2023.11 – Casual Vacancy Co-Option Policy

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Co-Option Policy and Procedure
Approved by The Town Council 27 November 2023
This policy and procedure sets out the way in which the Town Council will deal with the cooption of Members with the aim of full compliance with legislation, consistency, continuity
fairness and equity.

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Co-option
1.1

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

A councillor fails to make his/her declaration of acceptance of office at the
proper time;
ii. A councillor resigns;
iii. A councillor dies;
iv. A councillor becomes disqualified; or
v. 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.
1.2

North Petherton Town Council has to notify Somerset 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 Somerset Council stating that an
election is requested.

1.3

If a by-election is called, a polling station will be set up by Somerset 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. North Petherton Town
Council will pay the costs of the election. 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.

1.4

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.

1.5

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

Confirmation of Co-option
2.1

On receipt, of written confirmation, from the Electoral Services Office from Somerset
Council, the casual vacancy can be filled by means of co-option, the Town Clerk will:
i. Advertise the vacancy on the Town Council notice boards and website;
ii. Advise Town Councillors that the Co-option Policy has been instigated.

2.2

The Co-option process will take place as soon as is practicable as 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.

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2.3

Councillors elected by co-option are full members of North Petherton Town Council
although are not eligible to claim an allowance (should one be introduced).

Eligibility of Candidates
3.1
North Petherton Town Council is able to consider any person to fill a vacancy
provided that:
i. He or she is an elector for the parish; or
ii. has resided in the parish for the past twelve months or rented/tenanted land or
other premises in the parish; or
iii. had his or her principal place of work in the parish; or
iv. has lived within three miles (direct) of the parish.
3.2

There are certain disqualifications for election, of which the main are (see 5. 80 of
the Local Government Act 1972):
i.

holding a paid office under the local authority i.e. North Petherton Town
Council;
ii. bankruptcy;
iii. 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
iv. being disqualified under any enactment relating to corrupt or illegal practices.
3.3

The application form will require candidates to declare that they meet the
qualification criteria for holding office and are not disqualified for any reason.

3.4

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

Applications
4.1

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

4.2

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
and confirm their eligibility for the position of Councillor within the statutory rules.

4.3

Following receipt of applications, the next suitable full Town Council meeting will
have an agenda item 'To receive written applications for the office of town 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 Town Clerk at least 3 clear
days prior to the meeting of the full Council, when the co-option will be considered.
All such documents will be treated by the Town Clerk and all Councillors as Strictly
Private and Confidential.

4.4

Candidates will be sent an electronic copy by email of the full agenda of the meeting
at which they are to be considered for appointment. Candidates will also be
informed that they will be invited to speak about their application at the meeting.

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At the Co-option Meeting
NOTE: Currently serving Councillors are reminded of the need to make an appropriate
declaration of interest and take the relevant action if any of the co-option
applicants are known to them.
5.1

Where there are co-options for more than one ward to be dealt with they will be
taken on a ward by ward basis; the whole process for each ward, including voting,
being completed before moving on to the next ward. Similarly if there is more than
one seat within a ward to be dealt with each seat will be dealt with on an individual
basis and concluded before.

5.2

The Mayor will address the meeting and outline the process that will be followed (as
detailed below) and ask co-option applicants to wait outside the meeting room
whilst other applicants speak.

5.3

Candidates will be given a maximum of five minutes to introduce themselves to
Members, give information on their background and experience and explain why
they wish to become a Member of North Petherton Town Council. The process will
be carried out by adjourning the meeting to allow the candidate(s) to speak. The
Mayor, or Councillor presiding at the meeting, will decide the order in which
candidates will be invited to speak which will usually be in alphabetical order.

5.4

Councillors may ask questions of the candidates but must take care to ensure that all
candidates are given the opportunity to provide the same information.

5.5

When all candidates have finished giving their submissions, the council will reconvene and may discuss the applications (without intervention from the candidates
or members of the public). The Council will then proceed to the voting stage of the
process.

5.6

Where the number of candidates equals or is less than the number of vacancies the
following proposal will need to be made and seconded by a Councillor “that there
being XX vacancy and XX candidate(s), namely xxxxx yyyy in accordance with
legislation and the Town Council’s policy the Council formally declares the casual
vacancy filled by xxxxx yyyy

5.7

Where the number of candidates exceeds the number of vacancies Councillors will
proceed to a vote on the acceptability of each candidate utilising the ‘person
specification’ criteria set out in Appendix A and the information provided by
candidates.

5.8

To enter into the voting process a candidate must be proposed and seconded by a
Councillor, any candidate who is not proposed and seconded will not proceed any
further in the process.

5.9

At the start of the voting process the Chair will ask Councillors to propose and
second any of the candidates, the voting will be between all of the candidates who
have been duly proposed and seconded. If there are more than two candidates and

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there is no candidate with an absolute 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.
5.10

Councillors have one vote in each round of the voting process except in the case of
an equality of votes where the meeting Chair has a second, casting, vote.

5.11

In order for a candidate to be co-opted to North Petherton Town Council, it is
necessary for them to obtain an absolute majority of votes available (this is a legal
requirement).

5.12

Every Councillor can choose to vote for one candidate or abstain from the vote. For
the purposes of calculating the absolute majority, abstentions will not be included in
the votes cast and will be counted separately. The absolute majority required by a
candidate will therefore be 50% + one of the votes cast in their favour at the
meeting.

5.13

Voting will be in public by a show of hands, or by a ballot if requested in accordance
with Standing Order No 8.

5.14

If an absolute majority of votes is not attained by either of the final two candidates
remaining in the voting process, the vacancy will remain unfilled.

5.15

After the vote has been concluded, the Chair will declare the successful candidate
duly co-opted. They will be invited to sign their declaration of acceptance office and
then take a place at the meeting table and contribute to the debate of any remaining
agenda items however they will not have a vote as they were not summoned to
attend the meeting.

5.16

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.

5.17

If insufficient candidates come forward for co-option or a vacancy remains unfilled
after the voting process described at 5.3 – 5.4 has concluded, the co-option process
should continue, whereby the vacancies are again advertised.

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APPENDIX A
CO-OPTED COUNCILLOR PERSON SPECIFICATION
COMPETENCY
Personal
Attributes
Experience,
skills,
knowledge and
ability

Circumstances

ESSENTIAL
• Sound knowledge and
understanding of local affairs and
the local community.
• Forward thinking.
• Ability to listen constructively.
• A good team player.
• Ability to pick up and run with a
variety of projects and a solid
interest in local matters.
• Ability and willingness to
represent the council and their
community.
• Good interpersonal skills and able
to contribute opinions at meetings
whilst willing to see others’ views
and accept majority decisions.
• Ability and willingness to be open
minded when reaching decisions
• Ability and willingness to think of
the needs of the whole town
Council area
• Ability to communicate succinctly
and clearly.
• Ability and willingness to work
closely with other members and to
maintain good working
relationships with all members
and staff.
• Ability and willingness to work
with the council’s partners (e.g.
voluntary groups, other parish
councils, principal authorities and
charities).
• Ability and willingness to
undertake induction training and
other relevant training.
• Ability and willingness to attend
meetings of the Council and its
Committees (or meetings of other
local authorities and local bodies)
at any time and events in the
evening and at weekends.

DESIRABLE
• Can bring a new skill, expertise
or key local knowledge to the
council.
•
•
•
•

Experience of working with
voluntary and/or local
community or interest groups.
Basic knowledge of legal issues
relating to town and parish
councils or local authorities.
Experience of public speaking /
delivering presentations
IT literate