Parish Councillor Vacancy - Advertising

Question

The statutory notice for a councillor vacancy was posted onto the village notice board and also a facebook site. However the notice is buried on the parish council's official website so a casual visitor would not know there was a vacancy. The motive is two fold, firstly the council is trying to avoid election costs c£3k but in the history of the village there has never been a mid term contested election. The second motive is the Chair will have someone he wants co-opting. From memory the Parish Council declared some years ago the website would be its primary means of communication and yet it is deliberately not following that policy.

Is this a loophole that because the notice was posted then the statutory obligations were met?

Answer 1

It is virtually impossible to put everything on the front page of a website or indeed when on a notice board to put it so that it is instantly seen by every one in the village.  Frankly, if it is on a facebook site, it is probably reaching more people than most notice boards or websites reach.   Why do you say that the council's own policy of using the website is not being met when you've said the notice is on the website?  From what you have said, the statutory requirements have been met and exceeded.  Assuming you are aware of the notice (having commented on it here) you and anyone else who has seen it can encourage residents to request an election in accordance with the notice.  If nobody does so, the council is free to co-opt.  There is no loophole.

Comments

Is it compulsory to issue a vacancy notice ?     Can a PC if it wishes move direct to co-opting ?  My DC say that it is for the PC to issue a notice which does not have to be copied to them and that they only get involved if someone calls for an election ?  Are they right ?

---

It is absolutely a legal requirement that members of the electorate have the opportunity to request an election so yes, a notice advertising the vacancy confirming that fact to the public is a legal requirement - you cannot move directly to co-option except immediately after a full term election where there were insufficient candidates to fill the number of seats.
Some principal authorities are now moving towards the parish actually issuing the notice and by issuing I mean that they produce the paperwork, notifying the principal authority that they have done so and the deadline for receipt of requests for an election (which must be made to the returning officer who is an officer of the principal authority).  A cost cutting exercise I believe which is a nonsense but does not remove from the principal authority their legal duty to manage the election process.
Once that legal process is completed, then it is up to the parish whether they advertise any further but the main requirement above cannot be avoided however much the parish may wish to avoid an election.

---

last three co elects in our parish werent on any notice board, only on parish council web site..obvious the three had been ear marked, these councils are very very iffy how they are run, who does thd clerk come under?..anyway.