Two casual vacancies in Harington Ward which will be filled by co-option

Following the resignation of two Councillors there are two casual vacancies in Harington Ward which will be filled by co-option. The following procedure will be followed:

1.0 ELIGIBILITY OF CANDIDATES

1.1 The Parish Council can consider any person to fill a vacancy provided that:

• he/she is 18 or over; and

• he/she is a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of any other member state of the European Union

and at least one of the following apply:

• he/she is an elector for the Parish and continues to be an elector; or

• has resided in the Parish for the past twelve months or rented/tenanted land in the Parish; or

• has had his/her principal or only place of work in the Parish for the past twelve months; or

• has lived within three miles of the Parish for the past twelve months.

1.2 There are certain disqualifications for being a parish councillor, of which the main are (see s80 of the Local Government Act 1972):

• holding a paid office or employment under the Parish Council

• bankruptcy

• having been sentenced to a term of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) of not less than three months, without the option of a fine during the preceding five years; or

• being disqualified under any enactment relating to corrupt or illegal electoral practices.

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2.0 APPLICATIONS

2.1 Candidates will be requested to:

• Submit information about themselves, by way of completing a short application form and confirm their eligibility for the position of parish councillor within the statutory rules. A copy of the eligibility form is available in the downloads section.

2.2 Following receipt of applications, at the Parish Council meeting to be held on Monday 17 November, members will consider the applications received.

2.3 Copies of the eligible candidates’ applications will be circulated to all parish councillors by the Parish Clerk at least 3 clear days prior to the meeting of the full Parish Council, when the co-option will be considered.

2.4 All such documents will be treated by the Parish Clerk and all parish councillors as strictly private and confidential.

3.0 AT THE CO-OPTION MEETING

3.1 At the co-option meeting, candidates will be given five minutes maximum to introduce themselves to the parish councillors (members), give information on their background and experience and explain why they wish to become a member of the Parish Council. The process will be conducted in the public session and there will be no private discussions between members prior to a vote being taken. However, where the Parish Council is discussing the merits of candidates and inevitably their personal attributes, this could be prejudicial, and the Parish Council should resolve to exclude the members of the press and public.

3.2 As soon as all candidates have finished giving their submissions, the Parish Council will proceed to a vote with each candidate being proposed and seconded by the councillors in attendance (as defined in the Standing Orders) and a vote by a show of hands (LGA 1972 Sch. 12. Para 13).

3.3 A recorded vote may be requested under Standing Order 3(S) to show whether each councillor present and voting, gave his/her vote for or against that question.

3.4 In order for a candidate to be co-opted to the Parish Council, it will be necessary for them to obtain an absolute majority of votes cast (50% + 1 of the votes available at the meeting). If there are more than two candidates and there is no candidate with an overall majority in the first round of voting, the candidate with the least number of votes will drop out of the process.

3.5 Further rounds of voting will then take place with the process repeated until a candidate has an absolute majority.

3.6 If present, a candidate who is co-opted will sign at the co-option meeting a Declaration of Acceptance of Office, including an undertaking to abide by the Parish Council’s Code of Conduct, and may take office thereafter. If not present, a co-opted candidate will sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office either before or at the next meeting of the Parish Council.

3.7 The Parish Clerk will notify Sefton Council Electoral Services Office of the co-option of the new parish councillors.

Forms are available from the Parish Council Office or you can download an application form from the downloads section and must be returned by Monday 3rd November 2025.

Application Form is HERE: Co-option-to-FPC-2025-application-form-and-procedure.docx