1. law, govt and politics
2. government
3. legislative

2014
[HOW? MANUAL]
This manual provides short answers to questions that a user may ask
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 1
Agenda ...................................................................................................................... 6
How do I create an Agenda? .................................................................................. 6
How do I set up a default list of agenda items to be included in every agenda? ...... 6
How do I find the Agenda for a Meeting? .............................................................. 6
How do I view and edit an Agenda? ...................................................................... 7
How do I add an existing Agenda Item to an Agenda? ........................................... 7
How do I remove an Agenda Item from an Agenda?.............................................. 7
How do I add a comment to an Agenda?................................................................ 7
How do I reorder the Agenda Items in an Agenda? ................................................ 8
How do I create two-level Agenda Item numbering? ............................................. 8
How do I flag items with footnotes? ...................................................................... 8
How do I edit an Agenda Item in an Agenda? ........................................................ 8
How do I create a Word-format Agenda document?............................................... 8
How do I create a new Agenda Item while editing an Agenda? .............................. 9
How do I publish a draft Agenda for review?......................................................... 9
How do I print all documents in an Agenda? ......................................................... 9
How do I get file copies of all documents in an Agenda? ....................................... 9
How do I send a request form to the Print Unit?..................................................... 9
How do I hand edit the Word-format Agenda document?..................................... 10
How do I remove hand-edits from a Word-format Agenda document? ................. 10
How do I change the Word templates used to create an Agenda document? ......... 11
How do I control the Appendix Number in an Agenda? ....................................... 11
How do I revise a published Agenda? .................................................................. 11
How do I add Minutes to an Agenda? .................................................................. 11
How do I edit headers and footers of attached documents? .................................. 12
How do I send an Agenda/supplement to the Print Unit or send an email
notification at a later date? ................................................................................... 12
Agenda item(s) ........................................................................................................ 13
How do I create an Agenda Item? ........................................................................ 13
How do I find an Agenda Item? ........................................................................... 13
How do I specify a likely Committee and Meeting date for an Agenda Item? ...... 13
How do I add an existing Agenda Item to an Agenda? ......................................... 14
How do I remove an Agenda Item from a meeting’s Agenda? ............................. 14
How do I add Urgent Agenda Items or other items that do not appear on the
Agenda? .............................................................................................................. 14
How do I attach a report to an Agenda Item? ....................................................... 18
How do I indicate a specific report has not been supplied?................................... 18
How Do I copy a report from one Agenda Item to another? ................................. 19
How do I remove a report for an Agenda Item? ................................................... 19
How do I view or edit a report attached to an Agenda Item? ................................ 19
How do I create an Agenda Item to review the Minutes of the previous Meeting? 19
How do I control access to an Agenda Item?........................................................ 19
How do I restrict access to one of several reports attached to an Agenda Item? .... 20
How do I create a Follow-on Agenda Item? ......................................................... 20
How do I recover a deleted item?......................................................................... 21
Audit Events............................................................................................................ 22
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What are Audit Events? ....................................................................................... 22
How do I view the history of a Committee? ......................................................... 22
How do I view the history of an Issue? ................................................................ 22
How do I recover deleted or finalised items? ....................................................... 22
Cabinet Lead Decisions ........................................................................................... 23
How do I set-up and publish Delegated Decisions? (HBC Only) .......................... 23
How do I allow a Decision to be called in? .......................................................... 23
How do I customise the Decision Text? ............................................................... 24
How do I set a deadline for a Call-in? .................................................................. 24
Calendar .................................................................................................................. 25
What is the calendar?........................................................................................... 25
How do I add entries into the calendar? ............................................................... 25
How do I check the availability of members for a meeting? ................................. 25
How do I set up a schedule of meetings for a particular committee?..................... 26
Committees ............................................................................................................. 27
How do I view the list of all Committees? ........................................................... 27
How do I create a new Committee? ..................................................................... 27
How do I delete a Committee? ............................................................................. 27
How do I change the name of a Committee? ........................................................ 27
How do I change the Word templates used by a Committee? ............................... 27
How do I add new Word templates to a Committee?............................................ 28
Setting Up Agenda and Minutes Templates ......................................................... 28
How do I configure the members of a Committee? .............................................. 28
How do I remove a member from the Committee? ............................................... 29
How do I restore a member who has been deleted from the system? .................... 29
How do I appoint members/officers to individual meetings? ................................ 29
How do I control access to a Committee? ............................................................ 31
How do I set call-in parameters for a Committee?................................................ 32
Decisions and call-in ............................................................................................... 33
What is a Decision? ............................................................................................. 33
How do I create a Decision? ................................................................................ 33
Directly from an Issue...................................................................................... 33
From Agenda/Minutes ..................................................................................... 33
How do I create a Decision Sheet?....................................................................... 33
How do I view all Decisions marked for Call-in? ................................................. 34
How do I view Call-ins made against a Decision?................................................ 34
How do I create Follow-on items for a Call-in? ................................................... 34
How do I review the Call-ins for all time-expired Decisions? .............................. 34
How do I view all decisions? ............................................................................... 34
Deputations ............................................................................................................. 35
How do I allow members of the Public to Register to Speak at a meeting?........... 35
Departments, Post And Groups................................................................................ 36
What are Departments, Posts, and Groups?.......................................................... 36
How do I use a Group within a Department or Committee? ................................. 36
Documents Pack ...................................................................................................... 37
What is a document pack? ................................................................................... 37
How do I create and view the Document Pack for an Agenda?............................. 37
Forward Plans/WorkProgrammes ............................................................................ 38
What is a Forward Plan? ...................................................................................... 38
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How do I allow a Committee or Department to own a Forward Plan/Work
Programme? ........................................................................................................ 38
How is a Forward Plan/Work Programme different from an Agenda? .................. 38
How do I create a Forward Plan? ......................................................................... 38
How do I create a Work Programme? .................................................................. 39
How do I view the contents of a Plan/Work Programme? .................................... 39
How do I add a new issue to a Plan/Programme? ................................................. 39
How do I add an existing issue to a Plan/Work Programme?................................ 40
How do I add issues submitted by the intranet to the Forward Plan/Work
Programme? ........................................................................................................ 41
How do I add comments and headings to a Plan? ................................................. 42
How do I reorder items in a Plan/Programme? ..................................................... 42
How do I create a Word-format Plan/Programme document?............................... 42
How do I change the template used to create a Plan/Programme? ........................ 42
How do I publish a Plan? ..................................................................................... 42
How do I create Agenda Items corresponding to a Plan Item?.............................. 42
How do I view the history of a Plan Item? ........................................................... 42
How do I delegate a Plan Item to an individual, rather than a Committee? ........... 43
How do I remove an Issue from the plan? ............................................................ 43
Can Officers change the issue after Submission via the intranet? ......................... 43
How can I examine the history of a plan/programme item or issue? ..................... 44
How can I keep the Issue history up to date?........................................................ 44
What is an Issue? ................................................................................................. 46
How do I find an Issue? ....................................................................................... 46
How do I create a new Issue?............................................................................... 46
How do I delete an Issue? .................................................................................... 46
How do I delegate an Issue to an individual, rather than a Committee? ................ 46
How do I add an Agenda Item to an Issue? .......................................................... 47
How do I mark an Issue as completed? ................................................................ 47
How do I view the Agenda Items associated with an Issue? ................................. 47
How do I view the Decisions arising from an Issue? ............................................ 47
Issue types ............................................................................................................... 48
What is an Issue Type? ........................................................................................ 48
How do I create an Issue Type? ........................................................................... 48
How do I correct the name of an Issue Type?....................................................... 49
How do I delete an Issue Type? ........................................................................... 49
Library Categories & Items ..................................................................................... 50
What is a Library Category? ................................................................................ 50
How do I create a new Library Category? ............................................................ 50
How do I update a Library Category? .................................................................. 50
How do I delete a Library Category? ................................................................... 50
How do I add an Agenda Item into the Library? .................................................. 50
How do I create a new Library Category? ............................................................ 51
How do I use an Item from the Library? .............................................................. 51
Meetings ................................................................................................................. 52
How do I create a Meeting? ................................................................................. 52
How do I check attendees’ availability for a meeting? ......................................... 52
How do I find a Meeting List? ............................................................................. 52
How do I control access to a Meeting?................................................................. 52
How do I indicate the attendees at a Meeting? ..................................................... 53
3
How do I view and edit the Agenda for a Meeting? ............................................. 54
How do I view and edit the Minutes for a Meeting? ............................................. 54
How do I publish the Agenda or Minutes for a Meeting? ..................................... 54
How do I view and edit the Minutes for a Meeting? ............................................. 54
How do I view and edit the Agenda for a Meeting? ............................................. 54
How do I reschedule a Meeting? .......................................................................... 55
How do I cancel a meeting? ................................................................................. 55
How do I delete a Meeting? ................................................................................. 55
How do I set council members as attendees, but indicate they are not members of
the Committee? ................................................................................................... 55
How do I give users access to restricted documents for a Meeting that they are not
attending? ............................................................................................................ 56
How do I print an attendance sheet?..................................................................... 56
Minutes ................................................................................................................... 57
How do I create the Minutes for a Meeting? ........................................................ 57
How do I reorder the items in the Minutes? ......................................................... 57
How do I add a Loose Minutes Item? .................................................................. 57
How do I add a comment to the Minutes? ............................................................ 57
How do I find the Minutes for a Meeting? ........................................................... 58
How Do I stop an Agenda Item from appearing in the Minutes? .......................... 58
How do I set the start item number or start page for the Minutes? ........................ 58
How do I publish a draft Minutes for review? ...................................................... 58
How do I hand edit the Word-format Minutes document? .................................... 58
How do I remove hand-edits from a Word-format Minutes document? ................ 59
How do I revise published Minutes? .................................................................... 59
How do I auto-forward minutes to a nominated Committee?................................ 59
Minutes Items.......................................................................................................... 61
How do I edit a Minutes Item?............................................................................. 61
How do I view the Agenda Item text for a Minutes Item? .................................... 61
How do I mark a Minutes Item as a Decision? ..................................................... 61
Printing ................................................................................................................... 62
How to I Send a Document to the Print Unite or Notify Users at a later Date? ..... 62
Reviewing Process .................................................................................................. 63
Step 1 - Setting Up Reviewers ............................................................................. 63
Set the days before or after Meeting ................................................................. 64
 Notify........................................................................................................ 64
 Message .................................................................................................... 64
 Reminder Schedule ................................................................................... 64
 Updating the Meetings .................................................................................. 64
Step 5 - Draft Cleared .......................................................................................... 66
Step 5 - Published to Web.................................................................................... 66
How can I tell if a reviewer has updated a document? .......................................... 66
Templates................................................................................................................ 67
Agenda/Minutes .................................................................................................. 67
Setting Up Agenda and Minutes Templates ..................................................... 67
Using Document Properties to Display Information ......................................... 67
The range of properties to list Attendees are described in Attendees Properties 69
Users ....................................................................................................................... 70
How do I define a new Democratic Services User? .............................................. 70
4
How do I define a new Member, Officer, Democratic Services Officer or
Administrator?..................................................................................................... 70
How do I let someone work on just the minutes of meetings in Issue Manager?... 70
How do I specify a user’s name? ......................................................................... 70
How do I update a User?...................................................................................... 70
How do I delete a User?....................................................................................... 71
How do I amend the system if a Councillor dies?................................................. 71
How do I reset a password? ................................................................................. 72
A User cannot access the system: What do I do?.................................................. 72
Wards ...................................................................................................................... 73
What are Wards? ................................................................................................. 73
How do I create a Ward? ..................................................................................... 73
How do I correct the name of a Ward?................................................................. 73
How do I delete a Ward? ..................................................................................... 73
5
Agenda
How do I create an Agenda?
