TYDD ST MARY PARISH COUNCIL

Councillor Vacancies Policy

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

Qualifications

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

 British;

 A Commonwealth National;

 An Irish or European Union citizen;

and

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

a. being on and remaining on the register of electors for the Parish on the relevant day

or

b. have occupied land or premises in the parish as owner or tenant for the previous 12 months or

c. principal place of work for the whole of the past 12 months is in the Parish.

or

d. has resided in the parish for the whole of the previous 12 months.

or

e. has for the whole of the previous 12 months resided within 3 miles of the Parish.

Should a candidate only meet the criteria of point a. 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.

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.

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 South Holland 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.

or

3) 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 (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. 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 for any ward within the Parish Council boundaries at the four yearly elections, all those validly nominated will be declared elected.

If enough Councillors are elected to form a quorum (3), 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, South Holland 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 be treated alike so that the arrangements are seen as open, fair and transparent.

The co-option process adopted by Tydd St Mary Parish Council is as follows:

The Parish Council will advertise the vacancy (or vacancies) on the Parish Council website.

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, application form and person specifications.

These applications will be circulated to Elected Councillors before the meeting at which the decision will be made.

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 questions of them; the Parish Council retain 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 s/he and members of the public are not present. (in closed session).

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.

After the Vote

The Parish Clerk will notify the candidates of the results by telephone or email, as soon as is reasonably possible (usually within 24 hours) this is not the duty of any Elected Member.

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.