Policies & Procedures

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

Qualifications  

To be a Parish Councillor, a candidate must be either:

1. 

• British;
• A Commonwealth National;
• An Irish or European Union citizen;

and 

2. and 18 years of age or over and ful fil one or more of the following criteria. 

•    Being on and remaining on the register of electors for the Parish or during the whole twelve months preceding the nomination. 
•    Has during the 12 months preceding that day occupied as owneror tenant a premises in the counil area. 
•   The principal or only place of work during those 12 months has been in the council area
• During the whole of those 12 months, he has resided in either the councils area or within 3 miles of the parish boundary. 

Should a candidate only meet the criteria at 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 they 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.  
 
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; any person who is subject to the notification requirements of Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003

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 North Kesteven District Council of the vacancy.

Then, either:
  
2)   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 boards, giving the residents of the ward the opportunity to call for an election to fill the vacancy during this period. The Parish Council will also post the notice on the Parish Council website and, if the publication schedule allows, the Parish Council newsletter. 

Or 

3)   If the vacancy occurs within 6 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 14 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 (via the Parish Clerk if required). 

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. The cost of any election is borne by North Kesteven District Council. If there isn’t 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 for any ward within the Parish Council boundaries at the 4 yearly elections, all those validly nominated will be declared elected. 

If enough Councillors are elected to form a quorum (7), 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, North Kesteven District Council may order another election.  

Co-option  

Although the process for co-option is not prescribed in law District Councils and Local Council Associations provide best practice advice and guidelines. 

It is especially important that all applicants are treated alike so that the arrangements are seen as open, fair and transparent. 

The co-option process adopted by Witham St Hughs Parish Council is as follows: 

i)   The Parish Council will only consider any interested applicants who have gone through the nomination / election process in the first instance.

If those persons do not wish to be considered for co-option or those candidates are considered unsuitable by the Parish Council;

Then: 

ii)   The Parish Council will advertise the vacancy (or vacancies) on the Parish Council noticeboards, the Parish Council website and, if the publication schedule allows, the Parish Council newsletter.

The notices will include:  

• The contact details of the Parish Clerk to enable prospective co-option candidates to obtain further information on the role of a Parish Councillor.  
• Details of the co-option process. 
• The closing date for all expressions of interest.  
• The date on which the Parish Council intends to make a decision. 

The Parish Council (or parishioner) can legally approach individuals to suggest that they might wish to consider putting their names forward for co-option.
  
i)   When the applications are received the Parish Clerk will review all application details and carefully check that applicants meet the qualification requirements. They will confirm that, if successful, their willingness to accept the Code of Conduct and other obligations of a Parish Councillor. 
 
ii)   Candidates may be asked to submit a short letter with a brief CV giving reasons why they should be considered for the vacancy. These letters will be circulated to elected Councillors before the meeting at which the decision will be made. 

iii)   Candidates will be informed of the date of the meeting at which the Parish Council will make its decision on the co-option. 

Co-option Meeting 
 
Notice of the intention to co-opt must be given in the appropriate agenda for a meeting of the Parish Council.  Candidates may be invited to the meeting to introduce themselves and to provide elected Councillors the opportunity to ask them questions. The Parish Council retains the right to rely on written submissions alone.  

If candidates are not invited to speak at the co-option meeting they are welcome to (but not required to) attend as members of the public.

The Parish Council may only discuss each candidate’s suitability for the role when they and members of the public are not present. 

Co-option voting process
  
If there are equal or fewer candidates than vacancies the Parish Council can vote on a composite motion, duly proposed and seconded, that all candidates be co-opted. 
  
If there are more duly proposed and seconded candidates than seats it will be necessary for existing Councillors present at the meeting to vote. 

Arnold Baker on “Local Council Administration” (9th Edition) recommends that:  

i)   A successful candidate should have received an absolute majority vote of those present and voting. If there are more than two candidates for one vacancy and none of them at the first count has an overall majority, the candidate with the fewest votes should be eliminated and the remainder put to the vote again. The process should be repeated as necessary until one candidate has an overall majority.  

ii)   Each vacancy should be filled by a separate vote or series of votes. In a small council there is a distinct possibility that there could be a tie for last place in the first round of voting, leaving the candidate for elimination to be decided by lots. 

After the Vote

i)   The Parish Clerk will notify the candidates of the results by telephone and email as soon as is reasonably possible (usually within 24 hours) this is not the duty of any elected member.

ii)   Successfully co-opted candidates become Councillors in their own right with immediate effect and are no different to any other member.  As such, they must sign a Declaration of Acceptance of Office and complete and return a Register of Interests Form at their first meeting, or within 28 calendar days of election, whichever is the sooner. Their term of office runs until the next quadrennial elections for the Parish Council. 

*Notes  

The content within this document is based upon a study of legislation and adopted practices of District and Parish / Parish Councils (nationwide) and follows advice from the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils. 

It is intended as a summary of the most relevant points of procedure and legislation rather than a definitive exposition. Unless specified otherwise, periods of days given in this document refer to working days, that is, they exclude weekends and public holidays. 

Legislation covering casual vacancies can be found at: 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/3305/article/5/made?view=plain

Date calculation is given in Schedule 2 Part 1 paragraph 2 of Statutory Instrument 2006/3305 and can be found at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/3305/schedule/2/made