Local Government Act 1972

Section 37.

SCHEDULE 5 E+W Establishment of New Authorities in Wales

County and district councillors E+W

1 Elections of councillors of the new principal councils shall be held on dates in 1973 fixed by the Secretary of State by order and the persons elected at those elections shall come into office on the fourth day after the day of election.

2 (1) For the purpose of any election of such councillors before the relevant year of election each county or district shall be divided into such electoral areas as may be specified in an order made by the Secretary of State after carrying out either before or after the passing of this Act such consultations as he thinks appropriate.

(2) An order under this paragraph for any area shall specify the number of councillors to be returned for each electoral area and there shall be a separate election of councillors for each electoral area; and section 25(2)(a) above shall not apply to any such election.

(3) An order under this paragraph may contain such incidental, consequential, transitional or supplementary provision as may appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or proper.

Community councillors E+W

3 Elections of councillors of the new community councils shall be held on a day, not later than 10th March 1974, appointed by the Secretary of State, and—

(a) the persons elected to a community council required to be established by a direction under section 27(3) or (4) above shall come into office on the fourth day after that day; and

(b) the persons elected to a community council established by virtue of section 27(2)(a) or (b) above shall come into office on 1st April 1974.

4 (1) The following provisions of this paragraph shall have effect with respect to elections of community councillors before the relevant year of election.

(2) The number of councillors for a community, the area of which is co-extensive with the area of an existing borough or urban district or an existing rural parish having a separate parish council, shall be the same as the number of councillors for that borough, district or parish, as the case may be.

(3) The number of councillors for a group of communities the areas of which are co-extensive with the areas of existing rural parishes grouped under a common council shall be the same as the number of councillors of that council, and the number of councillors representing a community on the common community council shall be the same as the number representing the area of that community on the existing common parish council.

(4) Where any existing borough, district or parish falling within sub-paragraph (2) or (3) above is divided into wards for the purpose of elections to the council of the borough, district or parish, the community shall be divided into those wards for the purpose of elections of community councillors and the number of councillors to be elected for each community ward shall be the same as the number to be elected for each ward of the existing borough, district or parish, as the case may be.

(5) In the case of a community named in Part III of Schedule 4 to this Act, the Secretary of State may, after causing such notices to be given concerning the matter as he thinks expedient, by order specify the number of community councillors to be elected for the community, divide the community into wards and specify the number of councillors to be returned for each ward.

First elections and meetings of new councils E+W

5 (1) At the first elections of councillors for a new area, the returning officer shall be an officer of the council appointed by such existing county, borough or urban or rural district council as the Secretary of State may by order designate and not a person appointed under section 41 above.

(2) Section 42(5) and (6) above shall not apply to any such election, but sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) below shall apply instead.

(3) All expenditure properly incurred by a returning officer or other officer in relation to the holding of the first elections of councillors for a new principal area shall be paid in the first instance by the council by whom the returning officer was appointed and shall be defrayed by the existing authorities concerned in such proportions respectively as may be agreed between them or, in default of such agreement, as may be determined by the Secretary of State.

(4) All expenditure properly incurred by a returning officer or other officer in relation to the holding of the first elections of councillors for a community shall be paid in the first instance by the council of the new district in which the community is situated, but any expenditure so incurred shall be chargeable only on that community.

(5) Section 42(7) above shall not apply to the first election of councillors for a community, but before a poll is taken at such an election the council of the new district in which the community is situated shall, at the request of the returning officer or of any person acting as returning officer, advance to him such reasonable sum in respect of his expenses at the election as he may require.

(6) In relation to the first election of councillors for a new area “the appropriate officer” in Parts II and III of the Representation of the M1 People Act 1949 means the returning officer appointed under this paragraph instead of having the meaning assigned to that expression by section 55(6)(b) of that Act.

Marginal Citations

M1 1949 c. 68.

6 (1) For the purpose of taking and receiving delivery of declarations of acceptance of the office of councillor of any new principal area under section 83 above before the first meeting of that council, the clerk of an existing authority designated by the committee established for the area under section 264 above shall be deemed to be and shall act as the proper officer of the council.

(2) Any such declaration delivered by virtue of this paragraph to the said clerk shall be transferred by him to the custody of the proper officer of the new council on the appointment of the latter.

7 (1) The first meeting of each new principal council shall be held within 21 days immediately following the day of election and shall be treated as the annual meeting of the council for 1973.

(2) The meeting shall be convened by the clerk of an authority designated by the committee established for the area of the new council under section 264 above and shall be held at such place as he may appoint instead of such place as the council may direct as required by paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 12 to this Act.