Step 1 – Find the list of meetings for a Committee See How to find a Meeting
List?
Step 2 - Create the Meeting that the Agenda is for. See How do I create a
Meeting? for details.
Step 3 - Edit the Agenda. See How do I view and edit the Agenda for a
Meeting?
Step 4 - Now add existing agenda items into the Agenda. See How do I add
Agenda Items to an Agenda? If none go to Step 5
Step 5 - You may want to create Agenda Items on-the fly. See How do I
create an Agenda Item while editing an Agenda?
How do I set up a default list of agenda items to be included in
every agenda?
You can set up a default agenda for each committee, containing a sequence
of agenda items and comments. When you create a new agenda, the default
agenda contents are copied in automatically. Default agendas may only be
created by an Issue Manager administrator.
To create a default agenda:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Go to the committee configuration screen, using the Configure /
Committees menu item,
Select the committee and pressing Edit.
Now press the Default Agenda button to view the list of default
agenda items.
Edit this just as you would any standard agenda. You can also
choose the default appendix numbering you require.
How do I find the Agenda for a Meeting?
1.
2.
3.
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the
Find Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the View Agenda button.
6
How do I view and edit an Agenda?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting. You will see the
Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the
Find Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the View Agenda button.
To edit the details select the agenda Item and press the Edit Item
button.
How do I add an existing Agenda Item to an Agenda?
Go to the Agenda View window. See How do I view and edit an Agenda?
Press the Outstanding Items button and use the Show Items dropdown list
box. This has three options:
1.
“This Committee Only” lists all existing Agenda Items not assigned to
an agenda but which have been flagged with this committee as their
“Refer To” committee.
2.
“No referred Committee” lists all existing Agenda Items not assigned
to an agenda, but which have not be referred to a specific committee.
3.
“All Outstanding” lists all existing Agenda Items not assigned to an
agenda, regardless of their “Refer To” committee.
Select the best option to find your Agenda Item, and the list below the
dropdown will fill with matching Agenda Items. Select the Agenda Item you
require and press the up button immediately above the Show Items
dropdown. This will add the item into the Agenda below the highlighted
Agenda Item.
How do I remove an Agenda Item from an Agenda?
Go to the Agenda View window. See How do I view and edit an Agenda?
Press the Outstanding Items button
Select the item to remove from the Agenda Items list in the top half of the
window.
Press the down arrow button immediately below the Agenda Items list.
How do I add a comment to an Agenda?
Go to the Agenda View window. Select the menu option Edit / Add Comment.
You will see the Comment window.
Comments consist of a title and summary text, either of which can be left
blank. Comments will displayed in completed agenda but do not have
numbers.
7
You can restart the numbering of agenda items after any comment by ticking
the Restart Numbering check box. This allows comments to be used as subagenda headers.
How do I reorder the Agenda Items in an Agenda?
Go to the Agenda View window. Select the item to reorder from the Agenda
Items list in the top half of the window.
Press the up and down arrow buttons immediately to the right of the Agenda
Items list.
How do I create two-level Agenda Item numbering?
When editing an agenda, you can use the Edit / Change Item Level menu
option to switch between first level numbering (1, 2, 3) and second level
number (1a, 1b, 1c). You have the choice of two styles of second level
numbering schemes:
-
1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4,
-
1, 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 4,
The agenda template controls the formatting of the numbering shown in in the
print agenda
How do I flag items with footnotes?
If you want to flag an agenda item with a footnote marker, or other small text
marker, enter the marker into the footnote marker field on the agenda item
window.
To add the footnote text itself, add a comment to the end of the agenda, and
tick the “Is Footnote” box. Footnotes, unlike other comments always appear
in the web view of a meeting – other comments are specific to the agenda or
minutes.
How do I edit an Agenda Item in an Agenda?
Go to the View Agenda window. See How do I view and edit an Agenda? for
details.
Select the item to edit from the Agenda Items list in the top half of the window.
Press the Edit Item button.
How do I create a Word-format Agenda document?
Firstly, you must create the Agenda. See How do I create an Agenda? for
details.
8
Once you have created the Agenda, press the Merge button to build and
display the Word-format version of the Agenda. Press the Start Merge button.
When you have finished, just close the document window – your changes are
saved automatically.
How do I create a new Agenda Item while editing an Agenda?
From the View Agenda window, press the Add Item button.
You must specify at least the title and associated Issue for the new Agenda
Item.
How do I publish a draft Agenda for review?
See the Reviewing Process
How do I print all documents in an Agenda?
You can print all the documents in an Agenda using the Document Pack
facility.
A document pack is a single Adobe Acrobat PDF file that contains the agenda
and all the report documents for a meeting. The pages of the reports are
consecutively numbered.
For each meeting two packs are produced – one containing all content, the
other containing only publicly accessible content.
Document packs are created and viewed by pressing the Create Pack button
in the View Agenda window. This allows you to merge the document pack, in
much the same way as you merge an agenda document. When the merge is
complete, the two pack documents will be displayed in Adobe Acrobat
Reader. You can use the Window menu to switch between the two
documents.
How do I get file copies of all documents in an Agenda?
From the View Agenda window, press the Export button. Choose the folder
and file name where you wish to save the Agenda file, agenda.doc. All the
attachments will be saved in the same directory.
How do I send a request form to the Print Unit?
Issue Manager has been configured to attach a print unit request form of your
own design when sending document packs to the print unit.
9
When you publish and agenda or minutes, you will be ask if you want to send
a print request to the print unit. If you choose yes, you print unit form will be
displayed as a Word document. You must fill in the fields on the form and
press OK to send the form with the document packs to the print unit.
How do I hand edit the Word-format Agenda document?
From the View Agenda window, press the Merge button. You will be prompted
to rebuild, ‘merge’, the document from its Agenda Items. Press Start Merge to
build, else Skip Merge.
Once the document is displayed in Word you can edit the front sheet and
trailer of the document, as well as in between each Agenda Item. However,
the Agenda Item text itself is protected. Any changes you make will be
automatically saved when you close the window.
When rebuilding the document, if the Lose Previous Edits checkbox is clear
then any edits you previously made will be retained in the new document.
If you can see a View Merge button, not a Merge button, then the Agenda is
currently published, and you cannot edit the document. Press the Un-Publish
button to allow you to make changes.
How do I remove hand-edits from a Word-format Agenda
document?
From the View Agenda window, press the Merge button.
Tick the Lose Previous Edits checkbox, and press the Start Merge button.
Fine-Tuning an Agenda or Minutes Document Prior to Publishing
Sometimes you may want to fine-tune the layout of a merge document, for
example to adjust the page breaks by inserting some blank lines or hard page
breaks. Changes can be made easily in the unprotected parts of a document,
but if you have very long agenda item text then you may want to modify the
protected sections.
To modify the protected sections, you must first select the Word menu item
Tools / Unprotect Document. You can now edit the whole document.
Changes you make to protected sections will be lost when you re-merge the
document, so only use this technique immediately prior to publishing.
To retain these edits when you publish, you must tick the Skip Merge check
box on the Publish screen. It is up to you to make sure that the contents of
the document are up to date!
10
How do I change the Word templates used to create an Agenda
document?
The templates are configured for each Committee. See How do I change the
Word templates used by a Committee?
How do I control the Appendix Number in an Agenda?
The menu option Edit / Appendix Numbering allows you to control the way
that appendices are numbered in an agenda. By default, automatic
alphabetic numbering is used. This means that appendices follow the order of
agenda items.
You can switch to numeric numbering using the Numbering Style dropdown
box. Or you can set appendix numbers to match the agenda item numbers
exactly, using the Item Numbers style.
You can stop automatic appendix number by clearing the Automatic
Numbering checkbox, so that agenda items retain their appendix number
even when the agenda list is reordered.
If you want to use a more unusual appendix-numbering scheme, you should
stop automatic numbering in the Appendix Numbering window as above.
Then open the Agenda Item window and press the documents button to view
the list of attachments. Enter the text you wish to appear as the Appendix
Reference Number.
How do I revise a published Agenda?
From the View Agenda window, press the Un-Publish button.
You are now free to make changes to the Agenda. When you have finished
your changes, press the Publish button to republish.
How do I add Minutes to an Agenda?
There are several ways to reach the View Minutes including:
1.
From the Edit Agenda Item Window select the Agenda Item and press
the Minutes Text button.
To enter details of the minutes press the Edit Text button. When complete
press the End Edit button.
2.
From the Manage Meetings window, select the meeting and press the
View Minutes button. This will open the View Minutes window.
11
Once the View Minutes window is displayed, select the Agenda Item in the
Agenda Items list at the top of the screen, and press the Edit Text button.
When complete press the End Edit button.
How do I edit headers and footers of attached documents?
There are several ways to edit attached documents:
From the View Agenda window, press the Edit Attachment button.
From the View Agenda Item window, click the Documents button and then
press the Edit Attachment button.
How do I send an Agenda/supplement to the Print Unit or send an
email notification at a later date?
When you publish your supplement, if you do not want to send it to the print
unit or notify users by email immediately, you can do so at a later date.
See Printing
12
Agenda item(s)
How do I create an Agenda Item?
There are four common approaches:
1.
Use the Manage Meetings Screen. Select the menu option Manage /
Manage Meeting or press F7. Select the required meeting and press
the Add Agenda Item button.
2.
Use the Manage Issues Screen. Select the menu option Manage/
Manage Issues or press F6. Find and select the name of the Issue
you require and press the Add Agenda Item button.
3.
Use the New Agenda Item Menu. Select the menu option Manage/
New Agenda Item, or press F8. Press the Find Issue button to
associate the Agenda Item with the required Issue.
4
From within the View Agenda Window, press the Add Item button.
How do I find an Agenda Item?
The current version of Issue Manager does not support a direct mechanism to
find an Agenda Item. However, the following approaches are available:
1.
To find the Issue for an Agenda Item select the Manage Issue from the
Manage menu. Highlight the Issue and press Issue History button.
See How do I view the Agenda Items associated with an Issue? for
details.
2
Find an outstanding Agenda Item via the View Agenda windows
How do I specify a likely Committee and Meeting date for an
Agenda Item?
In the Edit Agenda Item window, select an entry in the Refer To Committee
field and choose from the list of known future meeting dates in the Meeting
Date field.
Specifying a Refer To Committee and date does not add the Agenda Item into
the Agenda for the meeting. However, the item will appear in the list of
Outstanding Agenda Items for “This Committee”.
