The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council

Like any other organisation, the Parish Council needs to hold an annual meeting to carry out things that only need to be done once a year including:

• Electing a Chair & Vice-Chair

• Appointing councillors to committees & working groups and reviewing the terms of business for each committee/working group.

• Appointing representatives to other bodies (e.g. the Village Hall Committee).

• Reviewing policy documents such as Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, and the Scheme of Delegation.

N.B. The Annual Meeting of the Council should never be called the AGM. It should also not be confused with the Annual Parish Meeting (APM), which is a meeting for the local electorate rather than a formal meeting of the Council itself.

Timing of the Meeting

In an ordinary year, the Annual Meeting of the Council is held on the first Wednesday of May. However, the timing changes during an election year to comply with the Local Government Act 1972.

In a year of ordinary elections, the meeting must take place on or within 14 days after the newly elected councillors take office. Since councillors officially take office on the fourth day after the election (the following Monday), the meeting is usually moved to a later Wednesday in May. This ensures that the newly elected council is the body responsible for electing the Chairman and forming committees for the coming term.