86First meetings of new authorities
(1)The first meeting of a new authority shall be held within twenty-one days after the day appointed under this Act for its establishment and shall be treated as the annual meeting of the authority for the year in which it is held.
(2)The meeting shall be convened, and held at a place appointed, by the proper officer of the relevant council; and for the purposes of this section the relevant council is—
(a)in relation to the authorities established by sections 18 and 27 above, the Greater London Council;
(b)in relation to any other authority, the council of the metropolitan county which is, or is included in, the area for which it is established,
and references in this section to the proper officer of the relevant council are references to the officer whose duty it is to summon meetings of that council.
(3)Notice of the meeting shall be published at the place where the meeting is to be held and summonses to attend the meeting shall be signed by the proper officer of the relevant council.
(4)Until the completion of the election of a chairman and vice-chairman at the meeting, the functions falling to be exercised by the chairman and vice-chairman shall be exercised by a member of the new authority chosen by the members of that authority present at the meeting.
(5)At the meeting the proper officer of the relevant council shall exercise any functions falling to be exercised by the proper officer of the new authority in relation to the meeting.
(6)The standing orders for the regulation of the proceedings and business of the relevant council shall, so far as practicable, apply at the meeting.
(7)If it appears to the Secretary of State that the first meeting of a new authority is not likely to be convened to be held within the time specified in subsection (1) above, he may—
(a)in the case of a joint authority, direct that the foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect with the substitution for references to the relevant council of references to a constituent council of that authority ; or
(b)in any case, himself convene the meeting and appoint the place where it is to be held ;
and in any such case the meeting shall be held as soon as practicable.
(8)Where the Secretary of State convenes a meeting under subsection (7) above, he shall himself sign the summonses referred to in subsection (3) above, the functions referred to in subsection (5) above shall be exercised by a person appointed by him and the standing orders referred to in subsection (6) above shall be those of such authority as he may direct.
(9)Schedule 12 to the principal Act, as applied by section 84 above, shall have effect subject to this section, and in particular paragraph 4(2) of that Schedule shall not require notice of the first meeting of a new authority to be published at that authority's office or summonses to attend the meeting to be signed by the proper officer of that authority.