meeting-minutes

# Taking minutes Minutes are a record of decisions, not a transcript. Somebody reading them in three years needs to know what was decided and by whom. ## Record Date, time, place · attendance, apologies, and any declaration of interest · each item, with the decision in one sentence · the vote where taken, with the numbers · **actions, each with a named owner and a date** · the next meeting. ## Decisions, not discussion "Resolved to award the contract to X for £Y" is the minute. Ten minutes of debate is not, unless a member asked for a position to be recorded. ## Record dissent when asked If a member asks for their objection to be minuted, it goes in with their name. That is a right, not a courtesy. ## Interests A declared interest goes in the minute for that item, with whether the member withdrew. ## Never Attribute a view to somebody who did not ask for it, summarise a decision the meeting did not reach, or leave an action without an owner and a date.