The full application for our LEP to be a Community Interest Company (!) was submitted on 6 February 2014, so our councillors and business people were working on this for a full 18 months before letting anyone know what they were doing.

The full document is here:

application-pdf

A few things to note:

There are a lot of blank spaces in the application!

It is a 53 page document and the Constitution commences on page 22.

Community Interest Companies are supposed to “lock” their assets so that, if the company is disbanded, they are firstly offered back to the community that is supposed to be interested. However:

3.1 says they must be transferred at full consideration but if article 3.3 is satisfied this will not apply. Article 3.3 says that assets can be disposed of at less than full consideration!

The “Object” of the company is that the Company is to “carry on activities which benefit the community and in particular (without limitation) which contribute to the economic growth and increased prosperity of Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay with a view in particular (without limitation) to creating better and more sustainable jobs.”

Article 9 basically says that Directors can delegate anything to anyone and can change the terms of delegation at any time.

Article 18 says that if Directors have a conflict of interest they should absent themselves from those parts of the meeting in which they occur. HOWEVER:

Other directors decide whether that particular director has a conflict of interest and

Article 19 says that even if a director seems to have a conflict of interest directors can allow that the Director CAN take part and vote in the matter on which they have a conflict of interest – it is up to the Directors to decide about that too!

Article 32: ANYONE CAN APPLY TO BECOME A “STAKEHOLDER” BUT DIRECTORS CAN REMOVE ANY SUCH ENTITY IF IT IS “IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE COMPANY”.

Article 52: Minutes must be taken of all proceedings, etc and they must be kept for at least 10 years.