The Local Government (Electronic Communications) (England) Order 2015

Amendments to the Local Government Act 1972

2.—(1) Schedule 12 to the Local Government Act 1972(1) (meetings and proceedings of local authorities) is amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph 4 (principal councils), after sub-paragraph (1) insert —

“(1A) Five clear days at least before a meeting of a principal council in England—

(a) notice of the time and place of the intended meeting shall be published at the council’s offices 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 authenticated by the proper officer of the council, shall be sent to every member of the council by an appropriate method.

(1B) In sub-paragraph (1A)—

(a) “authenticated” means signed or otherwise authenticated in such manner as the proper officer thinks fit; and

(b) the reference to sending the summons to a member by an appropriate method is to—

(i) leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the member’s usual place of residence, or

(ii) where the member has specified an address other than the member’s usual place of residence, leaving it at, or sending it by post to, that different address, or

(iii) where the member has given consent for the summons to be transmitted in electronic form to a particular electronic address (and consent has not been withdrawn), sending it in electronic form to that address.”

(3) In paragraph 4(2) and (3), after “principal council” insert “in Wales”.

(4) In paragraph 10 (parish councils) —

(a) in sub-paragraph (2), for paragraph (b) substitute—

“(b) a summons to attend the meeting, specifying the business proposed to be transacted at the meeting and certified by the proper officer of the council, shall be sent to every member of the council by an appropriate method.”;

(b) after sub-paragraph (2) insert—

“(2A) In sub-paragraph (2)—

(a) “authenticated” means signed or otherwise authenticated in such manner as the proper officer thinks fit; and

(b) the reference to sending the summons to a member by an appropriate method is to—

(i) leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the member’s usual place of residence, or

(ii) where the member has given consent for the summons to be transmitted in electronic form to a particular electronic address (and consent has not been withdrawn), sending it in electronic form to that address.”.

(1)

1972 c. 70.