Policies & Procedures

1. Introduction 

This policy sets out the procedure to ensure there is compliance with legislation and continuity of procedures in the co-option of members to Heckington Parish Council (HPC). The Co-option procedure is entirely managed by HPC and this policy will ensure that a fair and equitable process is carried out. 

2. Co-option 

The Co-option of a Parish Councillor occurs when a casual vacancy has arisen on the Council and no poll (by-election) has been called.  A casual vacancy occurs when: 

• A councillor fails to make his declaration of acceptance of office at the proper time; 
• A councillor resigns; 
• A councillor dies; 
• A councillor becomes disqualified; or 
• A councillor fails for six (6) months to attend meetings of a council committee or subcommittee or to attend as a representative of the Council a meeting of an outside body. 

HPC has to notify the District Council of a Casual Vacancy and then advertise the vacancy and give electors the opportunity to request an election. This occurs when ten electors write to the District Council stating that an election is requested. 

If a by-election is called, a polling station will be set up by the District Council and the people of the parish will be asked to go to the polls to vote for candidates who will have put themselves forward by way of a nomination paper.  HPC will pay the costs of the election (circa £3,000-£4000 as at 2017).  The people of the parish have fourteen days (not including weekends, bank holidays and other notable days), to claim the by-election, but the electoral officer will advise the clerk of the closing date.  

If more than one candidate is then nominated a by-election takes place but if only one candidate is put forward they are duly elected without a ballot. 

If ten residents do not request a ballot within fourteen days of the vacancy notice being posted, as advised by the District Council, BGPC is able to co-opt a volunteer. 

3. Confirmation of Co-option 

On receipt, of written confirmation, from the Electoral Services Office from the District Council, the casual vacancy can be filled by means of Co-option, the Parish Clerk will: 

• Advertise the vacancy for at least two weeks on the Council notice boards and website 
• Advise HPC Councillors that the Co-option Policy has been instigated 

HPC is not obliged to fill any vacancy. Even if the Council invites applications for co-option, it is not obliged to select anyone from the candidates who apply. 

However, it is not desirable that electors in a particular ward be left partially or fully underrepresented for a significant length of time.  Neither does it contribute to effective and efficient working of the Council if there are insufficient councillors to share the workload; equitably; to provide a broad cross-section of skills and interests; or to achieve meeting quorums without difficulty. 

Councillors elected by co-option are full members of HPC. 

4. Eligibility of Candidates 

HPC is able to consider any person to fill a vacancy provided that: 

• He/she is an elector for the parish; or 
• has resided in the parish for the past twelve months or rented/tenanted land or other premises in the parish; or 
• had his/her principal place of work in the parish; or 
• has lived within three miles (direct) of the parish. 

There are certain disqualification's for election, of which the main are (see S. 80 of the Local Government Act 1972): 

holding a paid office under the local authority; 
bankruptcy; 
having been sentenced to a term of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) of not less than three months, without the option of a fine during the five years preceding the election; and 
being disqualified under any enactment relating to corrupt or illegal practices. 

Candidates found to be offering inducements of any kind will be disqualified. 

5. Applications 

Members may point out the vacancies and the process to any qualifying candidate(s). 

Although there is no Statutory Requirement to do so, candidates will be requested to: 

Submit information about themselves, by way of completing a short application form (Appendix A) 
Confirm their eligibility for the position of Councillor within the statutory rules (Appendix B). 

Following receipt of applications, the next suitable council meeting will have an agenda item 'To receive written applications for the office of Parish councillor and to Co-opt a candidate to fill the existing vacancy'. 

Copies of the candidates’ applications will be circulated to all Councillors by the Clerk.  All such documents will be treated by the Clerk and all Councillors as Strictly Private and Confidential. 

Candidates will be sent a full agenda of the meeting at which they are to be considered for appointment and will be informed that they will be invited to speak about their application at the meeting. 

6. At the Co-option Meeting 

At the co-option meeting, candidates will be given five minutes maximum to introduce themselves to Members, give information on their background and experience and explain why they wish to become a Member of HPC. The process will be carried out by adjourning the meeting to allow the candidate to speak. Where the Council wishes to discuss the merits of candidates and inevitably their personal attributes, this could be prejudicial and the Council will resolve to exclude the members of the press and public.

As soon as all candidates have finished giving their submissions, the council will proceed to a vote on the acceptability of each candidate utilising the ‘person specification’ criteria set out in Appendix C and any personal statements provided by candidates.  Voting will be by a show of hands unless a Councillor requests a secret ballot or the Chairman directs that one will take place.

In order for a candidate to be elected to HPC, it will be necessary for them to obtain an absolute majority of votes cast (50% + 1 of the votes available at the meeting).  If there are more than two candidates and there is no candidate with an overall majority in the first round of voting the candidate with the least number of votes will drop out of the process.  Further rounds of voting will then take place with the process repeated until a candidate has an absolute majority.  In the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman of the meeting has a second casting vote. 

After the votes has been concluded, the Chairman will declare the successful candidate duly elected and after signing their declaration of acceptance of office, they may take their seat immediately. 

The Clerk will notify Electoral Services of the new Councillor appointment. The successful candidate(s) must complete the ‘registration of interests’ within 28 days of being elected. The form should be handed to the Clerk for forwarding to the Monitoring Officer. 

Appendix A

Application for Co-Option (Webmaster's Note: This is also a link to the PDF document for review/downloading)

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Parish Councillor.  Please provide the information to assist the Council in making their decision.

Please return your completed application to the Clerk to the Council at Council Chambers, St Andrews Street, Heckington, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 9RE.  Your application will be considered at the next available Parish Council meeting at which you are invited to attend and speak for a maximum of 5 minutes.  A vote will then be held to decide whether the council agrees to co-opt you in to Heckington Parish Council.

Data Protection Act – The information provided on this application form will be treated as Private and Confidential.

Appendix B -Eligibility for Co-Option

Appendix C

Co-opted Councillor Person Specification