Council chief executive ‘has acted unlawfully by cancelling meetings due to Senedd by-election’

Martin Shipton

A councillor has told a council’s chief executive he believes he has acted unlawfully by cancelling most meetings of the authority on the grounds that a Senedd by-election is pending.

Ed Edmunds, the chief executive of Caerphilly County Borough Council, decided to put democracy on hold by deciding council and committee meetings held in public should not take place before the Caerphilly by=election on October 23. He argued there was a risk of prejudicing the outcome of the by-election.

But Independent group leader Nigel Dix says he has been advised that not holding the meetings is unlawful.

‘Formal complaint’

In an email to Mr Edmunds, the council’s monitoring officer Robert Tranter, and all councillors, Cllr Dix states: “I wish to make a formal complaint re the decision to suspend committees – Planning, cabinet, and scrutiny meetings – due to an election from September 18 to October 23.

“The official guidance for councils in Wales (and England) is clear: normal council business must continue, but councils must avoid making decisions or issuing publicity that could be seen as giving electoral advantage to any party or candidate.

“In other words: routine decisions, planning, scrutiny, and Cabinet meetings are not prohibited. What’s restricted is political publicity.

“The chief executive (Ed Edmunds) is also the Returning Officer for elections. In that role, he must ensure fairness.

“As Proper Officer under the Local Government Act 1972, he does have some administrative discretion over meeting arrangements. However, he does not have the power to suspend democratic decision-making across the whole authority without councillor approval unless there is a specific legal basis (e.g. emergency powers, standing orders).

“Councils across the UK (including the Senedd itself) continue holding public meetings during pre-election periods.

“Cancelling all council and committee meetings for five weeks is highly unusual and arguably undermines local democracy.

“Unless the council’s Constitution or standing orders explicitly allow the CEO to suspend meetings for this reason, the decision could be ultra vires (beyond his legal powers).

“Under the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12, councils are under a duty to hold meetings and give public notice of them.

“Democratic accountability: cancelling scrutiny, cabinet, and planning meetings could mean statutory functions are not being discharged.

“An administrative law principle is that decisions must be proportionate. A blanket suspension looks excessive compared with the actual legal guidance.”

Extraordinary meeting

Cllr Dix added: “Councillors can challenge this by calling for an extraordinary meeting (if there are enough signatories). A judicial review could argue the CEO acted unlawfully by suspending democratic functions without legal authority.

“The Ombudsman or Wales Audit Office might also investigate if the council is failing to carry out its statutory duties.

“In summary, the CEO does not appear to have a legal basis to suspend all public meetings during the pre-election period. Guidance says business must continue; only publicity must be handled carefully. Unless Caerphilly’s constitution gives him extraordinary powers to do this, his decision risks being unlawful, disproportionate, and open to challenge.

“To formally challenge the recent decision to suspend all public meetings of Caerphilly County Borough Council and its committees between September 18 and October 23, the following is useful as the action of the CEO appears to go beyond what is permitted under law and official guidance relating to the pre-election period:

1. Legal and Constitutional Position

The Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12 places a statutory duty on local authorities to convene meetings and give public notice of them.

The role of the Chief Executive as Proper Officer and Returning Officer does not provide authority to suspend the democratic functions of the Council.

The council’s own published guidance makes clear:

* The normal and scheduled operational business of the council will continue throughout the election period uninterrupted. There is no prohibition on conducting normal Council business or decision making during the pre-election period.

2. Disproportionate and Ultra Vires Decision

The decision to impose a blanket suspension of scrutiny, Cabinet, planning, and full council meetings for over five weeks is unprecedented and disproportionate.

The guidance requires councils only to avoid actions that may confer electoral advantage — it does not permit halting democratic decision-making.

By suspending meetings without a clear statutory basis, this decision risks being ultra vires (beyond legal powers).

3. Democratic and Statutory Risks

Planning and regulatory functions are statutory duties which cannot simply be postponed without legal justification.

The suspension denies councillors and the public their democratic rights to scrutiny and accountability.

It sets a precedent that could erode public trust in the impartiality and transparency of the council.

4. Requested Action

Therefore  the council must:

* Immediately reinstate all scheduled public meetings for the period up to October 23 2025.

* Confirm, in writing, the legal basis upon which the chief executive purported to suspend meetings.

* Provide councillors and the public with an assurance that normal democratic business will continue in accordance with statute and guidance.

“Should this decision remain in place, the right to escalate the matter to the  Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, the Wales Audit Office, and, if necessary, to consider legal remedies including judicial review.”

A number of women councillors have also protested about the postponement of a training session for councillors on issues relating to violence against women, again because of the upcoming by-election.

Constitution

A Caerphilly council spokesperson said: “The Chief Executive, as the Proper Officer and the Returning Officer for the forthcoming by-election, has acted properly in making this decision. This was done in consultation with the council’s Monitoring Officer and is in line with the council’s constitution.

The leaders of the political groups (including Nigel Dix) and the Presiding Member were consulted in advance of the decision, all of whom recognised the sensitivity of the situation.”

The spokesperson added: “The decision to postpone the training session on violence against women  is not linked to the postponement of the other meetings, instead this is more about ensuring that we get as many councillors as possible to attend.

“We were asked if we could reschedule the training until after the election because many members will be busy canvassing over the coming weeks and this would impact attendance levels.

“We want to ensure that as many councillors as possible access this important training, so we agreed to consider an alternative date.”

The by-election is taking place following the sudden death of Labour MS Hefin David in August.