SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 12E+W Meetings and Proceedings of Local Authorities

Part IVE+W Community Councils

23(1)A community council shall in every year hold an annual meeting.E+W

(2)In a year which is a year of ordinary elections of community councillors, the annual meeting of a community council shall be held on, or within fourteen days after, the day on which the councillors elected at that election take office, and in any other year the annual meeting shall be held on such day in May as the community council may determine.

(3)The annual meeting of a community council shall be held at such hour as the council may fix or, if no hour is so fixed, 6 o’clock in the evening.

24(1)A community council may in every year hold, in addition to the annual meeting, such other meetings as the council may determine to hold for the transaction of their business.E+W

(2)Any of those other meetings shall be held at such hour and on such day as the council may determine.

25(1)An extraordinary meeting of a community 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 the council after a requisition for that purpose, signed by two 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 such a requisition has been presented to him, any two members of the council, on that refusal or on the expiration of those seven days, as the case may be, may forthwith convene an extraordinary meeting of the council.

26(1)Meetings of the community council shall be held at such place, either within or without their area, as they may direct, but shall not be held in premises licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor unless no other suitable room is available either free of charge or at a reasonable cost.

(2)Three clear days at least before a meeting of a community council—

(a)notice of the time and place of the intended meeting shall be fixed in some conspicuous place in the community 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 signed by the proper officer of the council, shall be left at or sent by post to the usual place of residence of every member of the council.

(3)Want of service of any such summons as is referred to in sub-paragraph (2)(b) above on any member of the community council concerned shall not affect the validity of the meeting.

27(1)At a meeting of a community council the chairman of the council, if present, shall preside.E+W

(2)If the chairman of the council is absent from a meeting of the council, the vice-chairman of the council, if present, shall preside.

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

28E+WSubject to paragraph 45 below, no business shall be transacted at a meeting of a community council unless at least one-third of the whole number of members of the council are present at the meeting; but, notwithstanding anything in that paragraph, in no case shall the quorum be less than three.

29(1)Unless otherwise provided by the council’s standing orders the manner of voting at meetings of a community council shall be by a show of hands.E+W

(2)On the requisition of any member of the council the voting on any question shall be recorded so as to show whether each member present and voting gave his vote for or against that question.