Parish Council

What is a modern parish or town council?

A modern Parish or Town Council (which is essentially the same thing) is a local authority set up under the Local Government Act 1972 and is an essential part of the structure of local democracy. Councils have a vital role in acting on behalf of the communities they represent, and operate in the area of a defined civil parish or sometimes a group of parishes.

Parish and Town Councils are independent of District and County Councils, although they maintain a close working relationship with both. They are the most local level of government in England and have to work in accordance with the statutory framework of the law.

Although parish or town councils are local authorities they are very different to county, district, metropolitan or unitary authorities. They are small and locally accountable. They represent an identifiable community. All their statutory powers, the things that they can do, are discretionary so the council decides where it is important to act and use resources. They also have legal duties to perform such as keeping minutes and accounts etc.

Parishes can be quite small, see Section 16(2) of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997,

The District Council determines how many councillors are to be elected to represent the parish and they also control all the arrangements for elections in accordance with the 1997 Act.

Currently, based on the population of Althorne, seven councillors represent the parish.

A new Parish Council is elected every four years.

Historical note -The very first Althorne Parish Council was formed in 1894

What happens if insufficient candidates stand for election?

If insufficient local people are nominated for election, the rules are that those who are nominated are automatically appointed unopposed as long as they meet the criteria for becoming a councillor, there is no need for an election. In order to bring the council up to it's proper strength, the appointed councillors advertise the vacancies and request nominations for cooption. If more than the required number of people put themselves forward, then those councillors that have been appointed conduct interviews and co-opt the required number to bring the council up to full strength.

What powers do Town and Parish Councils have?

The powers of Parish and Town Councils vary depending on how large and how active they are. Their powers essentially relate to local matters, such as looking after community buildings, open space, allotments, play areas, street lighting, bus shelters, car parks and much more.  The Council also has the power to raise money through taxation, the precept.  The precept is the parish council’s share of the council tax.  The precept demand goes to the billing authority, the District Council, which collects the tax for the Parish Council.

So what can a parish or town council do?

Parish Councils have two roles:

1. They are involved in the provision of facilities, either independently or with other bodies. For example, the provision of benches, children’s play equipment, village halls, recreation grounds, war memorials etc. 

2. As a group for consultation. For example:

Parish and Town Councils can take effective action within their own communities, and have the opportunity to comment on issues effecting them, their district or their county. The parish or town council will be able to use its unique local knowledge to promote and protect the community, which it is there to serve.

How Are Parish Councils Accountable?

1. Elected councillors make the decisions of parish and town councils. To be eligible to be a councillor you have to have a local connection. That means that the parish or town councillor must live in or work in the community. Being a parish or town councillor is not necessarily time consuming and generally is less about party politics than other levels of local government. That means any eligible member of the community may make a commitment to be a councillor if they get local support. If members of the public are unhappy about the actions of the council, they may stand themselves for election at the appropriate time. Elections occur every four years.

2. Parish Councils are required to hold at least four meetings each year, one of which must be an Annual Meeting of the full Council. By law Parish Council meetings need to be advertised. The public is welcome to attend council meetings. However, the public is only permitted to speak when the chairman opens the meeting to the public. Members of the public may well wish to speak to councillors before meetings, on issues to be raised at meeting, or comment on issues or bring other matters to the attention of the council in the open section of the meeting. Althorne currently hold a parish meeting every month to which the public are invited.

3. There is a legal requirement for Parish/Town Council's to hold a Parish/Town Assembly meeting  once every year where members of the public have an opportunity to have their say. The Parish/ Town council is then obliged to consider requests from the public.

4. Parish and town councils are publicly audited and the 1996 Audit Regulations require high standards of accounting.

How much does it cost?

Parish and town councils do not have high overhead costs. All the money that is required to function and provide the local parish amenities is raised through the precept, or is provided by grants or donations from government or private organisations. The parish employs a clerk to carry out the routine administration. The clerk also ensures that the council is kept up to date and complies with all the central and local government laws and regulations. In some councils the clerk is also the 'Responsible Financial Officer'  (this is the case in Althorne)

A council is required to justify the expenditure and are required to be audited by both an internal and external Auditor to ensure that funds are appropriately spent.

Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme 

The Government introduced the Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme in 2003 with the aim of encouraging Councils, on behalf of their communities, to have a greater say in the running and improvement of local services. 

Much of the information contained in the above was obtained from the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) web site, and the 1997 Local Government and Rating Act.

Councillors

Click here to see who the present Parish and District councillors who represent you.

The Althorne Parish Council has adopted The Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2007. 

The council has also agreed to adopt paragraph 12(2) of the order, which is optional for Parish Councils.

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Last modified: December 02, 2011