13
How do I add an existing Agenda Item to an Agenda?
Go to the Agenda View window. See How do I view and edit an Agenda?
Press the Outstanding Items button and use the Show Items dropdown list
box. This has three options:
1.
“This Committee Only” lists all existing Agenda Items not assigned to
an agenda but which have been flagged with this committee as their
“Refer To” committee.
2.
“No referred Committee” lists all existing Agenda Items not assigned to
an agenda, but which have not be referred to a specific committee.
3.
“All Outstanding” lists all existing Agenda Items not assigned to an
agenda, regardless of their “Refer To” committee.
Select the best option to find your Agenda Item, and the list below the
dropdown will fill with matching Agenda Items. Select the Agenda Item you
require and press the up button immediately above the Show Items
dropdown. This will add the item into the Agenda below the highlighted
Agenda Item.
How do I remove an Agenda Item from a meeting’s Agenda?
Go to the Agenda View window. See How do I view and edit an Agenda? for
details.
Select the item to remove from the Agenda Items list in the top half of the
window.
Press the Outstanding Items button to view other Agenda Items.
Press the down arrow button immediately below the Agenda Items list.
How do I add Urgent Agenda Items or other items that do not
appear on the Agenda?
Select the menu option Manage, Manage Meetings to open the [Manage
Meetings] screen.
Highlight the relevant meeting and click the View Agenda button to open the
following [View Agenda] screen:
Note: if you want to add a new item to the bottom of your agenda, highlight
the last agenda item. When you add your new item, it will be assigned the
appropriate number and placed at the end of the list of agenda items.
14
If you want to add a new item elsewhere in your agenda, highlight the agenda
item above where you wish to add your new item. Existing agenda items
will not be renumbered. The new agenda item will be numbered with the
relevant number for the section it appears in and the next available alphabetic
prefix for example 2a, 3b, 4d.
Click the Add Item button in the [View Agenda] screen to open the following
[Agenda Item] screen:
Type in a title for the new item and enter the other relevant details.
If you need to add a report to the new agenda item, the basic steps are as
follows:
Click the Add Document button to open the Add Document screen.
Click the Browse Files button Locate the file that you want to add and click
the Open button to add it to the Document path.
Tick  the “Is Late” checkbox to include this item in the Late Items
Spreadsheet.
Click the OK button in the Add Document screen to return to the [Agenda
Item] screen where the Documents panel now shows the details of the
document that you have just added.
When you click the OK button in the [Agenda Item] screen, the following
message will appear:
Click the Yes button. This allows the late item / report to be published
independently to the Agenda in a supplement. For more information see
Section 2 Creating a supplement.
Note: if you click the No button, this will un-publish the main agenda for you to
add new items / late reports. You will then need to re-merge, re-pack and republish the whole Agenda
Highlight the relevant agenda item in the [View Agenda] screen.
Click the View Item button to open the following [Agenda Item] screen:
Add your late report by either clicking the Add Document button or, if
previously marked as Document To Follow, click the Edit Details button to
open the following Edit Document screen:
Type your report name in the Document title field (if not already shown).
15
Click the Browse Files button Locate the file that you want to add and click
the Open button to add it to the Document path.
Tick  the “Is Late” checkbox to include this item in the Late Items
Spreadsheet.
Click the OK button to return to the [Agenda Item] screen:
Click the OK button in the [Agenda Item] screen to return to the [View
Agenda] screen from where you can create a supplement of the changes that
you have made to your published agenda. For more information see Section
2 Creating a supplement.
Click the Supplements tab in the [View Agenda] screen of the relevant
published agenda to display the following Supplements panel:
Click the Add Supplement button to open the following Agenda Supplement
screen:
Enter a suitable title for the supplement in the Title edit box – this title will
appear on the websites.
Access
Click on the drop down  arrow to change the access of
the supplement
Pack Style
Click on the drop down  arrow to change the DocPack
style
First Page
Number
Click on the text box and enter the start page number
As shown above, if any of the agenda items have report attachments, a +
appears to the left of the agenda item concerned. Expand the agenda item so
that you can view the reports by clicking on the +.
Tick  the Report or Report(s) that you wish to include in the supplement as
per the following example:
Once you have ticked the items that you wish to include in your supplement in
the Agenda Supplement screen, click the Merge button to open the following
Merge Supplement screen:
Select your supplement or agenda template in the Merge Template  drop
down list box.
Click the Start Merge button to begin the merge process.
16
The Messages panel will report on the progress of the merge.
When the merge has finished, the merged agenda document will be displayed
on screen.
Close the merged document to return to the [View Agenda] screen. The
supplement title will be displayed in the Supplements panel as follows:
Once the supplement has been merged, a document pack may be created.
Highlight the relevant supplement name in the Supplements panel of the
[View Agenda] screen.
Click the Edit Supplement button to open the following Agenda Supplement
screen:
Click the Create Pack button to open the following Creating Document Pack
for Supplement <supplement name> screen:
Click the Start Create button. The Messages panel will report on the progress
of the document pack creation.
When the document pack has been created, it will be displayed on screen.
You may close the document pack to return to the [View Agenda] screen.
Once the document pack has been created, you may publish the supplement
to the web.
Highlight the relevant supplement name in the Supplements panel of the
[View Agenda] screen.
Click the Edit Supplement button to open the Agenda Supplement screen.
Click the Publish button to open the following Publishing Documentation
screen:
Click the Start Publish button.
When the publishing has been completed successfully, a message will appear
at the bottom of the Messages panel.
Click the Close button to close the Publishing Documentation screen.
A message asking you if you wish to send the supplementary to the print unit
will appear, Press Yes
Fill in and review the appropriate details on the Print Form and Distribution
Form provided and click the OK button.
17
A message will advise you that your document pack has been sent to the print
unit and notification has been sent to the distribution unit.
Click the OK button to close the message.
You will next be asked if you wish to notify users that a supplement has been
produced
If you do not want to notify users by email at this moment, then as prompted
click the No button – see Section 2.4 for information on how to notify users by
email at a later date.
Otherwise click the Yes button to open the following Send Notification Email
screen where you can set up who should receive a notification email:
Click the OK button when you have finished setting up the recipients of the
notification email.
Click the Yes button to send the email – a confirmation message will appear
advising you that your email has been sent.
How do I attach a report to an Agenda Item?
There are two options:
(1)
If the Item was submitted on line, go to the Agenda item window and
press the Documents Button. Press the Add attachment button in the
bottom right hand corner. Enter a descriptive title for the report and
press the Browse Reports button. Select the report author from Drop
Down List and select the report; and
(2)
From the Agenda Item window, press the Documents button. Press
the Add Attachment button in the bottom right corner. Enter a
descriptive title for the report, and press the Browse Files button to
find your electronic copy of the report.
How do I indicate a specific report has not been supplied?
From the Agenda Item window, press the Documents button. Press the Add
Attachment… button in the bottom right corner. Enter a descriptive title for the
report. Click the arrow at the end of the Document Path field and select the
item Report to Follow or Document Not Supplied.
18
How Do I copy a report from one Agenda Item to another?
From the Agenda Item window, select the report you want to copy from the
Attached Documents list at the bottom of the window. Right click, and choose
the Copy Attachments menu item. You can copy multiple reports at once by
holding down the Shift or Control key when you select the reports.
Go to the agenda item you want to add the report to. Right-click in the
Attached Documents list, and choose the Paste Attachment menu item.
How do I remove a report for an Agenda Item?
From the Agenda Item window, select the report from the Attached
Documents list at the bottom of the window, and press the Edit Details…
button.
Once in the Edit Attachment dialog, press the Delete button.
How do I view or edit a report attached to an Agenda Item?
From the View Agenda Item window, select the report from the Attached
Documents list (you may need to press the Documents button) at the bottom
of the window, and press the Edit Attachment button.
To change the Title press the Edit Details button.
How do I create an Agenda Item to review the Minutes of the
previous Meeting?
Create a new agenda item, and in the Agenda Item window, press the
Documents button and then press the Add Attachment button to attach a
report document.
In the Add Attachment dialog, click on the down-arrow at the right hand end of
the Document Path combo box, and select the Minutes of Previous Meeting
option. Press OK to close the dialog.
Issue Manager will automatically attach the minutes of the last meeting, or
remember to do so later if the minutes don’t exist yet. It will also continue to
update the attachment with each newer version of the minutes, up until the
review of the minutes is held.
How do I control access to an Agenda Item?
An Agenda Item will inherit the access restrictions of its Meeting when you
first create it or assign it to the Meeting. You can adjust the access to the
Agenda Item when editing it, using the Access combo box. The options are:
19
Inherited
Restrict reports to attendees
Restrict reports to attendees + ward
Custom Access List
The committee is set up with default
access levels. These levels are
reflected for each Agenda Item as the
inherited setting
Attached reports are secured so that
only attendees can view. Other
documents are accessible on both the
Intranet and Internet.
Attached reports are secured so that
only attendees and ward members
can view. Other documents are
accessible on both the Intranet and
Internet.
Attached reports are secured so that
only the custom list of users you
choose can view. Other documents
are accessible on both the Intranet
and Internet. To select the users click
the Browse button
.
If you select Custom then you must press the small button alongside to
display the dialog for choosing the users with access.
How do I restrict access to one of several reports attached to an
Agenda Item?
From the View Agenda Item window, select the attachment and press Edit
Details.
The Access dropdown list will be set to Inherited when the attachment follows
the security settings of the agenda item. If the agenda item is set to Public or
Intranet access, you can change the setting for the selected attachment by
changing the value in the Access dropdown list.
How do I create a Follow-on Agenda Item?
The simplest way is to create a Follow-On item. You do this from the Agenda
screen. Highlight the agenda item to forward, and select the Goto / Follow On
Items menu option.
This will prompt you to create a new item, to which you say yes. All the
details of the new item are displayed, and you can choose the committee and
meeting date at the top of the screen. Press the Save button to create the
new agenda item.
Items created this way will appear on the Outstanding Item window on the
Agenda screen, for the appropriate committee.
20
To add the footnote text itself, add a comment to the end of the agenda, and
tick the “Is Footnote” box. Footnotes, unlike other comments always appear
in the web view of a meeting – other comments are specific to the agenda or
minutes.
How do I recover a deleted item?
See How do I recover deleted or finalised items?.
21
Audit Events
What are Audit Events?
The audit events tracks past, current and scheduled events in the history of
committees and issues. Use the Manage / Audit Events menu option to show
the audit events.
How do I view the history of a Committee?
Use the Manage / Audit Events menu option to show the audit events. Tick
the Committee box and choose the committee from the dropdown list. Set the
Entry Type to Any and press the Find button.
The Any status will display all audit event entries for the committee in the
specified date range.
Alternatively, the Outstanding status will display a list of all audit entries which
are still not complete.
Similarly the Complete status will display a compressed version of the history,
excluding Deleted items. In particular, this will exclude superseded activities;
such as multiple publish events for the same meeting.
How do I view the history of an Issue?
