About Parish Council

Parish Councils England

Parish councils are civil local authorities found in England which are the lowest tier of local government. They are elected corporate bodies, with variable tax raising powers, and they carry out beneficial public activities in geographical areas known as civil parishes. There are about 9,000 parish and town councils in England, and over 16 million people live in communities served by them. Parish councils may be known by different styles, they may resolve to call themselves a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, it may call itself a city council. However, their powers and duties are the same whatever name they carry.

Parish councils receive the majority of their funding by levying a precept upon the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) covered by the council. In 2021-22 the amount raised by precept was £616 million. Other funding may be obtained by local fund-raising or grants for specific activities. They can vary enormously in size, activities and circumstances; representing populations ranging from fewer than 100 (small rural hamlets) to up to 130,000. Most of them are small: around 80% represent populations of less than 2,500; Parish councils are made up of unpaid councillors who are elected to serve for four years. There are about 80,000 parish councillors country-wide.

Powers and duties

Parish Council activities fall into three main categories: representing the local community, delivering services to meet local needs, and improving quality of life and community well-being.

Parish councils have the power to tax their residents to support their operations and to carry out local projects, and this is done through the council tax system. Although there is no limit to the amount that can be raised, the money can only be raised for a limited number of purposes, listed below, as defined in the 1894 Act and subsequent legislation. Compared to higher tiers of English local government, parish councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have a much more extensive range of discretionary powers which they may exercise voluntarily. For this reason, there are large variations in the activities of parish councils, depending on their size, resources and abilities. The “General Power of Competence” is a power awarded in 2012 to eligible councils, which further broadens the scope of activities that councils can be involved in.

Duty to provide facilities

Parish councils have a duty to consider providing allotment gardens if the demand is unsatisfied.

Powers to provide facilities

Parish councils may exercise powers to provide, maintain and manage certain facilities. There are large variations in the facilities provided by parish councils, but they can include any of the following:

• Buildings for community use, village halls
• Recreational facilities such as parks, playgrounds, playing fields and swimming baths
• Cemeteries and crematoria
• Public seats
• Litter bins
• Maintenance of rights of way
• Guardianship of common land (such as village greens)
• Maintenance of war memorials

Consultative powers

Parish councils have the statutory right to be consulted by the local district, borough, county council or unitary authority on:

• All planning applications in their areas
• Intention to provide a burial ground in the parish
• Proposals to carry out sewerage works
• Footpath and bridleway (more generally, ‘rights of way’) surveys
• The appointment of governors of primary schools

Miscellaneous powers

Parish councils may also exercise the following powers:

• Sponsoring public events
• Support of the arts and provision of entertainment
• Encouragement of tourism
• Providing grantsto local voluntary organisations
• Funding crime prevention measures
• Providing grants for busservices, and funding community transport schemes
• Contribution of money towards traffic calming schemes
• Cleaning and drainage of ponds, watercourses and ditches
• Power to obtain water from any well, spring or stream
• Creation of a neighbourhood plan
• Power to acquire or dispose of land
• Withholding of consent to stop up unclassified highways and footpaths
• Appointing trustees of local charities
• Power to make byelaws in regard to pleasure grounds, cycle parks, baths and washhouses, open spaces and burial grounds, and mortuaries and post-mortem rooms.

Administration

The administration of the Council is managed by its Clerk, a paid employee appointed by the council, who acts in a combined statutory role of Proper Officer (secretary or chief executive) and Responsible Financial Officer (treasurer). They may be full-time or part-time, depending on the amount of council business, and large parish councils may require more than one official for these tasks, in which case they are a group led by the Clerk.

The Clerk as the Proper Officer “enacts” (cause to happen) the decisions of the Council, and they receive official correspondence and issue correspondence on the instructions of the Council. The clerk also prepares agendas for meetings of the Council and its committees, gives notice of these to the Council members and the public, and records and publishes the minutes of these meetings. The Clerk is the formal point of contact with the public, and a source of information for the public about the Council’s activities. The necessary financial monitoring and reporting are the clerk’s responsibility, and in this role the clerk is known as the “Responsible Financial Officer” (RFO) of the Council. The clerk also provides procedural guidance for the Council itself, and ensures that statutory and other provisions governing or affecting the running of the Council are observed. Clerks are encouraged to have a formal qualification, such as the Certificate in Local Council Administration (CiLCA). A councillor cannot become the paid clerk of their council, due to conflict of interest, but they can be appointed on an unpaid basis; preferably temporarily. A councillor cannot become a paid clerk until 12 months after leaving office.