The role of the Parish Council

From Camlink

Parish Councils are the most local form of elected government. They are allowed to raise money through a compulsory 'precept' which forms part of the Council Tax and is collected on their behalf by District Councils. Parishes can set their precept at the level of their choice. They can also obtain grants for specific projects from District Councils, Government Departments, and charitable foundations. See Funding for community organisations.

Powers of Parish Councils

The 1965 Royal Commission on Local Government (The Redcliffe-Maude Commission) recommended that local councils should be empowered to do what they pleased for the benefit of their people, and a consequence of this was the important 1972 Local Government Act which removed many of the restrictions on the activities of parish councils. For example, before the 1972 Act, parish councils couldn’t save money from one year to the next in order to fund a major project. This is something all councils have to do these days to avoid having a massive council tax for each year that anything new is attempted. Subsequent legislation has added to parish council powers and now local councils can undertake any of the following things:-

• The provision of allotments.

• Provision of bars and laundrettes.
  

• Cemeteries, crematoria, maintenance of churchyards and the provision of mortuaries.
  

• Provision and maintenance of public clocks.
  

• Provision of any form of public entertainment and of any premises for giving entertainments; this includes maintaining bands or orchestras and providing for dancing.
  

• The provision of buildings for public meetings and functions, indoor sports, physical recreation, for clubs having recreation, social or athletic objectives.
  

• The provision and maintenance of footway lighting, which lights roads and pavements.
  

• The provision of litter bins and the support of anti-litter campaigns.
  

• The provision and maintenance of public open spaces, pleasure grounds and public walks, public lavatories, car parks, cycle parks, public parks and associated facilities.
  

• Maintenance of public footpaths and bridleways, planting and maintaining road side verges.
  

• Maintenance of public seats, shelters for general public use and particularly for bus passengers, erection of signs which warn of dangers, renounce a place name or indicate a bus stop.
  

• Provision of indoor or outdoor swimming pools or bathing places.
  

• Provision of facilities for conferences, the encouragement of recreation and business tourism.
  

• Powers to maintain a village or town green.

In addition to all those things, a parish council can do anything, provided it is for the general benefit of the community, and that the expenditure in any one year does not exceed £5.30 per local government elector in that particular parish or community. Parishes set a level for the Parish tax (known as the 'Precept') which is to be charged each year. The Precept is collected on behalf of the Parish by the District Council.

In practice the Parishes in Cambridgeshire differ widely in the range of activities they undertake, and in the Precept which they charge. Smaller civil parishes, typically those with an electorate of less than 200, do not have a formal Parish Council; instead they hold Parish Meetings.

Parish Council procedures

Parish Councils must:

• Appoint a Chairman responsible for the smooth running of meetings and for ensuring that all council decisions are lawful.

• Appoint a Clerk as the Parish Council's advisor and administrator.

• Have at least five members. The National Association of Local Councils recommends seven as the minumum number needed for good aministration.

• Appoint a Responsible Financial Officer to manage the finances in a sound and professional manner. The RFO is often the Clerk.

• Appoint an independent and competent Internal Auditor.

• Comply with Employment Law, including equal opportunities and disability legislation, and the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts.

• Hold a minimum of four meetings a year, one of which must be the Annual Meeting. In practice most Parish Councils meet monthly.

Parish Council elections are held every four years. Parish Councils have the power to co-opt members if there are insufficient candidates to fill all places.

Quality Parish Councils

The Quality Parish and Town Council scheme was launched in June 2003, following the publication of the Government's Rural White Paper, 2000. The scheme is designed to provide benchmark minimum standards for parish and town councils, and enable them to better represent the communities they serve. The scheme also aims to enhance relationships between local councils, principal authorities and community and voluntary sector organisations.

In order to achieve Quality Status, parish and town councils must demonstrate that they have reached the standard required by passing several tests including;

Electoral mandate
Qualifications of the clerk
Council meetings
Communications
Annual report
Accounts
Code of conduct

The tests exceed the statutory duties of parish and town councils and represent the standards that an efficient, well run parish council should achieve.

The Quality Parish Scheme is described in more detail at the NALC website.

Next page: How to stand for election to the Parish Council.