Use the Manage / Audit Events menu option. From the Find Entry Drop Down
Box tick the Issue box and press the Find Issue Browse button to select an
Issue. Set the Status field to Any and press the Find button.
How do I recover deleted or finalised items?
From the Manage Audit Events window, select the appropriate Committee or
Issue for which you want to find a Delete event from.
Select from the Entry Drop Down Box select deleted
(To find a deleted committee, tick the Committee box, but leave the committee
drop down blank)
Select the delete or finalise event, and press the View button on the right
hand side of the screen, press the Restore Item button.
22
Cabinet Lead Decisions
How do I set-up and publish Delegated Decisions? (HBC Only)
A delegated decision is one made by a Cabinet Lead outside of a committee
structure. Typically, this involves the publication of a report 5 working days
prior to the decision being published. There are two ways of achieving this
Option 1 – Where the Issue has not been submitted via the intranet:
1.
Create a new Issue, via the Manage Issues screen.
2.
Enter the title, a description, and attach the report via the
Documents tab.
3.
Select whether Key Decision.
4.
Select from the Exemption/Urgency Tab Select if Open or Exempt
and Insert date First Published and tick the First Published Box
5.
Select a member or officer as the decision maker.
6.
Select the Decisions tab and press Add Decisions.
7.
In the boxes at the top of the screen: Tick For Call in Box, enter last
date for call in and enter date first published .
8.
Enter the decision details. You can merge a formal decision notice
using the Merge button. Choose either “HBC Portfolio Holder
Decision” or “Urgent HBC Portfolio Holder Decision”. Press Merge.
7.
Press the Publish button to update the web site.
Option 2 – Decision submitted via the intranet
1. You will receive an email notification that a report has been released.
Check the email to ensure that all the appropriate reviewers have seen
the report and that the report has been properly signed off.
How do I allow a Decision to be called in?
Use the Goto / Decision Details menu to display the Decision Details window.
Put a tick in the Decision? And the Call-in? checkboxes.
23
How do I customise the Decision Text?
From the View Minutes window, select the Agenda Item, click Edit Item button
to open the Edit Agenda Item window and press the Decision Text button.
The text will default to that of the Minutes Item. Press the Edit Text button to
customise the text to a format that is more suitable on the web site.
How do I set a deadline for a Call-in?
From the View Minutes or View Decisions window, select the agenda item,
tick the Decisions ? box and Call in ? box. You can then edit the date in the
Deadline field. This date specifies the last day members can call-in a
decision.
24
Calendar
What is the calendar?
The calendar holds the date, time and duration of events in the council
including meetings, bank holidays, and user-specific activities.
The calendar is displayed on the modern.gov Intranet and Internet web sites.
It is managed from Issue Manager via the Manage / Manage Calendar menu
option.
A print Calendar of Meetings can be merged from the calendar and published
to the web site.
How do I add entries into the calendar?
Use the Manage / Manage Calendar menu option in Issue Manager to display
the calendar. The date, Owner and Entry Type fields allow you to filter the
information held in the calendar.
To add an entry, press the Add button. Leave the Owner field empty for
public entries, such as Bank Holidays.
The Intranet calendar will show all public entries (blank owner) and all
meetings. The Internet calendar will show all public entries (blank owner) and
all public meetings
How do I check the availability of members for a meeting?
Once you have set up the attendees of a meeting in either the [Add Meeting]
or [Edit Meeting] screen, click the Check Clashes button.
Any attendees with calendar events in the global and/or personal calendar on
the day of the meeting will be displayed in the Free Time dialog as follows:
Highlight a time when all attendees are free and click the Select Time button.
This will return to the [Edit Meeting] screen where the selected time has been
entered.
Note: you may also change the date of the meeting in the Free Time dialog.
After changing the date, click the Find button to update the information in the
dialog.
25
How do I set up a schedule of meetings for a particular committee?
To system will create a schedule of meetings to save having make individual
entries for each meeting
First you will need to configure the frequency, venue and start time of the
Committee:




Configure Meetings/Committees
Highlight the Committee and select Edit Committee
Click on the Rules tab: enter the preferred day and time., if the
meetings are held at regular intervals enter the meeting frequency
If the meeting is normally held in the same room Click on Logistics and
choose the room from the drop down list
Now you can create a schedule of meetings






Manage meetings – Select the meeting from the drop down box
Highlight the Committee, right Click and select Create Meeting
Schedule
Enterer the start date and End Date for the Schedule and choose the
status of the meeting e.g. confirmed or provisional then press Start
The meeting schedule will stop if the meeting clashes with a bank
Holiday and ask you do input a new date for the date that clashes.
Once a new date has been entered the Schedule will recommence
from the new date
Once completed check the schedule and make any amendments to the
date
Press OK
26
Committees
How do I view the list of all Committees?
Select the menu option Configure / Committees.
How do I create a new Committee?
Select the menu option Configure / Committees to view the list of all
Committees.
Press the Add button, and enter the title of the new Committee. Press OK to
finish.
The new Committee will use the default Word templates. You can go back
and edit these later.
How do I delete a Committee?
Select the menu option Configure / Committees to view the list of all
Committees.
Select the name of the Committee you wish to delete, and press the Delete
button.
How do I change the name of a Committee?
Select the menu option Configure / Committees to view the list of all
Committees.
Select the name of the Committee you wish to update, and press the Edit
button. Press OK to finish.
How do I change the Word templates used by a Committee?
Select the menu option Configure / Committees to view the list of all
Committees.
Select the name of the Committee you wish to update, and press the Edit
button.
Click the Templates button to display a list of Templates used by this
committee.
27
Select Agenda or Minutes template to edit and press the Edit Document
button. The document will be displayed ready for editing. You should be
comfortable with fields, bookmarks, sections and document properties before
attempting to edit a template. (See Templates)
To finish the edit, simply close the window.
How do I add new Word templates to a Committee?
Select the menu option Configure / Committees to view the list of all
Committees.
Select the name of the Committee you wish to update, and press the Edit
button.
Click the Templates button to display a list of Templates used by this
committee.
Press the Add Template button.
Enter the title of the template and select the file using the Browse button.
Setting Up Agenda and Minutes Templates
The template documents used by modern.gov require special formatting to
enable the agenda item data to be merged in. This formatting is:
1.
A set of special sections at the end of the document which define the
layout of each item or comment.
2.
A set of fields which display custom document properties.
You should be comfortable with fields, bookmarks, sections and document
properties before attempting to edit a template. (See Templates)
How do I configure the members of a Committee?
If you wish to appointed members of the Committee and those officers who
normally service a Committee, Select the menu option Configure /
Committees to view the list of all Committees. If you wish to appoint a
member or officer to an individual meeting see How to I appoint
Members/Officers to Individual meetings?
Select the name of the Committee you wish to update, and press the Edit
button. You will be displayed the details of the Committee.
Click the Members button to display a list of Member currently assigned to the
committee.
28
Press the Add Members button to display the member-picker dialog box. Use
the left and right arrow buttons to add and remove members. Press OK when
you have finished.
You can change the role of a member of the Committee using the Edit
Member button.
By default, members will be ordered alphabetically on their surname, and
hence the attendees will be listed alphabetically on the front sheet of an
agenda or minutes for the committee. If you usually want to display the
attendees in a particular order, rather than alphabetically, set the Member
Order dropdown to Custom. Then use the up and down arrows alongside the
members list to shuffle the order.
How do I remove a member from the Committee?
If you wish to remove a member from a Committee but still wish to retain the
member on the system (e.g. a member resigns from the Licensing Committee
but remains a member of the Council):
Select Configure/Users
Highlight the user and press Edit Member
Highlight the relevant Committee, right click and choose Edit Committee
In the Valid To box enter the date on which the member ceased being a
member of the Committee.
Press OK
Warning
If you remove a member using the Remove Member tab, you will delete
the member from the whole system
How do I restore a member who has been deleted from the
system?
Configure>Users>Configure>Show expired Items>Double click on
user>Restore
How do I appoint members/officers to individual meetings?
Select the menu option Manage/Manage meetings or press F7. Select the
required meeting and press Edit Meeting (right hand side of the screen).
29
Press the Add Members button to display the member-picker dialog box. Use
the left and right arrow buttons to add and remove members. Press OK when
you have finished.
To configure the additional member(s)/officer(s) highlight the member/officer
and right click and choose Edit Attendee. And select the appropriate role for
the drop down box. Note that the role chosen will govern how much access
the attendee has to the Committee papers as follows:
Role
Advisor
Advisory Members
Area Co-ordinator
Associate Member
Cabinet Lead
Cabinet Secretary
Chairman
Chairman 2
Church Representative
Clerk
Co-optee
Committee Member
Community Representative
Council Staff
County Councillor
Deputy Chairman
Deputy Mayor
Ex Officio
Guest
Mayor
Monitor
Non Elected, Non Voting
Officer
Parental Governor Rep
Public
Scrutiny Lead
Secretary
Spokesman
Standing Deputy
Unit Head
Vice Chairman
Vice Chairman
Right to Access Restricted?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
It is recommended that:


“Notify” be chosen if the officer/member is not to have access to
restricted information
“Monitor” be chosen if the member/officer is to have access to
restricted information
30
If you don’t want the additional attendee to be displayed on the website select
Edit Attendee, select Display Styles and from the drop down boxes select “Do
No Display”
How do I control access to a Committee?
You can control web-visibility of a Committee, and a set the default access
permission for any of its meetings by using the Configure / Committees menu
option to edit the Committee.
In the Edit Committee window you can adjust which web sites show the
committee and its meetings using the Visibility list box. The options are:
Public - The committee’s information is available on the Intranet and Internet
Intranet Only - The Information is published to the Intranet only
Private - Nothing is published to the Intranet or Internet
The Default Item Access list box determines the default security setting for a
meeting and the agenda items with in it. The options are:
Public Access
All documentation is available on both
the Intranet and Internet. Users do
not need to logon to view the
documentation.
Restrict all documents to Intranet
All documentation is available on the
Intranet. Intranet users do not need
to logon to view any of the
documentation. The meeting is not
visible on the Internet.
Restrict reports to Intranet
Attached reports are secured and
only available on the Intranet.
Intranet users do not need to logon to
view the reports.
Restrict all documents to
Attendees + ward
All documentation is secured so that
only attendees and ward members
can view. The meeting is not visible
on the Internet.
Restrict reports to attendees+ward
Attached reports are secured so that
only attendees and ward members
can view. Other documents are
accessible on both the Intranet and
Internet.
Restrict all documents to attendees
All documentation is secured so that
31
only attendees can view. The
meeting is not visible on the Internet
Restrict reports to attendees
Attached reports are secured so that
only attendees can view. Other
documents are accessible on both the
Intranet and Internet.
Private
No meeting information is published
to either the Internet or Intranet
How do I set call-in parameters for a Committee?
For each committee you can set:
- the threshold number of call-ins for a decision
- the default duration of a call-in in workings days
The settings can be updated on the Rules tab of the committee details form.
Select the menu option Configure / Committees, select the name of the
Committee you wish to update, and press the Edit button.
