14 days after election

Question

I have always been under the impression that post an election the Annual council meeting in May must be held within 14 WORKING days of that election, so counting Monday to Friday only but it is being suggested to me that ANY day of the week counts when considering the 14 days requirement?

I have an election on 06 May and a meeting provisional meeting date booked for Tuesday 25 May.

Answer 1

Schedule 12 Part II Para 7(2) of the LGA 1972 states that:

"In a year which is a year of ordinary elections of parish councillors, the annual meeting of a parish council shall be held on, or within fourteen days after, the day on which the councillors elected at that election take office, and in any other year the annual meeting shall be held on such day in May as the parish council may determine."

Section 16 Para 3 includes:

"...the whole number of parish councillors shall retire together in every ordinary year of election of such councillors on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of such councillors, and the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire."

So it's 18 days, rather than 14, but without further clarification, that equates to two weeks and four days, so Monday 24 in this case.

Comments

This is a bye election so not a normal election year but the question I have is do you count Saturday and Sunday in the 14 days?

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I believe you do. In all circumstances where weekends and bank holdays are excluded, that clarification is stated. In this legislation, it is not. Excluding weekends and bank holidays would take the 18 days into June.

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So far as I know, a by-election has no impact at all on meeting dates.