(3) The notice of the meeting required by paragraph 4(2) of that Schedule shall be published at the place where the meeting is to be held instead of at the council’s offices and the summons to attend the meeting required by that paragraph shall be signed by the said clerk instead of by the proper officer of the council.

8 (1) Until the completion of the election of a chairman at the first meeting of a new principal council, persons designated by the committee established for the area of the new council under section 264 above shall exercise any functions falling to be exercised by the chairman and vice-chairman of the council, but any person so designated shall not vote in the first instance at the election of the chairman unless he is a councillor for the new area.

(2) At the first meeting of a new principal council the clerk or deputy clerk of an existing authority so designated shall exercise any functions falling to be exercised by the proper officer of the new council in relation to the meeting.

(3) The standing orders for the regulation of the proceedings and business of an existing authority so designated shall apply at the first meeting of a new principal council.

9 The Secretary of State may himself exercise a committee’s power of designation for the purposes of any provision of paragraph 6, 7 or 8 above if he is requested to do so on the ground that the committee is unlikely to exercise the power in time for that provision to operate.

10 (1) The first meeting of a community council established by a direction under section 27(3) or (4) above shall be held within the 21 days immediately following the day of election in 1974 and shall be convened—

(a) where the community is coterminous with an existing borough, by the town clerk of that borough;

(b) where the community is coterminous with or wholly contained in an existing urban district, by the clerk of the council of that district.

(2) The first meeting of a community council established by virtue of section 27(2)(a) or (b) above shall be held before 23rd April 1974 and shall be convened by the clerk of the council of the parish or group of parishes, the area of which is co-extensive with the area of that community or group of communities, as the case may be.

(3) The first meeting of a community council shall be treated as the annual meeting of the council for 1974.

(4) The summons to attend the first meeting required by paragraph 26(2) of Schedule 12 to this Act shall be signed by the clerk by whom the meeting is convened instead of by the proper officer of the council.

(5) In relation to the first elections of the councillors of any community council and in relation to the first meeting of any community council required to be held by this paragraph, the powers conferred on the district council by sections 44(4) and 91 above shall, until 1st April 1974, be exercisable by the council of the existing county in which the area of the community is situated.

Qualification for membership of local authority E+W

11 For the purposes of section 79 above, in its application to a candidate for membership of a new local authority, the new local government areas shall be treated as having been established not less than 12 months before the day of his nomination as such a candidate or, in relation to an election not preceded by the nomination of candidates, before the day of election.

Suspension of elections E+W

12 (1) No election of councillors of an existing county, borough, urban or rural district or rural parish shall be held after the end of the year 1972, except an election to fill a casual vacancy in an office where before the end of that year the office has been declared to be vacant or notice of the vacancy has been given under section 67(1) of the 1933 Act; and any such councillor holding office immediately before the end of that year or elected after the end of that year to fill a casual vacancy occurring before the end of that year shall, unless he resigns his office or it otherwise becomes vacant, continue to hold office until 1st April 1974.

(2) As respects an existing county or borough—

(a) no ordinary election of aldermen shall be held after the passing of this Act;

(b) any alderman whose term of office would apart from this Act have expired between the passing of this Act and 1st April 1974 shall (unless he resigns his office or it otherwise becomes vacant) continue to hold office until that day; and

(c) any casual vacancy in the office of alderman occurring before 1st April 1974 shall not be filled unless the county or borough council resolve that it should be filled.

(3) It shall not be necessary to fill any casual vacancy occurring during March 1974 in the office of—

(a) chairman or vice-chairman of the council of an existing county or urban or rural district or of an existing parish council;

(b) mayor of an existing borough; or

(c) chairman of the parish meeting of an existing rural parish.

Annual meetings E+W

13 In the year 1973 the annual meeting of a borough council shall be held on such day in the month of March, April or May as the council may fix.

14 In the year 1974 it shall not be necessary for the parish meeting of a rural parish to assemble as required by paragraph 1(1) of Part VI of Schedule 3 to the 1933 Act.

Supplemental E+W

15 In this Schedule “relevant year of election” means—

(a) in relation to county councillors, the first ordinary year of election of such councillors occurring after the making of the order constituting the new electoral divisions of the county as the result of the review of county electoral arrangements under Schedule 10 to this Act;

(b) in relation to district councillors, the first ordinary year of election of such councillors occurring after the making of the order constituting the new wards of the district in consequence of the review of district electoral arrangements under that Schedule;

(c) in relation to community councillors, the first ordinary year of election of such councillors occurring after the making of the order or the last of the orders with respect to the district comprising the community in consequence of the special community review under that Schedule.