Policies and Procedures

Councillor Vacancies Policy

CHAPEL ST LEONARDS

 

COUNCILLOR VACANCIES POLICY

 

For the purpose of openness and transparency, Chapel St Leonards Parish Council will endeavour to fill any vacancy (vacancies) at the earliest opportunity. 

  • Eligibility 
  •  
  • To be considered as a Parish Councillor, applicants must meet at least one of the following qualification criteria:
  •  
  • 1) Be registered as a local government elector for the Parish on the current Electoral Register.
  •  
  • 2)  Has during the whole of the previous 12 months occupied as tenant or owner any land or other premises in the Parish.
  •  
  • 3) Has had his/her principal or only place of work in the previous 12 months in the parish of Chapel St Leonards.
  •  
  • 4) Has resided either in the Parish or within 3 miles thereof during the previous 12 months.  

 

       and 

 

18 years of age or over, and fulfil one or more of the following criteria:

   

  • being on and remaining on the register of electors for the Parish; or, during the whole of the twelve months preceding the nomination.
  • have lived in, worked in or lived within 3 miles of the parish boundary

     . 

 

Should a candidate only meet the criteria of point 1 above, on the nomination form and subsequently come off the register of electors, the qualification would lapse. 

 

The other three qualifications remain valid for the four-year term, so even if a successful candidate left the parish s/he would not be required to resign, although it might be considered appropriate to do so. 

 

 

 

Resignation  

A Councillor may resign at any time by giving written notice, addressed and delivered to the Chairman of the Parish Council. The Chairman must accept the resignation and there is no legal procedure for withdrawing a notice of resignation once delivered and accepted. 

 

Resignation takes effect immediately upon receipt and cannot be post-dated, and must be sent to the Elections Office without delay 

 

Disqualification 

 Reasons for disqualification include (but not limited to) bankruptcy; being employed by or doing paid work for the Council (except as a contractor); a criminal conviction with a prison sentence of three months or more; illegal expenditure; or being found guilty of corrupt or illegal practices in election law.  

 

Other Causes of Vacancy 

 

  • Death;

 

  • Failure to sign a Declaration of Acceptance of Office; 

 

  • Failure to attend meetings for a period of six consecutive months. 

 

Procedure for Filling Casual Vacancies

 

When a vacancy arises on the Parish Council following:

 

  • A Councillor’s Resignation;

 

  • Disqualification or Failure to remain qualified;

 

  • Death

 

the process to fill the vacancy is as follows:

  

  1. The Parish Clerk must notify the Returning Officer at East Lindsey District Council of the vacancy;

 

then, either:

  

  1. The Parish Council must display a notice informing the residents of the parish of the vacancy. The notice will run for 14 working days (excluding weekends and bank holidays) from the date it is displayed on Parish Council notice board, and the website, giving the residents of the ward the opportunity to call for an election to fill the vacancy during this period.

or 

 

  1. if the vacancy occurs within six months of the next scheduled elections for the Parish Council, there is no option to hold an election. The Parish Council may fill the vacancy by co-option or the seat remains vacant. 

 

Calling an Election

  

During the period of fourteen days from the date the public notice of the vacancy was displayed, ten electors from the parish can call for an election to be held to fill the vacancy. They must make their request in writing to the Returning Officer.

If such a request is received within the 14 days, the Returning Officer will set a date for the election (which must be within 60 days of the date of the vacancy notice). 

 

Notices will be displayed announcing the election and explaining how to apply to be a candidate for election.  If there are not enough nominated candidates at the election to fill the vacancies, a further election must be called. Co-option is not an option.

 

If an Election is Not Called

  

The Parish Council will be notified by the Returning Officer, and must fill the position by co-option as soon as practicable. 

 

Vacancies after Ordinary Parish Council Elections (every 4 years)

 

If fewer valid nominations were received at the four yearly elections, all those validly nominated will be declared elected. 