32
Decisions and call-in
What is a Decision?
Decisions are significant conclusions to Issues. Decisions can result from
discussions at meetings, or made directly, independent of meetings. Any
agenda item or minute item can be flagged as a decision, and a text record of
the decision entered.
The decisions from a single meeting can be published as a Decision Sheet, in
a similar way to publishing the minutes of a meeting.
Any decision can be made available for call-in, allowing councillors or the
public to protest the decision.
How do I create a Decision?
Directly from an Issue
To create a decision directly for an issue, go to the Edit Issue window, and
select the Decisions button. Press the Add Decision button.
From Agenda/Minutes
Select a meeting from the Manage Meetings window, and choose the menu
item Goto / Decisions Sheet. Select the agenda item and press the Edit Text
button. If you enter text, the Decision ? checkbox will be automatically ticked.
Decision text can also be entered from the Agenda Item window.
How do I create a Decision Sheet?
Select a meeting from the Manage Meetings window, and choose the menu
item Goto / Decisions Sheet.
Select each agenda item that you want to add a decision to, and press the
Edit Text button. If you enter text, the Decision? checkbox will be
automatically ticked.
When all the decision text has been added, press the Merge Button, Select
Decisions from the Drop Down Box, Select Start to create the Decision Sheet
and publish to the web.
33
How do I view all Decisions marked for Call-in?
The current version of Issue Manager does not provide a direct mechanism to
list Decisions. However, the web interface does provide this mechanism.
How do I view Call-ins made against a Decision?
Firstly, you must find the agenda item. Once displayed or selected, choose
the Goto \ Decision Details menu item.
How do I create Follow-on items for a Call-in?
To view the call-in for a decision see How do I view Call-ins made against a
Decision?
From the Decision Details window press the Add Follow-on button.
How do I review the Call-ins for all time-expired Decisions?
The diary can be used to track the expiry of the call-in period for a decision.
Use the Manage / Diary menu option to show the diary.
Call-in details can be viewed via the Issue Details window.
How do I view all decisions?
The current version of Issue Manager does not provide a direct mechanism to
list decisions. However, the web interface does provide this mechanism.
34
Deputations
How do I allow members of the Public to Register to Speak at a
meeting?
1.
From the Configure menu, Select Committee, Select the Committee
and click on the Edit button.
2.
Click on the Deadline tab. If there is a Register to Speak Deadline in
the list Click on Edit Action and check to ensure that deadlines are
correct then press OK. If there is not a Register To Speak Deadline,
Select Add Deadline, complete details and press OK.
3.
From the Manage Meetings Menu, select the meeting and click on
View Agenda. Select the Item(s) which are open to deputations, press
Edit Item ( View Item if published), select the Other tab and tick Public
Can Speak box.
(Nb. this option may not be available for East Hants)
35
Departments, Post And Groups
What are Departments, Posts, and Groups?
Departments are groups of officers within a council.
Posts are job functions within a council, e.g. Head of Social Services
Groups are arbitrary collections of modern.gov users.
Departments, Roles and Groups can be created in a similar fashion to
committees. There are a few differences, however:
a. Committees, Departments, and Posts can contain users or
Groups.
b. Groups contain only users.
c. Committees can own meetings, and their members have defined
roles.
How do I use a Group within a Department or Committee?
When you add a group as a member of a department or committee, the effect
is similar to adding the members of the group individually, with a number of
key differences:
a. A group can only have the Monitor role. This means the group
members will have access to information, but are not consider
attendees of the meeting.
b. The current members of the group have security access to the
information only. If a member is removed from the group then
they will lose access to information that they could previously
access
c. If you add a new member to a group, they will have access to all
the existing information that the group has access to.
Groups are a good way to give all current council members and executives
access to committee papers.
36
Documents Pack
What is a document pack?
A document pack is a single Adobe Acrobat PDF file that contains the agenda
and all the report documents for a meeting. The pages of the reports are
consecutively numbered.
For each meeting two packs are produced – one containing all content, the
other containing only publicly accessible content.
How do I create and view the Document Pack for an Agenda?
Document packs are created and viewed by pressing the Create Pack button
in the View Agenda window.
This allows you to merge the document pack, in much the same way as you
merge an agenda document. When the merge is complete, the two pack
documents will be displayed in Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can use the
Window menu to switch between the two documents.
37
Forward Plans/WorkProgrammes
What is a Forward Plan?
The Forward Plan is a list of key issues for which decisions need to be made.
Each plan has a period of validity. Items may appear in several consecutive
plans.
Work Programmes can also be created for any committee.
How do I allow a Committee or Department to own a Forward
Plan/Work Programme?
Select the menu option Configure / Committees or Configure / Departments,
Roles, Groups, and double-click the required item. In the window displayed,
tick the Can Produce Plans box and press OK
How is a Forward Plan/Work Programme different from an
Agenda?
Both forward plans and agendas are lists of items that can be merged with a
template to create a formal document, and published to the web. Some of the
differences include:
Forward plans/Work Programmes comprise a list of issues; agendas comprise
agenda items.
Forward plans/Work programmes have a defined validity period; agendas are
associated with a specific meeting of a committee
Forward plans/Work Programmes can contain issues that appeared in
previous plans; agendas contain unique agenda items, although these may
have been copied from other agenda items.
How do I create a Forward Plan?
Select the menu option Manage / Plans to display the Manage Plans window.
Select Cabinet and press Find. The existing plans are displayed.
Press Add Plan, add a title and description, then press OK.
If a previous plan exists, you will be prompted “Do you want to bring forward
items from the previous plan”. If you choose Yes, all outstanding items from
the previous plan will be added into the new plan.
38
How do I create a Work Programme?
Select the menu option Manage / Plans to display the Manage Plans window.
Select the Committee, Panel or other decision maker and press Find. The
existing plans are displayed.
Press Add Plan, add a title and description. If the programme is to be
restricted to the intranet, choose this option from the drop down list attached
to the Access box at the top of the screen. Select Business Plan from the drop
down box attached to the Plan Type box at the top of the screen. then press
OK.
If a previous plan exists, you will be prompted “Do you want to bring forward
items from the previous plan”. If you choose Yes, all outstanding items from
the previous plan will be added into the new plan.
How do I view the contents of a Plan/Work Programme?
Select the menu option Manage / Plans to display the Manage Plans window.
Select the Producer and press Find. The existing plans are displayed.
Select the plan/work programme you want to view and press Edit Plan Items.
How do I add a new issue to a Plan/Programme?
Select the menu option Manage / Plans to display the Manage Plans window.
Select the Committee, Panel or other decision maker and press Find.
Select the plan/work programme. If the plan has been published press on the
Un lock for Edit button
To add a new issue, press the Edit Plan Items. Click the Add Item button to
open the issue window. If an Issue Wizard box appears press Skip Wizard.
Click on the following tabs and enter as follows:
Decision Makers Tab
Press Add and select decision maker from the list of decision makers
Description
Press Edit Text and add description
Documents
Click on the Add Document Button.
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If there is a document, press Add Document, press Browse Files or Browse
Reports, select document, add title and press OK
If there is no document to attach press Add Document. Add Title e.g.
“Officer’s Report” and in the Document Path select “Document Not Supplied”
Agenda Items
If the matter is to be referred to a Committee click on Agenda Items tab, click
on Add Item. Select the Committee in the Refer to Box at the top of the screen
and the date of the meeting. Press OK.
If happy to publish, click on the merge button, click on create pack then click
on publish.
How do I add an existing issue to a Plan/Work Programme?
To add an existing issue or an issue submitted via the intranet, press the
Issues button to display a list of outstanding issues. Highlight the relevant
issue and the up arrow button to include the chosen issue in the plan. To filter
the list of existing issues, press the down arrow button next to the Show
Issues box.
Click on the following tabs and enter as follows:
Decision Makers Tab
Press Add and select decision maker from the list of decision makers
Description
Press Edit Text and add description
Documents
Click on the Add Document Button.
If there is a document, press Add Document, press Browse Files or Browse
Reports, select document, add title and press OK
If there is no document to attach press Add Document. Add Title e.g.
“Officer’s Report” and in the Document Path select “Document Not Supplied”
Agenda Items
If the matter is to be referred to a Committee click on Agenda Items tab, click
on Add Item. Select the Committee in the Refer to Box at the top of the screen
and the date of the meeting. Press OK.
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If happy to publish, click on the merge button, click on create pack then click
on publish.
How do I add issues submitted by the intranet to the Forward
Plan/Work Programme?
Issues submitted via the intranet by Officers will show in the issues panel
screen in Issue Manager.
To open the Plan Items Screen, select the menu Option Manage, Manage
Plans.
Highlight the relevant plan and click the Edit Plan Items. If the Plan has been
published press View Plan Items and click on Unlock for Edit.
Select the Issues Tab drop down list and choose all outstanding and no key
issues. Find and highlight the issue and click the  arrow to move the
selected issue.
Most of the data should have been transferred across e.g. the description.
Click on the following tabs to check to see that the following entries have been
made, if not change as shown:
Decision Makers Tab
Press Add and select decision maker from the list of decision makers
Description
Press Edit Text and add description
Documents
Click on the Add Document Button.
If there is a document, press Add Document, press Browse Files or Browse
Reports, select document, add title and press OK
If there is no document to attach press Add Document. Add Title e.g.
“Officer’s Report” and in the Document Path select “Document Not Supplied”
Agenda Items
If the matter is to be referred to a Committee click on Agenda Items tab, click
on Add Item. Select the Committee in the Refer to Box at the top of the screen
and the date of the meeting. Press OK.
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How do I add comments and headings to a Plan?
View the contents of the plan in the Plan Items window. Click on the item
below which you want to add the comment or header. Right click, and select
Add Comment.
How do I reorder items in a Plan/Programme?
When editing the list of plan items, use the up and down arrow buttons on the
right hand side of the plan item list to move the selected item up or down in
the list.
If the plan has been published, the arrow buttons are not visible. You must
un-publish the plan before you can move items.
How do I create a Word-format Plan/Programme document?
When editing the list of plan items, press the Merge button to build and
display the Word-format version of the Plan.
How do I change the template used to create a Plan/Programme?
When you merge the plan document, you can select any of the templates
configured for the committee or department.
If you just want to change the text of a template that can be used for other
plans, use the Configure / Committee menu just as you would to modify an
agenda template.
How do I publish a Plan?
From the Plan Items window press the Publish button to publish the Plan to
the Intranet and Internet.
How do I create Agenda Items corresponding to a Plan Item?
View the details of the issue, using the Goto / Issue Details menu. Click the
Agenda Item button to view the agenda items for the issue. Press Add Item
button to add a new agenda item. Be sure you select a Refer to Committee
for the new agenda item.
How do I view the history of a Plan Item?
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Use the Goto / Issue History menu. Expand the Agenda Items Folder in the
left hand section of the window to view a list of agenda items for this issue.
Click the Agenda Item button to view the details for each agenda item.
Press Add Item button to add a new agenda item. Be sure you select a Refer
to Committee for the new agenda item.
How do I delegate a Plan Item to an individual, rather than a
Committee?
