Parish Council

Background

Prior to 1894, powers and duties in the community were administered by churchwardens and overseers of the poor but, with the introduction of the Local Government Act 1894, Parish Councils became the first tier of local government.

Parish Councils are non-political and their remit is to maintain, develop and improve the local environment and facilities of the Parish in such a way that accords with the wishes of their electorate. They may get involved, for example, in planning, highways, traffic, rights of way, environmental protection, promoting biodiversity, provision of public open space, play areas – any variety of provision for the support or benefit of the Community.

Funding and decision making

Parish Councils can only spend public money where they have a statutory power to do so. The Parish Council is funded in the main by the Parish Precept (part of the Council Tax), and other grant funding where available.

The Local Government Act 1972 is most often referred to in sourcing the powers and duties of Parish Councils but this is augmented by many earlier and later Acts – such as The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and the Localism Act 2011.

All Parish Council meetings are open to the public and all decision making open to scrutiny and recorded in the minutes of the meetings.

Parish Council accounts are publicly available and independently audited.