Monthly Archives: July 2022

Parish Councils are the first tier of government and an entry point for democracy. And yet, while they have long been in existence, much of England remains unparished. Parish Councils not only give a democratic voice to their residents but are also the focus of community efforts, deliver services and work in partnership with others.  With a Government review of neighbourhood governance due, what might this mean for areas without a Parish or Town Council – and what might urban areas learn from their rural counterparts? Jessica Sellick investigates. 

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What are Parish Councils? Called Parish, Town, Community, Neighbourhood and/or Village Councils, they are collectively known as ‘Local Councils’ and are the tier of local government that is closest to the electorate in England. Parish and Town Councils are represented by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), and by county-based associations. 

Elected Parish and Town Councils can be traced back to the Local Government Act 1894. This Act removed all non-ecclesiastical functions from church parish councils and passed them to new, locally elected bodies which became known as ‘Parish Councils’. Ecclesiastical functions remained with ‘parochial church councils’ (PCC) and these are not linked to Parish and Town Councils. 

The Local Government Act 1972 provides the legal foundations and workings of Parish and Town Councils today. The Act sets out the constitution of Parish Councils – and how ‘they shall consist of a chairman and parish councillors and shall have all such functions as are vested in the council by this Act or otherwise’.  Part II of Schedule 12 specifies the legal obligations that a Parish Council must fulfil: 

• It must hold an annual meeting. 
• It must hold at least three other meetings a year. 
• It must appoint such officers as it believes necessary for the proper discharge of its functions. 
• It must make Standing Orders for the supply of goods and services to the council. 

These requirements are supplemented by any other standing orders adopted by a Parish or Town Council. Where a Council has not filled all its seats at an ordinary election, the councillors who have been elected (unopposed) may co-opt additional members until all of the Council’s seats are filled. A Council must have at least one-third of its seats through election. There are no fixed procedures for how the decision to co-opt must be made, other than it must be taken at a meeting of the Council.  

The Localism Act 2011 allows Parish and Town Councils and Neighbourhood Forums to formulate Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) and Orders, to guide and shape development in a particular area. Policies produced in a NDP cannot block development that is part of a Local Plan, but they can shape and influence where that development will go, and what it will look like. 

Where are they? According to NALC, there are some 10,000 Local Councils in England, with 30% of the country parished and 40% of the population served by 100,000 councillors. 

Source: see DLUHC council tax statistics for parish and town councils – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-council-tax  see also map here. 

The map illustrates how the majority of rural areas in England are ‘parished’ whereas some urban areas are not. These ‘unparished’ areas – or areas with few Parish Councils include: 

• Areas within Greater London – though do note Queen’s Park in Westminster City Council is designated a Parish Council. 
• Cities and the areas surrounding them.
• Smaller council areas that are urban in character. 
• Larger towns surrounded by rural areas. 

What do they do? A Local Council must act within the law. This means it can only spend, raise or use money for which it has a statutory powers for. Parish Councils have a wide range of powers under different acts of Parliament. Many of these powers are discretionary, meaning they may do something, rather than they must do something. They also act as a sounding board for local opinion. They also have obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Human Rights Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010.

Some examples of the projects and activities Parish Councils get involved in include (but are not limited to): 

• To improve and adapt land for allotments, and to let grazing rights.
• To provide public baths, washhouses and public conveniences. 
• To maintain monuments and to contribute towards the expenses of cemeteries.
• To provide and maintain bus shelters. 
• To provide public clocks. 
• To provide and equip buildings for use of clubs having athletic, social or recreational objectives. 
• To establish and maintain a scheme for the detection or prevention of crime. 
• To deal with ponds and ditches. 
• To take enforcement action against those who commit an offence against a Dog Control Order. 
• To take enforcement action against those that flypost or graffiti. 
• To maintain footpaths and bridleways. 
• To acquire, dispose of, and/or accept gifts of land. 
• To contribute to car-sharing schemes, taxi fare concessions, make grants for bus services and contribute financially to traffic calming schemes. 

In 2019, NALC published a collection of 150 case studies highlighting the work that local councils undertake to support their communities, and why local councils are an essential part of their community.  

