Guidance and resources to help council co-opt new members of the parish or town council. A structured approach to co-option can be highly beneficial and ensure the process is fair and transparent.
Background:
Co-option is possible between election dates, but only after the statutory notice has been posted by you locally and Dorset Council on their website. At every other time in an election term, the Clerk will need to notify Dorset Council Elections Team when a councillor resigns or fails to sign their Declaration of Acceptance of Office. This is simply done by email to
What is the casual vacancy statutory notice trying to achieve?
By posting the statutory notice a question is being asked of the community served by the parish council if they wish there to be a by-election? They have 14 days to email or write to Dorset Council making this request. If 10 (ten) electors in the parish do so, an election will be called and the parish and town council will be required to fund the cost of the by-election. If the required number of electors do not come forward requesting an election, Dorset Council will email the Clerk confirming that council can now proceed to co-opt. It is at this point council can add an item to the next council meeting to consider and how they proceed with co-option.
The number of statutory notices that result in a by-election being called is very small. It tends to happen when either the community aren't 'pleased' with the parish or town council performance. This might be driven by existing councillors or members of the community.
What's different in an election year?
In an election year it is permissable to co-opt without the statutory notice as the election process has deemed these as vacancies. That means in reality, if a possible candidate (new or returning councillor) that missed the deadline of 5 April 2024 - they can be co-opted at the first meeting in May which should be your Annual Meeting of Council or any subsequent meeting of council whilst the same vacancy(s) remain unfilled. If you only have the odd vacancy, there isn't the urgency to co-opt and council can decide when it will consider the vacancy and put together a plan for the next 2-4 months or your own timeline subject to how frequently your council meets. See 'Quorate Councils' below. If a councillor resigns in the period immediately after an election without signing their Declaration of Acceptance of Office, Clerks will need to notify elections team to issue the statutory notice. Please ensure you have a record of any refusal to take up their role or resignation rather than acting on word of mouth. Councils won't be able to co-opt in these circumstances and the notice has to be issued by the Elections Team.
In the 6 months leading up to an election, council can advise Dorset Council elections team of a casual vacancy and they have the option to recruit or not. This is simply because an election is occurring in the immediate few months. Council can co-opt if they wish to if it helps the candidate become familar with council and undertaken training.
Do we need to rush to co-opt?
Co-opting at any other point in the year or subsequent non-election years is best done in a structured and transparent way. There is often a notion that co-option has to be done quickly or by members of the public that the process is somehow skewed or not open. In some cases, co-option can be used by other councillors to get onboard individuals with similar views to their own. This is when having a clear policy and timeframe to co-opt means it is less open to abuse. So it isn't always the case that co-option has to be quick. Councils can take a reasonable period of time to ensure they have undertaken a fair and open process. That process often begins with a council resolution using the co-option policy to agree when co-option will be considered, i.e. a future ordinary council meeting date in the next 2-4 months. The simple objective of the process to create a 'contested co-option' where councillors that will vote for the candidate will end up with a choice rather than be left with one candidate for one vacancy.
Here are a few ideas and thoughts in different scenarios:
Barely Quorate Councils (3 or 4 councillors)
If you are struggling with councillor numbers, co-option urgently will be a necessity. Advertising for a period of time before co-opting will need to be sacrificed for a quick appointment or appointments depending on the number of vacancies. Consider adopting some of these ideas:
- Take to social media to promote the role of councillors, asking for candidates to come forward
- Use flyers on noticeboards and in local shops to spread the word
- Use articles in newsletters to seek candidates
- Make approaches personally by the Clerk or councillors to residents in the community
- Make sure you have induction and training planned - as once recruited it will then be about retention
Quorate Councils (1 or 2 casual vacancies)
In these circumstances, council can often operate with one or two vacancies comfortably. This means that filling the casual vacancies can be done at a pace that works for council and allows time for a period of advertisement within the community. Consider adopting some of these ideas:
- Take to social media to promote the role of councillors, asking for candidates to come forward
- Use flyers on noticeboards and in local shops to spread the word
- Use articles in newsletters to seek candidates
- Potential candidates can be invited to observe council meetings and get to meet councillors and their employee(s) to ask questions - this is an excellent way to develop knowledge and expectations ahead of any co-option
- Make sure you have induction and training planned - as once recruited it will then be about retention
Questions about co-option?
Just get in touch by email to
Resources:
2023 05 18 Co-option Policy (May 2023)
2023 05 18 Co-option Form for Candidates - Template
NALC LTN8 - Elections and Co-option
Guidance Note for Election Cost Calculator Dorset Council (this provides an indiactive cost as there are some varibale factors to consider)
Link to access the Election Cost Calculator from Dorset Council via Dropbox to download
