role:- · Maintain the tradition of the office of Charter Mayor · Promote Scarborough as a place to live and visit · Promote the image and importance of Scarborough at a local, regional, national and international level, complementing the work of North Yorkshire Council · Attend civic and ceremonial functions and local community based activities as the Charter Mayor deems appropriate · Represent the Charter Trustees at ceremonial events · Receive and welcome members of the royal family, dignitaries and visitors, observing civic protocol · Attend functions as a representative of the Charter Trustees · Promote, raise the profile and gain publicity for projects and events that are of a charitable or voluntary nature that benefit the citizens of the town, particularly smaller organisations. · Encourage citizenship and participation in the life of the town. A role as Chair of the Charter Trustees:- The Charter Mayor will be elected by the Council annually and will have the following responsibilities: · to preside over meetings of the Charter Trustees so that its business can be carried out efficiently following the procedures set out · to be the conscience of the Charter Trustees · to authorise extraordinary meetings of the Charter Trustees · To exercise a casting vote in the event of an equal vote on any issue In carrying out these roles the Charter Mayor and Deputy Charter Mayor should consider the public nature of the office. Their behaviour and manner will need to be appropriate at all times and not bring the Charter Trustees into disrepute. The principal role of the Deputy Charter Mayor is to deputise for the Charter Mayor when he/she is unable to chair a charter trustee meeting or attend a designated mayoral engagement. The position of Charter Mayor is non-political.


3.4	Engagements and Civic Responsibilities Invitations for engagements will be managed by the Leadership Support Office. A standard reply would set the expectation that the Mayoralty of the Borough of Scarborough no longer exists and, unless the invitation closely relates to the town of Scarborough the request will be directed primarily to the Chairman of North Yorkshire Council. Officers will liaise with the Charter Mayor to determine how s/he wishes to respond. In order to reduce the costs of the Charter Trustee Mayoralty it has been agreed that the Charter Mayor will give priority to the following engagements: · Those which support the community and voluntary sector in Scarborough · Those which preserve the civic traditions of the town In addition, the Charter Mayor will attend the following events: · Receive royal visitors · Receive other dignitaries visiting the town · Freedom Parades in Scarborough town · Occasions where the Charter Mayor is required to take a military salute or lay a wreath · Remembrance Sunday · Events where the Chairman of North Yorkshire Council considers the invitation should be directed to the Charter Mayor of Scarborough The Charter Mayor will arrange their own transport to those events listed above, although a mileage allowance/public transport costs may be claimed. Where the Charter Mayor does agree to accept an invitation that does not fall under one of the categories above, then they would arrange their own transport and there would be no public expense such as the claiming of a mileage allowance. There will be no formal Mayoress or Consort role. An organisation may invite the Charter Mayor to bring a guest, but this will not be in an official capacity and there will be no civic regalia for the guest to wear.
3.5	Addressing the Charter Mayor Formal introduction – His/Her Worshipful the Charter Mayor of Scarborough Reference – Charter Mayor of Scarborough Addressing in person – Mr Mayor or Madam Mayor
4.0	THE CIVIC REGALIA

	Key items in the civic regalia of the Charter Trustees are:
	The Mace
	The mace was presented to Scarborough Corporation in 1636 by Sir Thomas Posthumous Hoby of Hackness Hall. The mace was the symbol of the authority of Scarborough Borough Council. Since the Borough Council’s dissolution the mace has passed to the custody of the Charter Trustees. The mace of the City of London is a replica of Scarborough’s mace. The original London mace was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
	Chains of Office – The Mayor’s Chain
	The Mayor’s chain was presented to Scarborough Corporation in 1852 by John Woodall, the former owner of the impressive red-brick mansion named St Nicholas House which became Scarborough Town Hall in 1903.
	The Mayoress’ Chain
	The Mayoress’ chain was presented to Scarborough Corporation in 1897 when a public subscription was held to purchase it to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria that year. The date 1897 is included in the links of the chain.

	Robes

The robes are scarlet in colour trimmed with fake fur and are worn along with a lace jabot at the neck and the cuffs, and on more formal occasions, with a black Admiral’s cocked hat and white gloves.

5.0

ARRANGEMENTS FOR CHAINS AND CIVIC REGALIA

Established civic protocol prescribes that the Charter Mayor should wear robes and the Mayor’s chain (or replica) when chairing formal meetings of the Charter Trustees, and when attending engagements in the town when Royalty is present.

In all other instances the decision to wear the chain or the medallion is left to the discretion of the Charter Mayor or in the case of a civic dinner to the discretion of the hosting authority.

However, in opting for the Mayor’s chain, the Charter Mayor needs to be aware of the additional support required to ensure the chains remain secure.

APPENDIX A

Mission Statement

Following local government reorganisation in North Yorkshire and the dissolution of Scarborough Borough Council, the Charter Trustees for Scarborough were established in April 2023 (i) to ensure the continuation of the civic and ceremonial traditions of the town through the appointment of a Charter Mayor and Deputy Charter Mayor and (ii) to be responsible for maintaining the civic collection pertaining to the town.

In performing these duties, the Charter Trustees:

(i) Will preserve the civic traditions and civic collection of the town pending the outcome of a Community Governance Review which may see the establishment of a local council in Scarborough and dissolution of the Charter Trustees; and

(ii) Will through the Charter Mayor and Deputy Charter Mayor maintain the former Mayoralty’s engagement with and support for the community and voluntary sector in Scarborough.

APPENDIX B

Functions and principal responsibilities

The functions and principal responsibilities of the Charter Trustees for Scarborough are to:-

Elect a Charter Mayor and a Deputy Charter Mayor and maintain and uphold civic protocol and ceremony within Scarborough.
Convene and hold at least two meetings a year (annual and budget setting) and produce reports and minutes of such meetings.
Ensure the upkeep, repair and cleanliness, and security of all property including the civic regalia, plate and other valuables owned by the Charter Trustees.
Maintain a detailed and current inventory of all the Charter Trustees' property ensuring that such items are correctly insured.
Prepare annual revenue estimates, maintain accounts including VAT, and prepare the final accounts at the end of each financial year.
Promote and protect the views and interests of the Charter Trustees in the context of press and public relations with regard to local, national and international organisations and/ or their representatives and other third parties or individuals as appropriate.
Promote and protect the interests of the town of Scarborough by acting upon views and information received from individual citizens and public or private sector interests of the town and bring to the attention of the Charter Trustees relevant matters for consideration as appropriate.
Make appropriate arrangements for civic functions and occasions.
Maintain close links with the Chair of the North Yorkshire Council to ensure that the respective civic roles of both the Charter Mayor and Chair are undertaken in accordance with the appropriate protocols to ensure that no unnecessary overlapping or gaps occur in response to invitations to attend events in Scarborough.
Maintain close links with any Freemen, the Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff and the Member of Parliament.
Ensure close links with the Association of Charter Trustee Towns and Charter Town Councils.
Assess and obtain insurance cover for the Charter Trustees (to include Public Liability, Employers Liability, Fidelity Guarantee, All Risks (including Terrorism).
Conduct all necessary and appropriate correspondence with outside bodies and organisations consequent upon decisions taken by the Charter Trustees.
Employ such officers as are necessary or purchase the necessary officer time from the North Yorkshire Council to support the Charter Mayor and the Charter Trustees.
Form effective liaison between the Charter Trustees and North Yorkshire Council.