Every Parish Council has a clerk who works to ensure the Council as a whole conducts its business properly and who provides independent, objective and professional advice and support to councillors. The SLCC represents clerks working in 5,000 Local Councils in England and Wales. As such, 90% of the SLCC’s member councils pay for their clerks’ annual subscription, as encouraged by the Local Government Act 1972 s 143 (1) (b), ‘a local Authority may pay reasonable subscriptions, whether annually or otherwise, to the funds of any association of officers or members of local authorities which was so formed.’

Under the Sustainable Communities (Parish Councils) Order 2013 Parish Councils are entitled to make proposals for changes in legislation. They may also request the listing of an asset of community value [under the Community Right to Bid], and/or lead the development of a neighbourhood plan or a Community Right to Build order. The Parish Council itself, or individual councillors, can also act as trustees for a local charity. 

While all Local Councils seek to make a difference to their local area, their budget, resources, capacity and priorities will vary. 

In terms of funding, Local Councils raise income through a ‘precept’ on Council Tax bills. The Local Council allocates a sum which a unitary authority or District Council collects for them through the Council Tax system. Parish Councils have been able to raise a ‘rate’ since their establishment in 1894 [linked to the Poor Laws], with the rates currently raised through the National Non-Domestic rate. Between 1894 and 1990 parish councils were able to levy a charge on domestic and non-domestic property; since 1990 the precept can only be applied to domestic property. According to MHCLG and DLUHC data, between 2021 and 2022 8,877 Parish Councils raised a precept amounting to some £617.27 million and comprising 1.8% of the total Council Tax demand. 

Since 2012, Government has required Parish and Town Councils to hold a referendum if their precept increases by more than a set threshold [determined by Government for principal Local Authorities each year]. The average increase in parish precepts in 2021-2022 was 2.8%. This increase is lower than that applied in previous years: 4% in 202-2021, 4.9% in 2019-2020, 4.9% in 2018-2019, and 6.3% in 2017-2018.  

Parish and Town Councils can also accept gifts from parishioners, apply for funding from grant making bodies or Government, and borrow money from the Public Works Loan Board lending facility. Interestingly, they can also apply for a licence from the Gambling Commission [under section 98 of the Gambling Act 2005] to set up lotteries to raise funds locally.  

Parish Councils must appoint an auditor – and, in practice, these are often appointed through the Smaller Authorities Audit Appointments (SAAA), a body established by NALC, the SLCC and the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA). Allegations regarding any financial irregularities can be made to the respective Parish Council’s auditor who must then decide whether or not to investigate them. 

How do they work between tiers? Where Parish and Town Councils are often referred to as ‘Local Councils’; in comparison, county, district and unitary Local Authorities are referred to in legislation and guidance as ‘principal authorities’. While both are a type of Local Authority, principal authorities have more statutory functions and powers compared to Parish and Town Councils. 

Principal authorities vary in their approach to working with parish councils – with some proactive around delegation and devolution, and others less active owing to queries about the capacity of Local Councils. 

Traditionally, Local councils often work with other tiers of local government. Some examples include: 

• Being consulted on planning applications and/or preparing a neighbourhood development plan. 
• Having points of contact within other Council services, such as highways, parks and elections. 
• Liaising with other organisations providing services within parish council boundaries. 

Parish clerks and councillors are also supported by the Monitoring Officer at their principal authority. This role includes performing ethical framework functions, advice and training in relation to the operation of a code of conduct and/or considering, accepting or rejecting complaints. 

The Local Government Association (LGA) has produced a framework to guide principal authorities interested in supporting Parish and Town Councils to play an increasing role in public service delivery and place shaping. This focuses on three key areas: 

1. Building trust – confirming the underlying principals, shared commitments and ongoing dialogue. 
2. A set of practical approaches and materials to assist in how devolution/responsibility shifts will be achieved. 
3. Enabling factors to support the partnership between principal authorities and Parish Councils – including the concept of ‘parish clusters’. 

And the Rural Services Network (RSN), for example, has established a Rural Village Services Group to ensure villages across England are given a voice into Government and other decision shapers. 

