Is it legal for a PC to run without a Clerk / RFO / Proper officer.

Question

My PC has been running for 3 months without Clerk/PO/RFO, the Annual Parish Council Meeting (not advertised as a extraordinary meeting) was convened by 2 Councillors, is this legal?

Answer 1

As the Clerk/Proper Officer is a statutory role, I don't think it is possible to operate without a Clerk/Proper Officer although anyone can fulfil that role.  If a councillor does so, it cannot be a paid role.

Comments

Para 15 a of 2022 revision of NALC Model standing orders states that the clerk must be proper officer.
Personally, I’d consider that entry a prime candidate for selective editing out of model SOs prior to adoption by a user council.
There is no reason to be hamstrung by a NALC interpretation or agenda which is not supported by statute.

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A bit like a business must have a Company Secretary, so a local authority must have a Proper Officer.  The role carries with it a number of duties which are enshrined in legislation so without a Proper Officer, the council cannot function.  If the council wishes to separate out the functions of the Proper Officer and clerk, so be it but potentially a bit inefficient in terms of cost to have two employees rather than one.  Some councils also separate out the RFO function (Responsible Financial Officer) too.