Key Facts for May's Parish Council Elections
Increase awareness of key points for the upcoming four-yearly parish council elections in May. The session covers key dates, criteria to become a councillor, and important information on the election process.
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Presentation Transcript
A SUMMARY OF THE KEY FACTS FOR MAY S PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS by Marie Lewis Parish Clerk, Wansford
Purpose of session To increase awareness of the key points relating to the four-yearly parish council elections
Session will include: Key dates How do I become a Councillor? Criteria to become a Councillor When to have a poll and when to have co-option of Councillors
Key Dates Town & Parish Council elections for the election of councillors must be held every 4 years Election process begins on 28 March 2022 Election notices cannot be issued before 28 March 2022 There are 7 working days between 28 March and 5 April for Nomination Forms to be completed and submitted to Peterborough City Council via the Parish Clerk Completed Nomination Forms to be received by Electoral Services at PCC by 4p.m. on 5 April 2022 (delivered by the Parish Clerk) Polling Day is on 5 May 2022
How do I become a Councillor? Ask yourself why you want to become a Councillor Speak to an existing Councillor to get a better idea of the role. You can also access this document (The- Good-Councillors-guide-2018 (1).pdf You need to know that, if successfully nominated, you will need to complete a Financial Interests Form which will be accessible to the general public on the Peterborough City Council website. This is to avoid conflicts of interest in your work as a Councillor. You need to be accessible by email to the general public. Please note that gov.uk email addresses are in the process of being obtained for Councillors.
Criteria to become a Councillor You must be at least 18 years of age Be a British citizen or a citizen of the British Commonwealth Have lived or worked continuously within the parish or within 3 miles of its boundary, or owned land there within the last 12 months You cannot become a Councillor if: You are a bankrupt Have held a paid job with your council in the last 12 months
Criteria to become a Councillor Also, you cannot become a Councillor: If, within the past 5 years you have been convicted of any criminal offence and sentenced to at least 3 months imprisonment You have either a Debt Relief/Interim Debt Relief Restrictions Order Been found guilty of corrupt or illegal practices or responsible for incurring unlawful expenditure and the court orders disqualification. The Elections Officer will vet your Nomination Form for accuracy.
How do I become a Councillor? Parish Council elections will be advertised within the parish. Obtain a Nomination Form from the Parish Clerk Complete a hard copy of the Nomination Form by hand (not electronically), sign it and your signature must be witnessed. The Parish Clerk cannot witness the form. Your Nomination Form must give the names of a proposer and a seconder. The proposer and seconder must also be electors from within the parish. Your proposer and seconder s Electoral Number must be written on the Nomination Form as shown on the Electoral roll. This number can be obtained from the Parish Clerk. Existing Councillors must also complete Nomination Forms every 4th year to be either re-elected or co-opted.
How do I become a Councillor? Your completed Nomination Form should be returned to the Parish Clerk who will collect all Nomination Forms and deliver them to the Returning Officer at Peterborough City Council The Returning Officer will check the content of the Nomination Forms. Once they are received by the Returning Officer the content of the form cannot be changed. It is an offence to provide false or misleading information on a Nomination Form
How do I become a Councillor? Look out for information on the local elections for councillors Information on Councillor elections will appear on Parish Council notice boards, village magazines, and parish council websites As a prospective Councillor you can electioneer by delivering flyers/leaflets about yourself to parishioners homes. Your leaflets must show the name of the publisher and the date published. All elected candidates must submit a Declaration of Expenses within 35 days of election (max amount of 740). Fines can be incurred for non- compliance.
How do I become a Councillor? After 5 April 2022 the Returning Officer will inform parish councils of the number of Nomination Forms received. If there are 7 Councillor vacancies and more than 7 Nomination Forms are received by the Returning Officer then a secret ballot must be held (voting by parishioners) If there are 7 Councillor vacancies and 7 Nomination Forms then no secret ballot will take place and the Returning Officer will declare them elected as Councillors.
How do I become a Councillor? If there are 7 Councillor vacancies and only 5 Nomination Forms received the 5 nominated persons will be declared as Councillors and then there will need to be a further two Councillors co-opted in due course. Wansford Parish Council meetings can take place as long as there is a quorum of 3 Councillors in attendance.
How do I become a Councillor? The Parish Council will be informed of the number of Nomination Forms received by the Returning Officer. As poll cards are requested in advance of the Returning Officer informing the Parish Council of the number of nominations received, this means we must be able to guess the number of nomination forms that are likely to be submitted. The parish Community Hall will be manned by Election Officers for parishioners to place their votes on poll cards. Polling Day will be advertised locally to raise awareness.
How do I become a Councillor? All Councillors take office 4 days after the election which gives time for any electoral challenges. So, for example, the first parish council meeting with the new Councillors can be held on the Monday after the elections which have taken place the previous Thursday. All new and re-elected Councillors need to sign a Declaration of Office form prior to attending their first parish council meeting. All new and re-elected Councillors must also complete a new Financial Interests Form.
How to I become a Councillor? The Local Government Act 1975 states that if 6 consecutive parish council meetings are not attended by a Councillor then they can be automatically disqualified from their office. Disqualification of a Councillor may be avoided if Councillors are in agreement that the reason for absence any councillor has given for non-attendance at a parish council meeting is reasonable. Any Councillor wishing to resign from their office must submit their resignation to the Chairman of the Parish Council. There is no notice period to be given as resignation takes effect immediately.
How do I become a Councillor? A resigning Chairman must submit their resignation to the Parish Clerk. The Parish Clerk will inform Peterborough City Council of any resigning Councillor. If a Councillor resigns from office outside of the 4-year Election this becomes a Casual Vacancy and must be dealt with by co-option. If a Councillor vacancy falls within 6 months of an Election then the vacancy must be filled through co-option of a new Councillor.