Regarding devolution, NALC have highlighted examples from Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire where responsibility and decision making has transferred from a principal authority to a Parish or Town Council. NALC has also highlighted examples where Local Councils have influenced the way services are delivered by a principal authority and/or participated in the funding of services led by a principal authority. It is worth noting that with reductions in resources over the last 10-15 years, many principal authorities have sought to delegate or devolve assets and services to town and parish councils.    

More recently, COVID-19 has highlighted the role of Local Councils in supporting local residents and harnessing local action – both during the immediacy of the pandemic, and now as we move towards economic recovery. Indeed, between April 2020 and May 2021, Parish Councils were permitted to hold online (rather than face-to-face meetings) as part of the Coronavirus Act 2000. 

Do we need more or fewer of them? Since the 2000s, successive Governments have been supportive of setting up Parish Councils. This can be traced to the labour government’s white paper in 2006 through to the coalition government’s consultation paper in 2013.  

It is the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 that contains the procedure for setting up a new Parish Council. This involves a principal authority undertaking a governance review, either on its own account or in response to a petition from local electors. The purpose of the governance review is to determine whether one or more Parish Councils should be created, divided or merged to ensure ‘that government arrangements are effective and convenient…and reflect the identities and interests of the community in that area’. 

In February 2022, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) published its Levelling Up White Paper, which announced a ‘review of neighbourhood governance in England’. The review will consider how Parish and Town Councils could be quicker and easier to establish. The review is taking place in the context of a proposed Strategy for Community Spaces and Relationships, broadening the use of the Community Infrastructure Levy, and a new approach to ‘community partnership’.

Currently, principal authorities can also consider other forms of community governance when carrying out a governance review. This may include, but is not limited to: community forums, tenant management organisations (TMOs) or neighbourhood management arrangements. A governance review can also result in the abolition of a Parish Council.  While it is rare for this to happen, examples in recent decades include Letchworth (North Hertfordshire), Southsea (Portsmouth), Byfleet (Woking) and Lickey End (Bromsgrove). There are also provisions for the dissolution of a parish where it has 150 or fewer electors. Similarly, a newly-expanded village could seek to ‘secede’ from an existing parish council area. 

Back in 2018, NALC estimated there were some 270 more Parish and Town Councils in England than there were 15 years prior. Local government restructuring since the 2010s has also led to the creation of new Parish or Town Councils, particularly in areas which have seen the creation of unitary authorities in place of county or district councils – these areas include (but are not limited to): Cornwall, Cheshire East, Dorset, Northampton and Wiltshire. NALC has produced guidance for  clustering Parish Councils wherein individual parishes must still hold their own parish meetings but a single council can cover a number of neighbouring parish areas. According to DLUHC and MHCLG data, in 2021-2022 there were 648 groupings of parish councils in England.

Sharing practice from rural areas with urban areas? The fact that most unparished areas in England are urban in character, means that if the Levelling Up White Paper leads to proposals for growth, new Parish Councils are likely to occur in towns and cities. What learning can they take based on the workings of Parish Councils in rural areas – and how can we better draw together good practice? I offer four points. 

Firstly, people. Few can forget an unruly meeting between councillors at Handforth Parish [now Town] Council that went viral and somewhat overshadowed the work underway. Who sits on a Parish Council, particularly via co-option can lead to a perception that it permits Parish or Town Councils to co-opt members they prefer rather than those with the particular skills set or area of interest needed. While others are fed up with politics and do not want to put themselves forwards as a candidate. Similarly, constituents who wish to complain about the procedures, decisions or conduct of councillors have few options other than the four yearly elections. Nor do residents have an automatic right to speak at meetings about parish affairs – it is down to the discretion of the respective Parish Council as to whether to afford them of this opportunity or not. With some 100,000 local councillors in England, how can we ensure they function well as the first tier of local government? There are numerous guides to support councillors to better understand their role – from The Good Councillors Guide, Model Code of Conduct, Model Standing Orders and Governance Toolkit through to adhering to the seven principles of public life. While a survey on improving professional standards commissioned by the SLCC found the number of formal complaints against parish councillors made to principal authorities dropped significantly since the original survey in 2017; the number of councils reporting standards issues had increased from 15% in 2017 to 18% in December 2020/January 2021. Further analysis of the survey responses revealed a Parish Council was significantly more likely to have issues where the clerk had been in post, or in the sector, for less than 3-years. While the vast majority of parish councillors and clerks operate effectively, how can we prevent problems from arising and/or better tackle those with complaints (e.g. recruitment, initial and ongoing training, peer-to-peer support, setting terms of office)?  

