Local Government Act 1972

Part IE+W Principal Councils

1(1)A principal council shall in every year hold an annual meeting.E+W

(2)The annual meeting of a principal council F1. . . shall be held—

(a)in a year of ordinary elections of councillors to the council, on the eighth day after the day of retirement of councillors or such other day within the twenty-one days immediately following the day of retirement as the council may fix;

[F2(aa)in a year of an election for the return of an elected mayor to the council, which is not a year of ordinary elections of councillors to the council, on the eighth day after the day of retirement of an elected mayor or such other day within the twenty-one days immediately following the day of retirement as the council may fix;]

(b)in any other year, on such day in the month of March, April or May as the council may fix.

F3(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)An annual meeting of a principal council shall be held at such hour as the council may fix, or if no hour is so fixed at twelve noon.

2(1)A principal council may in every year hold, in addition to the annual meeting, such other meetings as they may determine.E+W

(2)Those other meetings shall be held at such hour and on such days as the council may determine.

3(1)An extraordinary meeting of a principal council may be called at any time by the chairman of the council.E+W

(2)If the chairman refuses to call an extraordinary meeting of a principal council after a requisition for that purpose, signed F4. . . by five members of the council, has been presented to him, or if, without so refusing, the chairman does not call an extraordinary meeting within seven days after the requisition has been presented to him, then F4. . . any five members of the council, on that refusal or on the expiration of those seven days, as the case may be, may forthwith call an extraordinary meeting of the council.

4(1)Meetings of a principal council shall be held at such place, either within or without their area, as they may direct.E+W

[F5(1A)Five clear days at least before a meeting of a principal council in England—

(a)notice of the time and place of the intended meeting shall be published at the council’s offices and, where the meeting is called by members of the council, the notice shall be signed by those members and shall specify the business proposed to be transacted at the meeting; and

(b)a summons to attend the meeting, specifying the business proposed to be transacted at the meeting, and authenticated by the proper officer of the council, shall be sent to every member of the council by an appropriate method.

(1B)In sub-paragraph (1A)—

(a)“authenticated” means signed or otherwise authenticated in such manner as the proper officer thinks fit; and

(b)the reference to sending the summons to a member by an appropriate method is to—

(i)leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the member’s usual place of residence, or

(ii)where the member has specified an address other than the member’s usual place of residence, leaving it at, or sending it by post to, that different address, or

(iii)where the member has given consent for the summons to be transmitted in electronic form to a particular electronic address (and consent has not been withdrawn), sending it in electronic form to that address.]

(2) Three clear days at least before a meeting of a principal council [F6in Wales [F7or, if the meeting is convened at shorter notice, then at the time it is convened ]] —

(a)notice [F8of the intended meeting containing the information required by sub-paragraph (2A) must be published electronically], and where the meeting is called by members of the council the notice shall [F9set out the names of] those members and shall specify the business proposed to be transacted thereat; and

(b)a summons to attend the meeting, specifying the business to be transacted thereat, and [F10authenticated] by the proper officer of the council, [F11must, subject to sub-paragraph (3), be sent to every member of the council electronically; and each member must specify an electronic address for that purpose.]

[F12(2A)The information required to be in a notice under sub-paragraph (2)(a) consists of—

(a)where the meeting or part of the meeting is open to the public and is held through remote means only, details of the time of the meeting and how to access it;

(b)where the meeting or part of the meeting is open to the public and is held partly through remote means or is not held through remote means, details of the time and place of the meeting and how to access it;

(c)where the meeting is not open to the public and is held partly through remote means or is not held through remote means, details of the time and place of the meeting and the fact that it is not open to the public;

(d)where the meeting is not open to the public and is held through remote means only, details of the time of the meeting and the fact that it is being held through remote means only and is not open to the public.

(2B)In sub-paragraph (2A), references to a meeting held through remote means are to a meeting held by means of any equipment or other facility which enables persons who are not in the same place to speak to and be heard by each other (whether or not the equipment or facility enables those persons to see and be seen by each other).]

[F13(2C)In sub-paragraph (2)(b) “authenticated” means signed or otherwise authenticated in such manner as the proper officer considers appropriate.]

(3)If a member of a principal council [F14in Wales] gives notice in writing to the proper officer of the council that he desires summonses to attend meetings of the council to be sent to him at [F15 an address specified in the notice rather than electronically, such summonses must be sent to that member by being left at, or sent by post to, that address. ]

(4)Want of service of a summons on any member of a principal council shall not affect the validity of a meeting of the council.

(5)Except in the case of business required by or under this or any other Act to be transacted at the annual meeting of a principal council and other business brought before that meeting as a matter of urgency in accordance with the council’s standing orders, no business shall be transacted at a meeting of the council other than that specified in the summons relating thereto.

[F164A(1)The Secretary of State may by order amend paragraph 4(2) above so as to substitute for the reference to three clear days such greater number of days as may be specified in the order.E+W

(2)Any statutory instrument containing an order under sub-paragraph (1) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.]

5(1)At a meeting of a principal council the chairman, if present, shall preside.E+W

(2)If the chairman is absent from a meeting of a principal council, then—

(a)F17. . ., the vice-chairman of the council, if present, shall preside;

F18(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c)in the case of a London borough council, the deputy mayor, if at that time he remains a councillor F19. . . and is chosen for that purpose by the members of the council then present, shall preside.

(3)If—

(a)in the case of a principal council F20. . ., both the chairman and vice-chairman of the council are absent from a meeting of the council;

F21(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c)in the case of a London borough council, the mayor and deputy mayor are so absent or the deputy mayor being present is not chosen;

another member of the council chosen by the members of the council present shall preside.

[F22(4)A member of an executive of a principal council [F23, or an assistant to the executive,] may not be chosen to preside under sub-paragraph (3) above.

F22(5)Sub-paragraphs (2)(c) and (3)(c) above do not apply where a London borough council are operating executive arrangements which involve a mayor and cabinet executive F24. . . . ”]

6E+WSubject to paragraph 45 below, no business shall be transacted at a meeting of a principal council unless at least one quarter of the whole number of members of the council are present.

[F256ZA(1)A relevant police and crime commissioner may attend, speak at and vote at a meeting of a principal council in England which is a fire and rescue authority.E+W

(2)Sub-paragraph (1) applies—

(a)only if and to the extent that the business of the meeting relates to the functions of the principal council as a fire and rescue authority, and

(b)only if the council have consented to the participation of the relevant police and crime commissioner in such meetings in response to a request by the commissioner to do so.

(3)If a request under sub-paragraph (2)(b) is made to a principal council, the council must—

(a)consider the request,

(b)give reasons for their decision to agree to or refuse the request, and

(c)publish those reasons in such manner as they think appropriate.

(4)If the principal council agree to the request, the relevant police and crime commissioner is to be treated as a member of the council for the purposes of the following provisions of this Schedule in the case of a meeting which relates to the functions of the council as a fire and rescue authority—

(a)paragraph 3(2);

(b)paragraph 4(1A);

(c)paragraph 5(3);

(d)paragraph 6;

(e)paragraph 39;

(f)paragraph 40;

(g)paragraph 41(3);

(h)paragraph 43.

(5)In this paragraph “relevant police and crime commissioner”, in relation to a principal council, means a police and crime commissioner—

(a)whose area is the same as, or contains all of, the area of the principal council, or

(b)all or part of whose area falls within the area of the principal council.]