What is a Parish Council?

Parish councils are the first tier of local government in England and Wales and are responsible for the most local of matters. Parish councils are elected units of local government whose activities are controlled by Acts of Parliament. Both Little Smeaton and Kirk Smeaton have their own Parish council.

 

The responsibilities of a parish council

Parish councils have a number of basic responsibilities, including: representing the whole electorate within the parish; delivering services to meet local needs; and striving to improve quality of life in the parish. They can be responsible for providing a range of community services, such as:

• Allotments
• Cemeteries
• Recreation grounds
• War memorials
• Seating and shelters

Many county and district councils (and unitary authorities) are also responsible for providing and maintaining some of the services mentioned above. However, residents may prefer to contact their parish council in regards to such local matters because of their smaller, less intimidating size and because they may be more in touch with their community’s needs.

The council is also the first point of contact for local projects. It is their responsibility to help get schemes underway by providing initial funding and space for public use, for example for a scout troop or a one-off jumble sale.

The parish council must be notified of any planning application or highway development planned for the area if they so wish. On some occasions the council’s approval is also needed for any work to go ahead.

 

Award Schemes

Parish councils can be granted more powers as part of the 'Quality Status' award scheme that was launched by the government in 2003. This allows district and county councils or unitary authorities to devolve some of their responsibilities to parish councils. For example, parish councils could take on duties to make road changes such as introducing speed bumps. In a later article we'll look at what 'Quality Status' actually means and how a parish council can achieve this status.

 

Parish councillors

The parish council is an effective way to get involved in community life. It deals with local people and local matters on a day to day basis and welcomes help and interest. One way to get involved is to stand for election to the council and in a later article we'll look at how you can do this for the May elections.

Parish councillors are elected by the public and serve four-year terms. Following elections, council members appoint a chair from one of their number.

Parish councillors were unpaid positions until 2004 when allowance schemes were introduced to encourage more people to stand. Allowances are still, however, at the discretion of the individual councils. They can choose to maintain a strictly unpaid status, believing that councillors should stand for the love of the parish, not for any financial reason.

To be a parish councillor requires some time and commitment. A councillor will usually spend a couple of hours a week on parish business and this will increase if they are a member of a permanent or short-term committee.

 

How to volunteer in your parish

You do not have to have had experience of local government to get involved with your parish council, and the vast majority of councillors are independent of political parties. To become a councillor you would generally need to stand at the main election, which happens every four years.

But, volunteers can serve on the council without having to go through the formal process of campaigning and standing for election. People can be appointed to the council in two situations:

• If there are not enough candidates to fill all council seats at election time
• If a seat becomes vacant mid-term and the council chooses not to hold a by-election

In either of these situations the council can choose to 'co-opt'. This is when they collectively appoint the new council members from a list of people, filling the vacant seats. You may add your name to this list at any point by simply contacting your parish council. If you join the council this way you will, in most cases, be eligible to vote and therefore part of local decision-making. For example you could help provide such public services in your community as allotments, shelters and transport.

Some parish councils also run youth councils which are comprised of a number of young people representing their local schools and colleges. They are granted their own political forum by having a space and a time to meet and discuss matters which affect them. These youth councils are in direct communication with their parish councils so they can also be involved in decision-making. Currently neither Little Smeaton nor Kirk Smeaton parish councils do this.

 

Parts of this text has been provided by the BBC Action Network.