Questions about town and parish councils

Would any decision made by a council of only 4 councillors illegal?

Follow Councillor Q&A on X/Twitter

Follow us on X/Twitter

1 Answer

0 votes
How many seats are there on the council.

How many of those are occupied / vacant.
by (19.8k points)
At the time decisions were being made, which are questionable, the council had only 4 members. It had been acting with only 4 members for some time.
by (500 points)
The legitimacy of the number of Cllrs required CAN ONLY be determined when you tell us how many seats there are and how many have sitting Cllrs.
by (19.8k points)
Thx. Where can I go to find out the maximum?
by (500 points)
The maximum is 7. I’ve been informed.
by (500 points)
As Dave pointed out recently....

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/70/schedule/12/paragraph/12

Subject to paragraph 45 below, no business shall be transacted at a meeting of a parish council unless at least one-third of the whole number of members of the council are present at the meeting; but, notwithstanding anything in that paragraph, in no case shall the quorum be less than three.

If you have a total number of seats (7) and 4 attend a meeting, I assess that as being a valid and quorate meeting (7/3 equals 2.3 - so 3 - you have 4 ✔️  Happy to be corrected....
by (19.8k points)
As my maths teacher used to say, one mark for the correct answer and another one for showing how you got there!
by (52.9k points)
Thanks for the confirmation and explanation.
by (500 points)

Welcome to Town & Parish Councillor Q&A, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of the community. All genuine questions and answers are welcome. Follow us on Twitter to see the latest questions as they are asked - click on the image button above or follow @TownCouncilQA. Posts from new members may be delayed as we are unfortunately obliged to check each one for spam. Spammers will be blacklisted.

You may find the following links useful:

We have a privacy policy and a cookie policy.

Clares Cushions logo Peacock cushion

Clare's Cushions creates beautiful hand made cushions and home accessories from gorgeous comtemporary fabrics. We have a fantastic selection of prints including Sophie Allport and Orla Kiely designs and most covers can be ordered either alone or with a cushion inner. Buying new cushions is an affordable and effective way to update your home interior, they're also a great gift idea. Visit our site now

2,921 questions
5,669 answers
8,010 comments
10,040 users
Google Analytics Alternative