 

If enough Councillors are elected to form a quorum (5), the Parish Council should seek to fill any remaining vacant seats by co-option as soon as possible after the election date. Should it fail to fill the vacant seats within 35 working days (excluding bank holidays and weekends), or if not enough Councillors were elected to form a quorum, East Lindsey District Council may order another election.  

 

Co-option Policy for Chapel St. Leonards Parish Council

This policy sets out the procedure to ensure there is compliance with legislation and continuity of procedures in the co-option of members of Chapel St. Leonards Parish Council

This procedure is based on NALC Legal Briefing L15-08 – Good practice for selection of candidates for co-option.

Co-option of Parish Councillors (casual vacancy) Policy of local Councils.

Parish Councils are permitted to exercise the power to co-opt a person onto the Council to fill a casual vacancy. A vacancy occurs when:

• A Councillor fails to make his declaration of acceptance at the proper time

• A Councillor resigns;

• A Councillor dies;

• A Councillor fails for six months to attend meetings of the Council

Although seeking ‘expressions of interest’ is not a legal requirement, the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) recommends that Councils always give public notice of vacancies because this makes the process of co-option open and transparent and should attract more potential candidates.

Whenever the need for co-option arises, Chapel St. Leonards Parish Council will:

Advertise the vacancy using the village noticeboards, website and flyers to seek and encourage ‘expressions of interest’ by a specified date from anyone in the Parish who is eligible to stand as a Parish Councillor. All potential candidates will be requested to complete the Co-option application and eligibility forms.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility of co-opted candidates is the same as formal elections as stated above under the main heading of Eligibility.

Applications

Candidates are required to:

• Submit some brief information about themselves ( short application form to be supplied)

• Confirm their eligibility for the position of Parish Councillor

Following the receipt of the application form and confirmation of eligibility the next suitable Parish Council Meeting will include an agenda item “To receive written applications for the office of Parish Councillor and to co-opt a candidate to fill the existing vacancy” Candidates will be invited to attend the meeting.

Copies of the candidates’ application forms will be circulated to all parish Councillors by the Clerk at least three clear days prior to the meeting of the full Parish Council at which the co-option will be considered.

All documents will be treated by the Clerk/Parish Councillors as strictly private and confidential.

Candidates will be forwarded an agenda of the meeting, by email, and advised that they will be invited to speak at the meeting about their application.

 

At the next Full Council meeting:

1. The Clerk will confirm that each candidate is qualified to become a Councillor and is not disqualified from being a Councillor as set out in the Local Government Act 1972 s79 and s80;

2. The candidate(s) will be given a maximum of three minutes to introduce themselves, including giving brief information on their background and why they wish to become a member of the Parish Council. Each Councillor will then be given the opportunity to ask one question of each candidate.

 

3. The meeting will then be closed for Council to consider the applications and members of the public and press will be asked to leave.

4. Voting on the acceptability of each candidate for co-option will then take place. An absolute majority vote is required for each candidate from all members present and entitled to vote (The applicant with the least number of votes cast will be deleted and the vote taken again and again etc. until the number of candidates equals the number of vacancies);

4a. Voting procedure.

For speed and transparency, a show  of hands is in order for counting to take place. Both the Clerk and one Councillor to carry out this procedure as confirmation of a correct count.

5. Vote to select the order in which acceptable candidates should be approached to offer co-option on this occasion.

 

6. Candidates will be notified by e-mail of the Council’s decision within 48 hours. The Clerk to approach and offer co-option to candidate(s) after the meeting in the order of priority determined by the vote. If the first choice does not accept the post, then the second is to be approached and so on until the ranking list is exhausted.

 

7. If the co-option position is filled, the appointment will be formally ratified.

 

8. The Clerk to notify Electoral Services of the new Councillor Appointment, initiate ‘acceptance of office’ paperwork and ‘registration of interests’

 

9. If no one accepts the vacant post(s), the whole process will be repeated when new individuals expressing interest are identified or until the next election.

 

Amended 27th. August 2021