Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947

PART III

District Councils.

Meetings.

1 (1) A district council shall in every year hold such meetings of the council as are required for the purpose of complying with any provision of this Act or any other enactment or any statutory order and such other meetings as are considered necessary for the transaction of the general business of the council.

(2) A meeting of the council shall be held on such day within ten days after the day of election of elected district councillors as the council prior to the election have determined, which meeting may for the purposes of this Act and of any other enactment be referred to as the first meeting of the district council after the election of district councillors.

(3) The meetings of the council shall be held at such hour and at such place as the council may by standing order or otherwise determine.

Convening meetings.

2 Subject to any standing orders made by a district council, the following provisions, shall have effect .with respect to convening meetings of the council and of committees and sub-committees thereof:—

(1) Notice of the time and place of a meeting of a district council shall be given by or on behalf of the clerk of the council not less than three days before the meeting by being left at or sent by post to the usual place of residence or the place of business of every member of the council, and shall specify the business proposed to be transacted at the meeting:

Provided that want of notice to any member of the council shall not affect the validity of a meeting. If there is no clerk of the council the chairman shall call any meeting except the first meeting of the council after the election of district councillors, .which meeting shall be called by the county clerk.

(2) The clerk of the district council shall call a meeting of the council at any time on being required so to do by the chairman of the council or on receiving a requisition in writing for that purpose specifying the business proposed to be transacted at the meeting signed by one-fourth of the whole number of members of the council or by three members, whichever is the greater number, which meeting shall be held within ten days of the receipt of the requisition.

(3) Except in the case of business which has to be transacted at any meeting of the council required to be held by this Act or any other enactment or any statutory order or except with leave of the meeting, no business shall be transacted at a meeting of the council other than that specified in the notice of the meeting.

(4) The provisions of all the sub-paragraphs of this paragraph shall apply to committees and sub-committees of the council in like manner as they apply to the council, with the substitution of references to the committee or sub-committee, as the case may be, and to the chairman of the committee of sub-committee for references to the council and to the chairman of the council respectively.

Emergency meeting.

3 Where it appears to the chairman of the council that an item of business demands special urgency, a meeting of the council shall if he so requires be called by the clerk of the council to be held at a time less than three days from the issue of the notice or less than the period fixed by standing orders, but any resolution passed at such a meeting shall not be valid and binding on the council unless a majority of the whole members of the council are present at the meeting or the resolution is confirmed by a subsequent meeting called after due notice as aforesaid.

Chairman of meeting.

4 (1) At a meeting of a district council the chairman of the council if present shall preside.

(2) If the chairman of the council is absent from a meeting of the council, the vice-chairman of the council shall, if present, preside, but if the chairman and vice-chairman are both absent from the meeting, such district councillor as the members of the council present shall choose shall preside.

Quorum.

5 Subject to the provisions of Part IV of this Schedule, no business shall be transacted at a meeting of the council unless one fourth of the whole number of members of the council or three members, whichever is the greater number, are present thereat.