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NOTICE OF CO-OPTION OF ONE PARISH COUNCILLOR

PARISH OF WHITWORTH (HEALEY AND WHITWORTH)

The Electoral Services Department of Rossendale Borough Council has confirmed that the regulation 10 requests from electors have not been fulfilled and the Town Council can now fill the casual vacancy by co-option.

If you are interested in serving as a Parish Councillor, please write to the Town Clerk confirming that you are qualified to be a Councillor (see Appendix A of the attached co-option procedure), include your CV and a brief explanation of why you are interested in joining the Town Council.  The Council meets twice a month except during August, meeting dates attached in Appendix B.  If you would like to know more about the role, please contact the Clerk.

The closing date for written submissions of interest is Thursday 12th November 2020. 

Candidates will be invited to speak at the virtual Town Council meeting to be held on Thursday 19th November after which a vote by Councillors will take place.  Full details of the process can be found in the attached co-option procedure.
Post:    Melanie Hearn, Town Clerk, Civic Hall, Market Street, Whitworth, OL12 8DP
Tel:      01706 852018

PARISH OF WHITWORTH (HEALEY AND WHITWORTH)

CO-OPTION PROCEDURE

If no request for an election is received by Rossendale Borough Council by the date stated on the Notice of Vacancy, the Electoral Services Department will advise the Town Council that it may co-opt to the vacancy. Co-option is the process by which the Town Council selects a new Councillor and it is done as an agenda item within a regular Town Council meeting.  The Town Council manages the process of co-option by itself and aims to demonstrate that it is fair and transparent by following the procedure set out below:

1. Whitworth Town Council invites interested candidates to write to the Clerk by a specified date via notices placed on its noticeboards and website. Candidates will be asked to confirm that they are qualified to be a Councillor (ref. Appendix A) and to include their CV and a brief explanation of why they would like to be a Parish Councillor. Copies of the information received from candidates will be circulated by the Clerk to all Councillors prior to the meeting of the Town Council during which the co-option will be considered.
2. At the Town Meeting candidates will be invited to say something about themselves and what they would like to achieve as a Whitworth Parish Councillor. Each candidate will be allocated a maximum of six minutes.
3. In a closed session of the Town Council meeting, without the public present, Councillors will discuss and consider the candidates. The public are invited back into the meeting before voting takes place.
4. Voting will take place by secret ballot. Councillors will have one vote per vacancy. In the event of a tie between two candidates for one vacancy the Chairman will exercise his casting vote.
5. If there is only one candidate for one vacancy they are not automatically co-opted – a yes/no vote will take place.
6. The successful candidate/s will be declared co-opted to the Town Council and, after signing the declaration of acceptance of office paperwork, will be asked to join the meeting.
7. The successful candidate is a Councillor in their own right and is no different to any other member; co-option is a legitimate form of election as part of the election process.

 
Appendix A

Qualifications to be a Councillor

A person is qualified to be elected and to be a Councillor if they are a British, Commonwealth, Irish or European Union citizen and on the relevant day (that is, the day of nomination or election) they are 18 or over.

In addition, the person must meet at least one of the following criteria

1. on the relevant day and thereafter they continue to be on the electoral register for the parish, or
2. during the whole of the twelve months before that day they have owned or tenanted land or premises in the parish, or
3. during the whole of the twelve months before that day their principal or only place of work has been in the parish, or
4. during the whole of the twelve months before that day they have resided in the parish or within three miles of it.

Except for qualification (1), these qualifications then continue for the full term of office, until the next ordinary elections.

Certain people are disqualified from standing, and these include paid officers (including the Clerks) of the council, bankrupts and those subject to recent sentences of imprisonment.

Whitworth Town Council Proposed Meeting Dates - 2020/2021
All meetings are open to the public and take place at 7.30pm. Due to the current pandemic all meetings take place virtually on zoom.  Please see the website for details of how to join or contact the Town Clerk.

• Thursday 8 October General Purpose Committee
• Thursday 22 October Full Council 
• Thursday 5 November General Purpose Committee
• Thursday 19 November Full Council  
• Thursday 3 December General Purpose Committee
• Thursday 17 December Full Council
• Thursday 14 January General Purpose Committee
• Thursday 28 January Full Council
• Thursday 11 February General Purpose Committee
• Thursday 25 February Full Council
• Thursday 11 March General Purpose Committee
• Thursday 25 March Full Council
• Thursday 15 April General Purpose Committee
• Thursday 29 April Full Council
• Thursday 13 May Annual Parish Meeting
• Thursday 20 May Annual General Meeting (Mayor making)

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