Co-option is a process by which a vacant seat on a parish or town council is filled by appointment rather than an election. It is often necessary to ensure a council is fully constituted and able to carry out its duties.
Vacancies can arise for various reasons such as insufficient candidates at an election, resignations and disqualifications. Vacancies which occur due to a councillors departure mid-term are called casual vacancies.
If following an election the council has less members than seats available, but remains quorate*, co-options may be required to fill the vacant seats.
*A councils quorum is the minimum number of seats a council must have filled in order to carry out its business. This is three, or a third of the total number of seats, which ever is greater (the figure is rounded up where applicable).
Is your council inquorate? If your council is inquorate then you cannot co-opt and we would suggest you contact us for guidance.
| Post-election vacancy | Casual vacancy | |
| What is it? | Vacancies immediately following an election due to an insufficient number of candidates nominated. | Vacancies following the departure of a councillor mid-term due to resignation or other reasons, as stated in the Local Government Act 1972 s87. |
| Do we need to post a notice of the vacancy? | No, the council does not need to post a notice of the vacancy. However we’d still recommend advertising to attract potential candidates (more below). | Councils must contact the district council in the event of a casual vacancy. The council must give notice of the vacancy, displayed in a prominent place in the parish for at least 14 days (excluding bank holidays etc), allowing electors to request a by-election*. If no by-election is requested, the district council will confirm the council may co-opt, at which point you may want to advertise for potential candidates.
*by-elections will not be called when a vacancy occurs within six months of an ordinary election. |
| When do we need to fill the seats? | The council has 35 working days to co-opt from the date of the election. If they do not fill the vacancies within the timeframe, the district council may take action to fill the seats. | There is no statutory deadline, but councils are encouraged to fill its seats as soon as practically possible; the community deserves full representation. |
| What process should we follow? | If you have an established co-option process, whether that’s a written procedure or just precedent, we would advise councils to follow a consistent process for both vacancy types. | |
| Who is eligible to stand? | Anyone wishing to join the council via co-option must be eligible under s.79 of the Local Government Act 1972 and not disqualified under s.80 of the Local Government Act 1972. These resources from the Electoral Commission may be helpful. | |
Post-election vacancies do not exist until the new council takes office on 9 May 2023. Co-options must take place after this date, and could be as early as your first meeting after the election (the annual council meeting) if you are confident that you have completed your normal process and have given a chance for new candidates to apply.
We recommend advertising vacancies and encouraging people to come forward; this is different from the statutory notices for casual vacancies where by-elections may be called. Advertising widely through a variety of mediums, increases the chance of the council having a choice of candidates and allows the council to be sure it has got the best representatives for the community.
As the vacancies do not exist until the new council takes office on 9 May 2023, we recommend delaying advertising your vacancies until after the election; while you can start advertising now, it may be unclear to candidates that the vacancy is only post-election. Waiting until the 9th May will allow for more clarity and avoid any risk of challenge.
There is no statutory procedure for how councils undertake their co-options. It is advisable to have an agreed procedure to ensure fairness, transparency and consistency. NALC would suggest that you get candidates to confirm their eligibility in writing; you may need to investigate or obtain evidence if that is challenged.
There are a range of ways that councils can find out more about proposed candidates including:
Whatever you choose, the process must be open to all eligible candidates. Consistency will be key and ensures that all candidates are treated fairly.
Only the full council can make the decision about who to co-opt; it cannot be delegated to either a committee or to an officer of the council. If the council is inquorate then it will not be able to co-opt.
Voting, as with all council decisions, is by show of hands unless the council has provided otherwise in their standing orders. Secret ballots may only be used if standing orders allow for them.
It is difficult to justify the need to exclude the press and the public (including the candidates) while a council makes its decision on who to co-opt; choosing a public representative is expected to be a public and transparent affair. Therefore co-options should not be considered in confidential session.
It is NALC’s view that where there is the same number, or less, of candidates than there are vacancies, then they shall be co-opted on to the council. If the council is concerned about lack of choice, then advertising a vacancy widely within the community may be helpful.
This is great news; the council can now choose a candidate with the most suitable skills and experience to join the council team.
By referring to the information from the candidates application forms, interviews and/or presentations, the council can determine which individual(s) will be best suited for the council in a consistent and fair manner.
When voting there must be a clear majority for a candidate(s) in order to co-opt. Where there are three or more candidates for one seat and a vote is tied, the candidate with the fewest votes shall be removed from consideration and the vote repeated until a majority can be achieved.
It is NALC’s view that if an eligible person has come forward for a vacancy, then they shall be co-opted to the council. If they had nominated themselves in an uncontested election they would have had gained the seat, so its difficult for the council to refuse an eligible candidate and will likely be subject to challenge if they do so.
If the power of co-option is not used within 35 working days of the election then the principal authority (the district council) has powers to step in to fill the vacancies. This might include holding a further election (at cost to the council) or may involve other acts such as appointing temporary councillors, or requiring that you post a notice of vacancy to allow a by-election to be requested. Your district council will be able to advise at the time.
Just like elected councillors, co-opted councillors must sign a declaration of acceptance of office at or before their first meeting, and must submit their register of interests within 28 days of their co-option. It is advisable that co-opted councillors do not take office until the end of the meeting at which they are appointed.
The clerk should notify the returning officer at the district council that a co-option has taken place as soon as practically possible after the meeting at which they are appointed.
All co-opted councillors should be given the same opportunities in regards to induction and training, as elected councillors.
No; a co-opted councillor will participate in council business in the same way as elected councillors. There are no restrictions to the roles they may perform i.e. membership of committees, election of chairman/mayor etc.
However, co-opted councillors will not count as an ‘elected’ councillor for the purposes of the General Power of Competence (although councillors appointed at uncontested election will).
For those councils which provide an allowance to their members, not including the Chair’s Allowance, please be aware that co-opted members are not eligible to receive the allowance. If you’re not sure, there is more guidance available in Legal Topic Note 33 or you can contact us for guidance.
Attracting candidates is similar to encouraging people to stand for nomination at election. Think about how you might reach a wide range of people; your website, social media and noticeboard are all good ways to reach different people but there may also be a local newspaper or newsletter you could use, or maybe even a leaflet drop in the neighbourhood? It might help to reach out to people directly, perhaps by going along to local groups or community events to talk about the council and the role of a councillor.
Simply publishing that there is a vacancy may not be enough to attract candidates. Consider additional content in your promotional materials such as:
The council may want to consider what skills the council might need (for example, do you particularly need people with experience in planning or HR?) and whether the council might benefit from diverse representation (read here why diversity is important to local councils). While any formal notice must be clear that everyone is still eligible to apply, the council might be able to take those skills and expertise into account if they are choosing between candidates.
The NALC #MakeAChange resources might also help with editable posters, social media posts etc. There’s also a useful range of videos (and on YouTube) that you can share with your community.