Secondly, scrutiny and wider governance. Parish Councils are required to have a code of conduct. They can develop their own code or opt in to one used by their district or unitary authority. However, there is no single organisation which oversees Parish Councils. Indeed, other tiers of government are unable to overturn a Parish Council’s decision unless it can be demonstrated that the decision is unlawful.  Parish Councils also do not fall under the remit of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsmen, unless they are carrying out functions on behalf of a District, County or unitary authority. The SLCC survey included a shorter questionnaire for Monitoring Officers at principal authorities to see what impact parish governance issues were having on their role. Again, while most Parish Councils did not give rise to standards issues, there were a handful in each area that caused difficulties for them in terms of time and resources. Under legislation, where a principal authority found a breach and recommended a sanction to the Parish Council, around 50% were not implemented by the parish council. How can we increase the capacity of Monitoring Officers to help them deal with grievances and offer mechanisms such as regular forums between the Monitoring Officer, county associations, councillors and clerks to prevent standards issues? 

Thirdly, funding. Since 2013-2014 the Council Tax base has reflected the actual amounts paid by residents who pay less Council Tax as a result of local support schemes. As a result, in the majority of areas the tax base decreased. Where the Council Tax base reduced, Parish Councils received less money from the precept than previously. Since 2014-2015 funding for council tax support schemes and Parish Council sums have been rolled into general local authority grant funding making it impossible to identify a specific amount which is intended for use for council tax support schemes. 

The precept is the difference between a Parish Council’s estimated income and its anticipated spending requirements for the financial year. In calculating the precept a Parish Council takes into consideration its current year’s spending level, the costs of any additional spending plans or projects, provision for contingencies and reserves, and levels of anticipated income. Part of the calculation also involves the ‘Band D equivalent’. Band D is the middle band of Council Tax and is intended to represent the amount of Council Tax paid on an average property in the area. The Band D equivalent provides a measure which allows precepts among councils of different sizes to be compared. The estimated number of Band D equivalent properties in the tax base is notified to each Parish Council by the principal authority prior to the precept setting exercise. On the one hand, and unlike Local Authorities, there is no cap on precept requests from Parish Councils. Indeed, NALC has highlighted the continued financial pressures placed on Local Councils from COVID-19 and how Parish Councils were not eligible for funding streams allocated to local government.  On the other hand, Government remains concerned about the pressure placed on taxpayers and is encouraging Parish Councils to exercise ‘greater restraint’ and is keeping the matter under review.  How can we collate information on the additional spending plans or projects by parish councils and how these are financed? 

Fourthly, data. There is no central record of the outcomes of governance reviews, or of the parish councils that have been created or abolished as a result. Nor is there a single real-time database that provides an overview of each parish council (i.e., its people – and how many councillors are co-opted, funding, resources, meetings, activities etc.). While we know what Parish Councils are, their place in the local government structure and the powers they can exercise, how can we draw together information to provide a rich evidence base of the work Parish Councils are doing (individually and collectively)?        

Parish Councils have a key role to play in making a difference to the communities they represent. Government focus on levelling up may lead to the creation of more Local Councils in unparished areas. If they want this to take place more quickly and easily, there is much that Parish Councils in rural areas can share with their new urban counterparts.

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Jessica is a researcher/project manager at Rose Regeneration and a senior research fellow at The National Centre for Rural Health and Care (NCRHC). She is currently supporting a CRF funded project; helping public sector bodies to measure their social value; and evaluating employability schemes and a veteran programmes. Jessica also sits on the board of a Housing Association that supports older people and a charity supporting Cambridgeshire’s rural communities. 

She can be contacted by email jessica.sellick@roseregeneration.co.uk. 

Website: http://roseregeneration.co.uk/https://www.ncrhc.org/ 

Blog: http://ruralwords.co.uk/ 

Twitter: @RoseRegen