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1 <?xml version='1.0'?>
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2 <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="../../lib/xml/doc.xsl" ?>
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3 <!DOCTYPE doc SYSTEM "../../lib/xml/doc.dtd" >
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4 <doc>
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5 <head>
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6 <title>Draft agreement regarding Esme Frith's passport</title>
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7 <author>Alison Burnley</author>
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8 <author>Henry S. Thompson</author>
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9 <date>18 Dec 2010</date>
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10 </head>
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11 <body>
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12 <div>
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13 <title>Background</title>
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14 <p>Ola Uduku and Alan Frith contacted SE Scotland Area Meeting Elders with a
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15 request that Elders hold their daughter Esme's passport, and manage its use by
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16 one or the other parent.</p>
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17 <p>After some discussion, Elders agreed to try to find a basis on which this
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18 could be arranged, and asked Alison Burnley and Henry S. Thompson to meet with
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19 Alan and Ola and draw up a mutually agreeable set of guidelines which would
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20 enable such a scheme to go ahead. We have met with them, and the proposed
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21 guidelines below are the result of the discussions we have held so far.</p>
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22 <p>This version is based on Henry's notes, and is meant as a starting point,
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23 not a set-in-stone take-it-or-leave-it proposal.</p>
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24 </div>
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25 <div>
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26 <title>Management of Esme Frith's passport</title>
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27 <p>The passport will normally be stored in the safe in the Meeting House
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28 Managers' office at 7 Victoria Terrace.</p>
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29 <p>The process of releasing the passport will be managed by three Elders,
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30 drawn from Southeast Scotland Area Meeting (SESAM) Elders.</p>
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31 <p>The identity of the Elders so designated will necessarily change from time to
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32 time, so normally contact should be via email, to
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33 <code>ppelders@equaker.org.uk</code>—if telephone contact is required,
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34 the Clerk of SESAM Elders will always know who the currently designated Elders are.</p>
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35 <p>Meeting House staff will release the passport only on instructions from one of
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36 the designated Elders: they will <emph>not</emph> be involved in the process leading up
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37 to an agreed release.</p>
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38 <p>Exactly how the designated Elders manage their decisions regarding the
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39 passport is up to them—one possibility is that there is an agreed 'duty
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40 roster', with the first entry on the roster being expected to handle
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41 straightforward requests independently. The others would step in if, for
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42 instance, any incoming email went unanswered for more than three days.</p>
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43 <p>The normal process for arranging release of the
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44 passport is given below,
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45 and should be initiated in good time: at least several weeks before the
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46 intended date of release if at all possible.</p>
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47 <div>
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48 <title>Normal process</title>
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49 <list type="enum">
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50 <item>Ola
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51 and Alan each send email to the designated Elders giving
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52 <list type="enum">
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53 <item>the date on which the passport
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54 is required</item>
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55 <item>the destination(s) and duration of the trip</item>
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56 <item>the expected date at
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57 which the passport will be returned</item>
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58 <item>the parent taking Esme on the trip</item>
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59 </list>
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60 </item>
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61 <item>Once the designated Elders have both emails, after possibly confirming the details by
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62 telephone with one or both parent, they will notify both the Meeting House
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63 managers (using <code>office@equaker.org.uk</code>) and both Alan and Ola that
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64 the passport is cleared for release for the requested period.</item>
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65 <item>The parent in question arranges a convenient time with the Meeting
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66 House Managers for collecting the passport</item>
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67 <item>The parent in question returns the passport, again at a mutually
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68 convenient time arranged with the Meeting House Managers</item>
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69 </list>
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70 </div>
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71 <div>
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72 <title>Emergency process</title>
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73 <p>If it is not possible to follow the normal process for some reason, for
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74 example because a family emergency arises for one parent and the other parent
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75 cannot be reached, one parent may apply on their own to the designated Elders, who will used
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76 their discretion to decide what to do. In no case should Ola or Alan approach
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77 Meeting House staff without first involving the designated Elders.</p>
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78 </div>
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79 </div>
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80 <div>
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81 <title>Winding up this agreement</title>
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82 <p>If Alan and Ola both request a termination of this agreement, Elders will
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83 arrange for the passport to be delivered forthwith, in whatever way Ola and
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84 Alan have requested.</p>
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85 <p>If SESAM Elders determine at any time that the process is not working, or
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86 is at risk of exposing them to legal proceedings, and if their concerns cannot
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87 be addressed by Alan and Ola to their satisfaction, Elders may terminate this
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88 agreement unilaterally and hand the passport back to Ola or Alan.</p>
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89 <p>If only one of the parents requests a termination of this agreement,
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90 Elders will attempt to negotiate an agreed resolution with both parents, but
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91 failing this will arrange for the release of the passport, as they have no
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92 legal right to withhold it from either of Esme's legal guardians.</p>
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93 </div>
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94 <div>
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95 <title>Form of the agreement</title>
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96 <p>Once all parties involved (Alan, Ola and Elders) are satisfied with a
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97 form of the above words, Sections 2 & 3 above will be set out on their own
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98 for signature by Ola, Alan and the then Clerk of SESAM, at which time the
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99 agreement will come into operation and Alison Burnley will hand the passport
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100 over to the Meeting House managers. We recommend that a copy of the agreement
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101 be kept in the safe with the passport.</p>
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102 </div>
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103 </body>
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104 </doc>
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