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.