PART 1STRENGTHENING LOCAL DEMOCRACY

CHAPTER 2LOCAL AUTHORITY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES

8Head of democratic services

(1)

A local authority must—

(a)

designate one of its officers to discharge the functions in section 9 (“democratic services functions”);

(b)

provide that officer with such staff, accommodation and other resources as are, in its opinion, sufficient to allow his or her functions to be discharged.

F1(1A)

A local authority must have regard to any guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers about the local authority's function under subsection (1)(b).

(2)

A head of democratic services may arrange for the discharge of democratic services functions by staff provided under this section.

(3)

An officer designated by a local authority under this section is to be known as the head of democratic services.

(4)

A local authority may not designate any of the following under this section—

F2(a)

the authority's chief executive appointed under section 54 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021;

F3(b)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c)

the authority's chief finance officer, within the meaning of F4section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.