Plan items are issues. Each issue has one or more decision makers. For
issues related to committee meetings, the decision maker is a committee.
Issues can be assigned decision makers that are departments or posts, rather
than Committees. To set the decision maker of an issue, view the details of
the issue, using the Goto / Issue Details menu. From the Decision Makers
tabs press Add Decision Maker.
How do I remove an Issue from the plan?
From the Plan Items window highlight the item to remove and click the down
arrow. The item will now appear in the outstanding box items. This allows you
to bring it to a future plan without retyping all the details
If the plan is published, you will have to first unlock the plan for editing before
removing the item. After the item has been removed don’t forget to merge,
create pack and republish the plan.
Can Officers change the issue after Submission via the intranet?
If your Officers are submitting Issues via the Intranet they can changes to an
issue via the Intranet. The issue will be automatically updated with these
changes if the Plan has not been published. If the Plan has been published
then a Change Request appears in Issue Manager.
The changes can be viewed in Issue Manager in the Change Request dialog
where they can be accepted or rejected by Democratic Services Officers.
To view the changes, select the menu option Manage, Manage Plans.
Highlight the relevant plan name and click the Edit Plan Items button to open
the [Plan Items] screen.
Click the Change Requests tab. The panel will show the change requests for
all issues in the selected plan/programme if any changes have been made via
the intranet.
Click the item you wish to view and Click the Review button to open the
Change Request Dialogue.
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The New Value column shows the change that has been made to the field as
shown in the F.
If you wish to accept a particular change and update the issue in the forward
plan with the change, highlight the relevant change and click the Accept
button. The change will be removed from the Change Request dialog.
If you wish to accept all the changes and update the issue in the forward plan
with all the changes, click the Accept All button. All the changes will be
removed from the Change Request dialog, the Change Request dialog will be
closed and you will return to the [Plan Items] screen.
If you wish to reject a particular change and not update the issue, highlight the
relevant change and click the Reject button. The change will be removed
from the Change Request dialog.
If you wish to reject all the changes and not update the issue with any of
them, click the Reject All button. All the changes will be removed from the
Change Request dialog, the Change Request dialog will be closed and you
will return to the [Plan Items] screen.
How can I examine the history of a plan/programme item or issue?
In the Edit Issue window (Manage Plans//Edit Plan Items/Edit Item) click the
Issue History button. Alternatively, highlight the Issue in the Manage Issues
window and select the Goto | Issue History menu. The Issue History window
opens up.
In the left hand area highlight the aspect you wish to view: Agenda Items,
Decisions or Plans.
Each view will open different options. Click the + sign to expand each option.
With the Agenda Items option selected click the Agenda Items button on the
right hand side to display the Agenda details. Click the Add Item button to add
a new agenda item. It is important to select a Refer to Committee for the new
agenda item.
Expand the Plans option by clicking the + sign and select an individual plan to
view a description of that plan. Click the Issue Details button or View Item
button to view the selected Issue details in the Edit Issue window.
How can I keep the Issue history up to date?
The modern.gov web site allows users to drill down from a Forward Plan and
see the whole history of an Issue. This means that the public can track the
important political discussions in the council much more easily than has been
possible previously.
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If the Issue History displayed on the web site is to be complete and accurate
then it is important the relevant information is linked to each Issue. There are
several simple ways you can use Issue Manager to ensure this:
1.
Use the Agenda Items Tab in the Issue Details window to pencil-in the
initial agenda items for an Issue. Issue Manager automatically creates
initial items for the Decision Makers, but those for consultation bodies
are not. So when creating a plan, set up agenda items for these.
2.
When you create an agenda, make sure you use the pencilled in items
from the plan, and don’t create new agenda items.
3.
When editing an agenda item in the View Agenda Item Window, check
the Issue field. If the item relates to a Key Issue then make sure it is
linked to that Issue. If it isn’t, then press the … button to find and
select the right Issue.
4.
Create Follow-On items using the Goto | Follow-on Items menu.
Follow-On items are agenda items that continue an unfinished
discussion, either at the same or a different committee. The follow-on
items are automatically linked to the same issue.
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5.
Issues
What is an Issue?
An Issue is a topic of debate, for which one or more agenda items will be
created. By viewing the issue status, you can see the complete history of a
debate, across committees and meetings, like viewing a thread of discussion
on a bulletin board.
Forward plans/Work Programmes are lists of key issues.
When you create a new agenda item, a new Issue is created automatically,
unless you associate it with an existing Issue. If you create a follow-on item, it
will be automatically associated with the same Issue as the parent item.
How do I find an Issue?
Select the menu option Manage/ Manage Issues or press F6. You will see
the Manage Issues window.
Enter values in the fields in the Find Issues By box which describe the Issue
you wish to find, then press the Find button.
You can use the Goto /Issue Details menu from most other forms in Issue
Manager.
How do I create a new Issue?
Select the menu option Manage/ Manage Issues or press F6. You will see
the Manage Issues window.
Press the Add Issue button, and fill in the description of the Issue. When you
have finished press OK.
How do I delete an Issue?
From the Issue Details window, press the Delete button. You will be asked if
you are sure you want to delete this issue. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
From the Manage Issues window, select the name of the Issue you wish to
delete and press the Delete button.
How do I delegate an Issue to an individual, rather than a
Committee?
Issues can be assigned decision makers that are departments or roles, rather
than Committees. To set a decision maker for an issue, view the details of
the issue, using the Goto / Issue Details menu. From the Decision Maker tab
select press Add Decision Maker.
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How do I add an Agenda Item to an Issue?
There are several approaches:
1. From the Issue Details window, select the Agenda Items button and
press the Add Item button.
2. Select the menu option Manage / New Agenda Item or press F8.
Press the Issue browse button to find and select the issue and thus
associate the Agenda Item with the required Issue.
3. Select the menu option Manage / Manage Issues or press F6. Enter
values in the fields in the Find Issues By box which describe the Issue
you wish to find, then press the Find button. A list of matching Issues
will be displayed. Select the name of the Issue you require and press
the Add Agenda Item button.
How do I mark an Issue as completed?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Issues or press F6. You will see
the Manage Issues window.
Enter values in the fields in the Find By box which describe the Issue you wish
to find, then press the Find button. A list of matching Issues will be displayed.
Select the name of the Issue you require and press the Set Completed button.
How do I view the Agenda Items associated with an Issue?
Select the menu option Issue / Manage Issues or press F6. You will see the
Manage Issues window.
Enter values in the fields in the Issue Type box which describe the Issue you
wish to find, then press the Find button. A list of matching Issues will be
displayed.
Select the name of the Issue you require and press the Issue Details button.
Press the Agenda Items button to display a list of all Agenda Items associated
with the chosen Issue.
How do I view the Decisions arising from an Issue?
View the details of the issue, using the Goto / Issue Details menu. Click the
Decisions button to view the decisions made for this issue. Press Add
Decision button to add a new decision item.
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Issue types
What is an Issue Type?
Issue Types are a text tags used to categorise Issues. Any number of Issue
Types can be defined in the system. Any number of Issue Types can be
assigned to an Issue.
How do I create an Issue Type?
Select the menu option Configure / Issue Types…
Press the Add button, enter the title of the Issue Type e.g. Submit Items to the
GG Work Programme.
Access Box (top of the screen): Select “Restrict all Info to Intranet”
The following is an example of Actions added in the Action tab:
Select Add Action
Select: Produce Report:
In the title type “To Produce a Report”
In the Wizard Box type “Report Writer”
From the Report Type dropdown box select: “CommitteeReportTemplate”
(HBC)/ ”StandardReportTemplate” (EHDC)
Owner Tab: from the drop down list select “Any Officer”
Date tab: Select “Any Date”
Email Tab: Tick “Immediately Reminders: Working days before = 6
Press Ok
Select Add Action
Select: Consult with Committee
Action title: Consult Cabinet Briefing
Wizard:
Select Meeting Date
Owner:
Cabinet Briefing / One owner
Date Meeting Date / No restriction
Email No email reminders
Select Add Action
Select: Consult with Committee
Tick the Is Optional box
Action title: Consult with Scrutiny Board
Wizard:
Refer to Scrutiny Board?
Owner:
Scrutiny Board / One owner
Date Meeting Date / No restriction
Email No email reminders
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Select Add Action
Select:: Make Decision
Tick Is Optional box
Action title: Submit Decision to Council
Wizard:
Select meeting date
Owner:
Council / One owner
Date Meeting Date / No restriction
Email No email reminders
Select Add Action
Select: Make Decision
Action title: Submit Decision for Cabinet
Wizard:
Select meeting date
Owner:
Cabinet / One owner
Date Meeting Date / No restriction
Email No email reminders
On the Rules tab:
Support emails to: DS Support Group
On the Wizard tab Title: < Submit Items to the GG Work Programme >
Tick fields required
Press Create Form
How do I correct the name of an Issue Type?
Select the menu option Configure / Issue Types…
Select the name of the Issue Type to amend and press the Edit button.
Edit the title of the Issue Type and press the OK button.
How do I delete an Issue Type?
Select the menu option Configure / Issue Types…
Select the name of the Issue Type and press the Delete button.
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Library Categories & Items
This is the library contained in Issue manager and should not be confused
with the library on the web site
What is a Library Category?
The agenda item library holds the details of commonly occurring agenda
items, allowing users to select a common agenda item rather than retype it.
Library Categories are a means of sub-dividing the library to make it easier to
find an item, in the same way that sub-folders can simplify the storage of files
on a computer.
Any number of Library Categories can be defined. Nested categories are not
supported.
How do I create a new Library Category?
Select the menu option Configure / Library Categories to view the list of all
Library Categories. Press the Add button, and enter the title for the Category.
How do I update a Library Category?
Select the menu option Configure / Library Categories to view the list of all
Library Categories. Select the Category to update and press the Edit button.
How do I delete a Library Category?
Select the menu option Configure / Library Categories to view the list of all
Library Categories. Select the Category to delete and press the Delete button.
How do I add an Agenda Item into the Library?
From the Edit Agenda Item window press the Save To Library button. Select
the Library Category you want store the item under from the dropdown list,
and press the Save button.
If you tick the Save Minutes Text Only box then only the minutes text of the
agenda item will be available in that library entry. This feature enables you to
apply commonly used minutes item text excerpts with a minimum of typing.
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How do I create a new Library Category?
Select the menu option Configure / Library Categories to view the list of all
Library Categories. Press the Add button, and enter the title for the Category.
How do I use an Item from the Library?
When creating a new Agenda Item, press the Load from Library button in the
View Agenda Item dialog. Select the Category and item you want and press
the Load button.
This item can be amended by pressing Edit Text
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Meetings
How do I create a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting. You will see the Manage
Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee you require in the Find Meetings By box.
When the list of meetings already entered for this committee is displayed
press the Add Meeting button to set up a new meeting for this committee.
How do I check attendees’ availability for a meeting?
When setting the date and time for a meeting you can check the other known
meeting commitments for each of the attendees by pressing the ‘…’ button
alongside the meeting date field.
