Local Government Act 1972

4 (1) Meetings of a principal council shall be held at such place, either within or without their area, as they may direct. E+W

[F1 (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for the summons to be transmitted in electronic form to a particular electronic address (and consent has not been withdrawn), sending it in electronic form to that address.]

(2) Three clear days at least before a meeting of a principal council [F2 in Wales [F3 or, if the meeting is convened at shorter notice, then at the time it is convened ]] —

(a) notice [F4 of the intended meeting containing the information required by sub-paragraph (2A) must be published electronically], and where the meeting is called by members of the council the notice shall [F5 set out the names of] those members and shall specify the business proposed to be transacted thereat; and

(b) a summons to attend the meeting, specifying the business to be transacted thereat, and [F6 authenticated] by the proper officer of the council, [F7 must, subject to sub-paragraph (3), be sent to every member of the council electronically; and each member must specify an electronic address for that purpose.]

[F8 (2A) The information required to be in a notice under sub-paragraph (2)(a) consists of—

(a) where the meeting or part of the meeting is open to the public and is held through remote means only, details of the time of the meeting and how to access it;

(b) where the meeting or part of the meeting is open to the public and is held partly through remote means or is not held through remote means, details of the time and place of the meeting and how to access it;

(c) where the meeting is not open to the public and is held partly through remote means or is not held through remote means, details of the time and place of the meeting and the fact that it is not open to the public;

(d) where the meeting is not open to the public and is held through remote means only, details of the time of the meeting and the fact that it is being held through remote means only and is not open to the public.

(2B) In sub-paragraph (2A), references to a meeting held through remote means are to a meeting held by means of any equipment or other facility which enables persons who are not in the same place to speak to and be heard by each other (whether or not the equipment or facility enables those persons to see and be seen by each other).]

[F9 (2C) In sub-paragraph (2)(b) “authenticated” means signed or otherwise authenticated in such manner as the proper officer considers appropriate.]

(3) If a member of a principal council [F10 in Wales] gives notice in writing to the proper officer of the council that he desires summonses to attend meetings of the council to be sent to him at [F11 an address specified in the notice rather than electronically, such summonses must be sent to that member by being left at, or sent by post to, that address. ]

(4) Want of service of a summons on any member of a principal council shall not affect the validity of a meeting of the council.

(5) Except in the case of business required by or under this or any other Act to be transacted at the annual meeting of a principal council and other business brought before that meeting as a matter of urgency in accordance with the council’s standing orders, no business shall be transacted at a meeting of the council other than that specified in the summons relating thereto.

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 12 para. 4(1A)(1B) inserted (E.) (30.1.2015) by The Local Government (Electronic Communications) (England) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/5), arts. 1(1), 2(2) [Editorial note: This amendment supersedes the previous substitution of words (E.) (30.3.2014) in Sch. 12 para. 4(2) by Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (c. 2), ss. 40(6)(11), 49(2)]

F2 Words in Sch. 12 para. 4(2) inserted (E.) (30.1.2015) by The Local Government (Electronic Communications) (England) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/5), arts. 1(1), 2(3)

F3 Words in Sch. 12 para. 4(2) inserted (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 3(a); S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c)

F4 Words in Sch. 12 para. 4(2)(a) substituted (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 3(b)(i); S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c)

F5 Words in Sch. 12 para. 4(2)(a) substituted (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 3(b)(ii); S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c)

F6 Word in Sch. 12 para. 4(2)(b) substituted (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 19(2)(a); S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c) (with reg. 3)

F7 Words in Sch. 12 para. 4(2)(b) substituted (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 19(2)(b); S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c) (with reg. 3)

F8 Sch. 12 para. 4(2A)(2B) inserted (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 3(c); S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c)

F9 Sch. 12 para. 4(2C) inserted (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 19(3); S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c) (with reg. 3)

F10 Words in Sch. 12 para. 4(3) inserted (E.) (30.1.2015) by The Local Government (Electronic Communications) (England) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/5), arts. 1(1), 2(3)

F11 Words in Sch. 12 para. 4(3) substituted (1.5.2021) by Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), s. 175(7), Sch. 4 para. 19(4); S.I. 2021/354, reg. 2(c) (with reg. 3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Sch. 12 paras. 2-5 applied (with modifications) (1.5.2000 for specified purposes and 3.7.2000 otherwise) by 1999 c. 29, s. 328, Sch. 28 para. 10(2) (with Sch. 12 para. 9(1)); S.I. 2000/1094, arts. 3(a)(b), 4(a)(g)

C2 Sch. 12 para. 4(2) excluded by Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51, SIF 81:1), s. 86(9)

C3 Sch. 12 para. 4(2) restricted by S.I. 1985/1884, art. 11(3)