‘LAW DETERMINED DISMISSAL FROM RURAL COUNCIL’
AUTHORITY ‘NOT INVOLVED IN DISQUALIFICATION PROCESS’:
LLANELLI Rural Council has distanced itself from the dismissal of a councillor who failed to attend meetings.
Councillor Fozia Akhtar, who did not attend regular meetings in 2020 and the early part of this year due to caring for her terminally ill son, was stripped of her seat in March for non-attendance. Last week she spoke to the Llanelli Star and accused Llanelli Rural Council of having no empathy while she was grieving the death of her son.
Labour councillor Akhtar had served the Pemberton and Llwynhendy wards for nine years but her son’s illness last year meant she took the decision to temporarily step away from the council while he had treatment.
After missing meetings last year, Cllr Akhtar’s attendance at the September 2020 council meeting meant she could continue serving on the council.
However, further meetings were missed and on March 30 this year the cut-off point was reached and she was only informed of what she called her “unjust dismissal” by the council days later in early April.
Cllr Akhtar, who remains a councillor for Carmarthenshire Council, said she informed Llanelli Rural Council via telephone of her decision to take a step back, but was later told she should have done this in writing and the council said in a statement to the Star that “individual councillors are responsible for their own attendance.
“Any leave from the council, for whatever reason, must be submitted in writing and if they feel it will extend beyond the six months termination deadline.
“This must be done ahead of the leave period.”
Now Llanelli Rural Council has reiterated that it is the law that determined Cllr Akhtar’s dismissal from the council – and was not a decision taken by the council or its members. By law, councillors cannot miss more than six consecutive months of meetings without punitive action being taken.
Llanelli Rural Council has now said it was not its decision to remove Cllr Akhtar, emphasising that her removal was governed by law under the Local Government Act of 1972.
In a statement Llanelli Rural Council said: “The council is aware of personal comments made by one of its former councillors in a recent newspaper article regarding the circumstances surrounding the former councillor’s disqualification from holding office as a councillor with Llanelli Rural Council.
“The council rejects the comments made by the former councillor and categorically denies any involvement in the disqualification process.
“For the avoidance of doubt, no decision was taken by the council to disqualify the former councillor because the disqualification process is governed and determined by the law, namely Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972.
“The council will not be making any further comment on the matter.” Cllr Akhtar is now standing in a bid to regain her Pemberton seat later this month.
Llanelli Rural Council has published a list of those candidates standing in the by-election, which will be held on July 15.
Candidates for the Pemberton ward seat are:
■ Fozia Akhtar - Welsh Labour
■ Sean Dixon - Independent
■ Karl Morgan - Plaid Cymru
■ Christopher David William Passmore - Welsh Liberal Democrats