The Free Time dialog displayed shows the activities your attendees are
involved in, hour-by-hour, for the selected day. Use the forward and back
arrows to look at availability in adjacent days.
How do I find a Meeting List?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. You will see
the Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find By
box, and press the Find button.
How do I control access to a Meeting?
A Meeting will inherit the access restrictions of its Committee when you first
create it. You can adjust the access by editing the Meeting and changing
the option selected in the Access combo box. The options are:
Public Access
All documentation is available on both
the Intranet and Internet. Users do
not need to logon to view the
documentation
Restrict all documents to Intranet
All documentation is available on the
Intranet. Intranet users do not need
to logon to view any of the
documentation. The meeting is not
visible on the Internet
Restrict reports to Intranet
Attached reports are secured and
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only available on the Intranet.
Intranet users do not need to logon to
view the reports.
Restrict all documents to
Attendees + ward
All documentation is secured so that
only attendees and ward members
can view. The meeting is not visible
on the Internet.
Restrict reports to attendees + ward
Attached reports are secured so that
only attendees and ward members
can view. Other documents are
accessible on both the Intranet and
Internet.
Restrict all documents to attendees
All documentation is secured so that
only attendees can view. The
meeting is not visible on the Internet.
Restrict reports to attendees
Attached reports are secured so that
only attendees can view. Other
documents are accessible on both the
Intranet and Internet.
Private
No meeting information is published
to either the Internet or Intranet
How do I indicate the attendees at a Meeting?
A Meeting will inherit the members of its Committee as attendees when you
first create it. You can adjust the attendees by editing the Meeting and using
the Add Attendee, Edit Attendee, and Delete Attendee buttons.
See How do I appoint members/officers to individual meetings?
Before a meeting is held you will want to set the Attendance field for an
attendee to Expected. After the meeting, set the attendance to Present as
Expected, Absent, or any more appropriate setting.
You change the attendance settings very quickly by selecting many of the
attendances at once with the mouse, holding down the Shift or Ctl key, then
using the Set Attendance menu option on the right mouse click. This will
change the Attendance setting for all those attendees selected.
By default, attendees will be ordered alphabetically on their surname. If you
want to list attendees in a particular order on the front sheet of an agenda or
minutes, set the Attendee Order dropdown to Custom. Then use the up and
down arrows alongside the attendee list to shuffle the order..
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How do I view and edit the Agenda for a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. You will see
the Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find
Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the View Agenda button.
How do I view and edit the Minutes for a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. You will see
the Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find
Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the View Minutes button.
How do I publish the Agenda or Minutes for a Meeting?
View the Minutes or Agenda you require, and press the Publish button.
How do I view and edit the Minutes for a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. You will see
the Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find
Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the View Minutes button.
How do I view and edit the Agenda for a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. You will see
the Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find
Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the View Agenda button.
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How do I reschedule a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. You will see
the Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find
Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require. Highlight the menu option Edit/ Reschedule
Meeting.
How do I cancel a meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. You will see
the Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find
Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require. Click the menu option Edit Meeting. Then
choose “Cancelled” from the drop down list attached to the Status box at the
top of the screen.
Press Ok.
How do I delete a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. You will see
the Manage Meetings window.
Select the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find
Meetings By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the Delete Meeting button.
How do I set council members as attendees, but indicate they are
not members of the Committee?
Members of the committee should have their role set as Member, while other
councillors should have their role set as Guest. To set their role from the
Manage Meetings window press the Edit Meeting button. Select the User
from the Attendee list and press the Edit Attendee button. Select the required
Role from the drop down list.
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How do I give users access to restricted documents for a Meeting
that they are not attending?
You can add users to a committee or meeting with the Monitor role. These
users will have the same access to restricted documents and email
notifications as the attendees of the meeting, but will not be included on the
list of attendees on the front sheet of the agenda.
How do I print an attendance sheet?
You can print an attendance sheet for your meeting
 Manage Meetings, select the committee form the drop down list
 Press Edit Meeting
 Press Edit (Top Bar)
 Select Print Attendance Sheet
 Choose from the drop box for Include who should be included
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Minutes
How do I create the Minutes for a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. Now select
the name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find Meetings
By box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the View Minutes button. You can
now select an Agenda Item from the list and add to or edit the minutes text by
pressing the Edit Text button. When you have finish press the End Edit
button.
Once you have added all the required minutes text, press Publish to make the
minutes available to the modern.gov web site.
How do I reorder the items in the Minutes?
Select the item to reorder from the Minutes Items list in the top half of the
window.
Press the up and down arrow buttons immediately to the right of the Minutes
Items list.
How do I add a Loose Minutes Item?
To add an item to the Minutes that did not appear in the agenda, press the
Add Item button on the Minutes window. You will see the Agenda Item
window. Fill in the fields as you would when adding an agenda item to an
agenda.
You can add both agenda item summary text and minutes item summary text,
although the item will only appear in the Minutes, and never the Agenda.
How do I add a comment to the Minutes?
Go to the Minutes window. Select the menu option Edit / Add Comment. You
will see the Comment window.
Comments consist of a title and summary text, either of which can be left
blank. Comments are displayed in the completed minutes but do not have
numbers.
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How do I find the Minutes for a Meeting?
Select the menu option Manage / Manage Meeting or press F7. Select the
name of the Committee and date range you require in the Find Meeting By
box, and press the Find button.
Select the meeting you require and press the View Minutes button.
How Do I stop an Agenda Item from appearing in the Minutes?
You can hide an agenda item such as AOB from the minutes by un- ticking
the Show In Minutes tick box on the View Agenda Item window.
How do I set the start item number or start page for the Minutes?
Go to the Minutes window. Press the Merge or Publish buttons. You will see
the Merge Data window.
To start item numbering from a number greater than one, change the value in
the First Item Number field
To set the starting page number displayed in the headers and footers of the
Word-format Minutes document, change the value in the First Page Number
Field.
How do I publish a draft Minutes for review?
You can publish draft minutes using the Decision Sheet facility. Preparing a
Decision Sheet is very is similar to preparing minutes, using the View
Decisions window. There are several ways to reach the View Decisions
window including:
1.
From the Goto Menu select Decisions Sheet.
2.
From the Manage Meetings window, select the meeting and press the
View Decisions button.
Once the View Decisions window is displayed, select the Agenda Item in the
Agenda Items list at the top of the screen, and press the Edit Text button to
enter text.
Press the Publish button to create the web page.
How do I hand edit the Word-format Minutes document?
From the View Minutes window, press the Merge button. You will be
prompted to rebuild, ‘merge’, the document from its Minutes Items. Press
Start Merge to build, else Skip Merge.
Once the document is displayed in Word you can edit the front sheet and
trailer of the document, as well as in between each Minutes Item. However,
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the Minutes Item text itself is protected. Any changes you make will be
automatically saved when you close the window.
When rebuilding the document, if the Lose Previous Edits checkbox is clear
then any edits you previously made will be retained in the new document.
If you can see a View Merge button, not a Merge button, then the Minutes is
currently published, and you cannot edit the document. Press the Un-Publish
button to allow you to make changes
How do I remove hand-edits from a Word-format Minutes
document?
From the View Minutes window, press the Merge button.
Tick the Lose Previous Edits checkbox, and press the Start Merge button.
Fine-Tuning an Agenda or Minutes Document Prior to Publishing
Sometimes you may want to fine-tune the layout of a merge document, for
example to adjust the page breaks by inserting some blank lines or hard page
breaks. Changes can be made easily in the unprotected parts of a document,
but if you have very long agenda item text then you may want to modify the
protected sections.
To modify the protected sections, you must first select the Word menu item
Tools / Unprotect Document. You can now edit the whole document.
Changes you make to protected sections will be lost when you re-merge the
document, so only use this technique immediately prior to publishing.
To retain these edits when you publish, you must tick the Skip Merge check
box on the Publish screen. It is up to you to make sure that the contents of
the document are up to date!
How do I revise published Minutes?
From the View Minutes window, press the Un-Publish button.
You are now free to make changes to the Minutes. When you have finished
your changed, press the Publish button to republish.
How do I auto-forward minutes to a nominated Committee?
Some councils require minutes from a range of committees to be formally
reviewed at a meeting of a parent committee, such as the full council.
The process of gathering together the minutes for such a meeting can be
simplified by configuring modern.gov to automatically pencil in an agenda item
for each set of minutes to be reviewed. To enable this feature:
1.
Display the details the committee which is producing the minutes, using
the Configure / Committees menu option.
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2. Select the Rules tab, and in the Forward Minutes To field, select the
name of the committee reviewing the minutes, for example Council.
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Minutes Items
How do I edit a Minutes Item?
From the View Minutes window, select an Agenda Item from the list and press
the Edit Text button. When you have finished, press the End Edit button.
How do I view the Agenda Item text for a Minutes Item?
From the View Minutes window, highlight the Agenda Item. Select the Goto
menu and choose either Agenda Item or choose Issue Details and click
Agenda Items button.
How do I mark a Minutes Item as a Decision?
From the View Minutes window, select the Agenda Item and put a tick in the
Decision checkbox.
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Printing
How to I Send a Document to the Print Unite or Notify Users at a
later Date?
When you publish your agenda/ minutes/supplement/ or late item and you do
not want to send it to the print unit or notify users by email immediately, you
can do so at a later date.
Minute/Agendas
Open the View Agenda or View Minutes Screen and press Edit and choose
Send To Print or Send Notification Email.
Supplementary/Late Items
Click the Edit Supplement button to open the following Supplement screen:
Click the Send Email button to open the Send Notification Email screen where
you can set up the recipients of the email.
Click the Send to Print button to open the Print Request screen where you
can fill in the appropriate details on the Print Form and Distribution Form
provided.
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Reviewing Process
The reviewing process enables all the documents that make up an agenda,
decisions sheet, or minutes (“document”) to be placed on the Intranet for
review by specified personnel prior to publication to the Web sites where the
documents are more widely available.
The draft review facility allows updates to documents and their states to be
made either via Issue Manager or via the Intranet.
Step 1 - Setting Up Reviewers
Go To Manage Meetings. Select the Meeting type e.g. Planning Committee.
Highlight the meeting date and Click on the Edit Committee Button
Click the Reviewers Tab to open the tab. Use the Add Reviewer button to
open the Add Reviewers
dialog box.
Highlight the relevant User’s name in the Available column and click the Left
 arrowhead to move the name to the Selected column.
Select multiple members by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking the
members names in the Available column. Click the Left arrowhead to move
the names to the Selected column.
You can also search for a specific user by typing either the first or last name
of the user in the Look for edit box.
Once the user or group has been set up as a Reviewer you can set the areas
of interest by highlighting the Reviewer name and clicking the Edit Reviewer
button to open the Edit Reviewer dialog box:
If the same reviewers will also be expected to review the minutes of the
meeting, ensure that the Review Minutes and Agenda checkboxes are ticked.
It is possible to set up a user as an 'Overseer' who can view the comments:
tick  the Can see all comments checkbox to set this option.
If you have selected a group you can Tick  Each member to review box.
This will then send an email action to all the reviewers and then they will all
have to individually mark them closed when they have completed the review.
