Issue - meetings

The Cabinet will consider the draft decision of appointment circulated with the agenda, receive an oral report and be asked to make the following resolution: 

That Henry Potter, the Chichester District Council member for the Boxgrove ward, be appointed pursuant to section 91 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 as a parish councillor with the Bury Parish Council until such time as vacancies at the Bury Parish Council have been filled by election.

The following background information should be noted:

Section 91 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 provides (insofar as is material):

‘Where there are so many vacancies in the office of parish or community councillor that the parish or community council are unable to act, the district council … may by order appoint persons to fill all or any of the vacancies until other councillors are elected and take up office.’

The clerk and chairman of Bury Parish Council (BPC) have reported to Chichester District Council’s Monitoring Officer that they are unable to operate due to being inquorate and they have verified that BPC requires the appointment of a district councillor in order to become quorate. The appointment will end once sufficient members are elected to BPC to enable it to be quorate without the district councillor’s membership or on 31 December 2019, whichever comes first.

RESOLVED

That Henry Potter, the Chichester District Council member for the Boxgrove ward, be appointed pursuant to section 91 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 as a parish councillor with the Bury Parish Council until such time as vacancies at the Bury Parish Council have been filled.

The Cabinet received and considered the draft decision of appointment circulated with the agenda, which was supplemented by an oral report by Mr N Bennett (Divisional Manager Legal and Democratic Services and the Monitoring Officer).

With reference to the summary set out on the agenda front sheet, Mr Bennett explained the statutory provision in section 91 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 to create a temporary expedient to remedy an inquorate situation faced by a parish council, such as was currently affecting Bury Parish Council (BPC), and the proposal to appoint Mr H Potter, the CDC ward member for Boxgrove, to BPC until such time as its subsisting councillor vacancies had been filled.

Decision

The Cabinet voted on a show of hands unanimously to make the resolution set out below.

RESOLVED

That Henry Potter, the Chichester District Council member for the Boxgrove ward, be appointed pursuant to section 91 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 as a parish councillor with the Bury Parish Council until such time as vacancies at the Bury Parish Council have been filled.