If left blank once one member of the group reviews the document and closes
the action the system will mark all the other members actions as completed.
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Step 2 – Set Up a Deadline
.
To set up deadlines and reminders for a committee, Click on the Configure
Menu, Select Committee and highlight the Committee then Click on the Edit
Committee Button. From the Edit Committee Screen Click on the Deadlines
Tab.
To insert a deadline click on the Add Deadline button; this opens an Edit
Reminder for Meeting dialog box. There are a number of deadline types to
choose from depending on whether the reminder is for an agenda, minutes,
decisions, final report deadline, amongst others. Use  the arrow-head to
select from the drop-down list.
From this dialog box set the different criteria for the reminder.
Set the days before or after Meeting
The deadline date is specified by choosing either the number of days before
the meeting or after the meeting. Use the small arrows to select the number
of days. Select from the drop down arrow if it’s working days before or after
the meeting, this will prevent weekend days being included in the number of
days. Select Calendar days before or after meeting to include weekends.

Notify
Use the  drop-down list to select a group of users to send the
reminder to. The list includes Agenda Reviewers, Attendees, Decision
Sheet Reviewers, Minutes Reviewers and Report Authors.
Alternatively, you may click on the Browse… button to select an
individual user or Group.

Message
Type the reminder text to be included in the reminder email.

Reminder Schedule
A reminder programme can be specified and further refined to send
messages at regular intervals before or after the deadline date.

Updating the Meetings
Once you have set up the Reviewers/Reminders you will need to set
the future meeting cycles. When you click on the Ok button you will be
prompted with the update meetings dialog box
Click on the Yes button
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Step 3 – Publish
After you have drafted and merged the document and created the pack you
will want to check it. Once you are happy with the document click on the
Publish button.
The Publishing Documentation dialog box opens up.
Select the New Status from the drop down list. The initial stage is 'Under
construction' and ends with the 'Published to web'.
In the Publishing Documentation dialog box,
From the New State  dropdown list box is set to 'Draft review'.
To start the process click the Start Publish button.
The progress will be displayed step-by-step in the Messages box and visually
along the Progress Bar.
Once the Review publishing has taken place, the system will inform you that
‘Publishing Completed Successfully’.
Click on the Close button
You will be asked if you wish to Email to notify users.
Click on the Yes Button
To add any Additional Text by clicking on the Additional Text tab
Click on the Ok button
The Reviewers will receive an email with a link to the intranet
The Document Status will now change to Draft Review.
Step 4– Review Comments Received
To review any comments received from reviewers
To access the Review window select the document and from the Goto menu
choose Review Agenda.
A list of reviewers, changes and the status are displayed in the Reviewers
box. Highlight each reviewer to display the comments made in the lower
Comment box. It is also possible to add comments to each reviewer by typing
into this box.
Click the View Document button to examine the agenda or minutes document
that has been edited by the selected reviewer.
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Any changes to the document must be done with the Edit Agenda, Edit
Minutes, Edit Decision. If any changes have been made the document will
have to be merged again and also if there is a pack that will have to be rerun.
If you need to review the document again after the original document has
been amended repeat steps 3 and 4.
Step 5 - Draft Cleared
After the reviewers have approved the documentation the next stage in the
Review process is to set the 'Draft cleared'.
After you have drafted and merged the document and created the pack you
will want to check it. Once you are happy with the document click on the
Publish button.
The Publishing Documentation dialog box opens up.
Select the New Status from the drop down list. The initial stage is 'Under
construction' and ends with the 'Published to web'.
In the Publishing Documentation dialog box,
From the New State
dropdown list box is set to 'Draft cleared'.
To start the process, click the Start Publish button.
Step 5 - Published to Web
After the draft documentation has been set as cleared or approved the final
stage in the review process is to publish the documents to the web. From the
Publishing Documentation dialog box select 'Published to web' as the New
Status and click the Start Publish button. A hyperlink to documents will then
be e-mailed to the attendees of the meeting.
How can I tell if a reviewer has updated a document?
Go to the Documents View e.g. if the document is a set of minutes select
manage meetings, highlight the meeting and press view minutes.
If the document has been edited directly using Outlook, rather than Issue
Manager, the word True will appear in the Draft Modified column.
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Templates
Agenda/Minutes
Setting Up Agenda and Minutes Templates
The template documents used by modern.gov require special formatting to
enable the agenda item data to be merged in. This formatting is:
1.
A set of special sections at the end of the document which define the
layout of each item or comment.
2.
A set of fields which display custom document properties.
You should be comfortable with fields, bookmarks, sections and document
properties before attempting to edit a template. It is recommend that you read
the booklet Introduction to Templates before fiddling with fileds
Using Document Properties to Display Information
Modern.gov will substitute details of the meeting into a template using the
system of custom document properties and fields.
The following document properties are supported:
Custom Property Name
CommitteeName
Usage
The name of the committee
MeetingId
A unique number for the meeting, as
held on modern.gov. Id will not
reoccur and can be used as a
reference number.
MeetingDate
The date of the meeting in a long
format
MeetingTime
The time of the meeting
PreMeetingDate
PreMeetingTime
The date and time of the agenda premeeting in a long format
MeetingPlannedFinishTime
The planned finish time of the
meeting
MeetingPlannedTimeRange
The planned start and finish times of
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a meeting e.g. “10.00 am – 12.30 pm”
MeetingActualStartTime
The actual start time of the meeting
MeetingActualFinishTime
The actual finish time of the meeting
MeetingActualTimeRange
The actual start and finish times a
meeting e.g. “10.00 am – 12.30 pm”
MeetingContact
MeetingContact_2
The contact name and address for
any queries regarding the meeting
MeetingLocation
The location that the meeting is to be
held at.
ChairName,
ChairNameShort
The full user (or short) name of the
chair of the meeting
ChairRole
Role of chair – may be Vice chair in
the chair
CoChairName
The full user name of the co-chair of
the meeting
CoChairNameShort
The short user name of the co-chair
of the meeting
ViceChairName
ViceChairNameShort
DeputyChairName
DeputyChairNameShort
SecretaryName
SecretaryNameShort
ChairNameStar,
CoChairNameStar,
ViceChairNameStar,
DeputyChairNameStar,
SecretaryNameStar
StartValidDate
EndValidDate
The user name of the vice-chair
PlanTitle
The title of the plan (plan templates
only)
PlanAuthor
Plan author username(plan templates
only)
MeetingActualTimes
The actual start and finish times a
meeting e.g. “10.00 am – 12.30 pm”
The user name of the deputy chair
The user name of the secretary
The full user names as above, but
when used in the minutes, may
include an asterisk (*) to indicate
absence without apologies.
Date range for which a plan is valid
(plan templates only)
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NextMeetingDateNextMeetingTime
NextMeetingLocation
The date and time of the next meeting
Location of the next meeting
MonthName
Current month name. (Calendar only)
The range of properties to list Attendees are described in Attendees
Properties
To display the information held in the document properties in an agenda or
minutes document, you must define a field of type DOCPROPERTY for each
of the custom properties. For example, the following field definition will show
the committee name.
DOCPROPERTY “CommitteeName”
You can define more than one field that displays the same document
property.
Issue Manager will update all properties to the correct value during the
document merge process.
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Users
How do I define a new Democratic Services User?
Select the menu option Configure / Users to view the list of all Committees.
Press the Add button, and enter the NT account name, the user’s full name,
and specify the user type as Democratic Services Staff.
Press OK to finish.
How do I define a new Member, Officer, Democratic Services
Officer or Administrator?
Select the menu option Configure / Users to view the list of all users.
Press the Add button, and enter the NT account name, the user’s full name,
and specify the user type as Member, Officer, Democratic Services Officer or
Administrator.
Press OK to finish.
How do I let someone work on just the minutes of meetings in
Issue Manager?
You can specify a user as a Minutes Typist. Such users can run Issue
Manager, but can only access a limited set of screens, allowing them to
prepare decision sheets and minutes. They cannot publish any information.
How do I specify a user’s name?
You can specify a range of different styles of name for each user. These can
be used in the automatically generated attended lists.
Full Name
Smith
- as before, the full name of the user, e.g. Councillor John T
Short Name - typically just the surname, e.g. Smith, but may also include an
initial
where necessary.
Initials - users full initials including surname, e.g. JTS
How do I update a User?
Select the menu option Configure / Users to view the list of all users.
Select the user to update and press the Edit button
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How do I delete a User?
Select the menu option Configure / Users to view the list of all users.
Select the user to delete and press the Delete button.
How do I amend the system if a Councillor dies?
When a member dies, the system can set a mourning message that will then
be displayed on the Councillor’s web page, until the mourning period expires.
It is important to enter a long term message that will be displayed on the
Councillors web page indefinitely, as although the link to the member’s page
is removed from the list on the web pages it will still be accessible from other
pages such as meetings that the member had attended.
From the Manage Users Screen highlight the specific Member and click the
Other Tab.
Deceased: tick the box and fill in the deceased date. This is not displayed on
the web sites.
Click on the Details button this is where you can enter the mourning period
expiry date, the morning message and a long term message.
Click on the Ok button.
Click on the Ok button to close the Edit User window. You will then be
prompted to “Delete future attendances”
Click on the Yes button.
At this point the system will delete the member attendance from all future
meetings that are un-published.
After the mourning period it will remove the member from any “Committees”
that they member was a member of.
NOTE: if you create a new meeting before the mourning period is over the
member will be added.
The Mourning message is displayed on the member’s page.
The member is removed from any committee’s that they were a member of.
The member is removed from any attendance stats for future meetings, but
remains for past meetings.
The link to the member’s page is removed from the list of members but the
page is still accessible from other links for example past meeting attendances
where the member’s page will now display the Long term message.
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The member will automatically be set to expired.
How do I reset a password?
Select the menu Configure/Users to view the list of users.
Select the user and press the Edit button
Press Change Password
Enter new password twice
Remember to also update the password spreadsheet
A User cannot access the system: What do I do?
Test the following options:
Solution 1 – The User is not entered on the System
Select Configure/Users to view the list of users
If the user is not listed Create a new user
How do I define a new Member, Officer, Democratic Services Officer or
Administrator?
Solution 2 – The password is faulty
See
How do I reset a password?
Solution 3 – A domain has been added to a user
Select Configure/Users
Highlight the User Press Edit
Select a different type of user from the Drop Down Box
Reselect the original type of user and the domain will be shown in the domain
box.
Delete the domain
Reset the password
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Wards
What are Wards?
The geographical area run by a council is often partitioned into Wards, with
councillors assigned responsibilities for one or more Wards.
Modern.gov provides a configurable list of Wards. Any Issue can be assigned
to one or more Ward.
How do I create a Ward?
Select the menu option Configure / Wards to view the list of all Wards.
Press the Add button, and enter the title for the Ward.
How do I correct the name of a Ward?
Select the menu option Configure / Wards to view the list of all Wards.
Select the Ward and press the Edit button.
How do I delete a Ward?
Select the menu option Configure / Wards to view the list of all Wards.
Select the Ward and press the Delete button.
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