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Parish Council

Our parish council on the basis of its electorate, is entitled to nine councillors, currently (July 2009) it has of seven Councillors. Councillors can either be elected or co-opted onto the council. Co-option is a process where when vacancies on the council occur mid term they can be filled by candidates selected by the remaining councillors. Prior to taking office a declaration of acceptance is required of each councillor together with an entry declaring interests in the register kept by the local council immediately above the parish. 

A council meeting is usually held once a month, dates for these meetings are set out in advance and posted on the parish notice boards. All meetings including committees are open to public and press. All Wookey Parish Council minutes from 1999 to 2006 are on this site, see links on right of this page.  The councillors meetings and execution of duties is controlled by their standing orders a form of constitution and their behaviour and conduct governed by the Code of Conduct They are obliged to declare when they have personal or prejudicial or combined interest in any matter on the agenda, a record of these declarations are kept in a register of interests. Councillors are not permitted to take part in discussions nor vote on a matter in which they have a prejudicial interest.

The National Association of Local Councils and The Society of Local Council Clerks have published a comprehensive practitioners guide for councils called Governance and Accountability that is widely referred to and gives clear advice to councils on all aspects of how to operate within the boundaries of the law.

Councillors are often allocated individual responsibilities but may not commit the council to expenditure on their say-so. The council may also form committees who will work to a remit on a given task and report back to the council for action, unless the remit specifically included delegated responsibility for action. They may also form working parties that have to report back to the council and may not act. Wookey Parish Council are responsible for the upkeep of  maintained properties as well as owned properties and have to budget for these expenses when setting the annual precept. They are also responsible for the maintenance of the footpaths within the parish.

Formation

Parish Councils are the very first layer of local Government, whose responsibility it is to represent the electorate of the parish, this is done under the term laid down in the Representations of the Peoples Act. Wookey Parish Council like many others was inaugurated in 1894 with the introduction of the Local Government Act of that year, which is sometimes referred to as the Parish Council Act.

Much has changed since 1894, despite the impression given by the “The Vicar of Dibley” TV series.  Parish Councils are closely regulated and the amount of administrational bureaucracy and red tape has increased in the past few years, resulting in the lines of responsibility now being more clearly drawn. 

The Local Government Act, 1972, is the one most often referred to when describing the modern powers and responsibilities of Parish Councils but it is augmented by many earlier and later Acts, such as The Criminal Justice and Public Order, Act 1994, which, on the face of it, would not appear to relate to Parish Councils but which gave them a long needed ability to pay for measures to combat crime and the fear of crime in villages.

Powers and Responsibilities

Parish councils are permitted only to spend public money on projects or actions for which they have statutory powers Breaking this rule is likely to result in a PC’s accounts being refused by the auditor and, possibly, the individual councillors being required to repay the money illegally expended. 

There are still, as there was in 1894, only two powers which the Parish Council must consider using and that is to provide allotments for the labouring poor, if asked for them, and to provide burial grounds when the Home Office has closed the existing (usually chuchyards when full) existing site(s).  All other powers are voluntary - the Parish Council is not obliged to exercise them and indeed the majority would find it difficult to raise enough money to exercise them all on a permanent basis.

Finance

Although a parish council expenditure has not so far been capped, their finances are governed by their statutory powers and financial regulations and are limited to the amount of the precept they can reasonably expect their parishioners to provide. This in effect limiting their activities according to their budget. The precept is a tax on parish residents collected for them by the District Council as an addition to Council Tax.

Parish Councils are permitted to borrow money but have to bear in mind their resources to pay interest and principal. Grants may be obtained but they are not usually to be used for maintenance or administration costs. However, they are, where financially possible, permitted to purchase property, from which they may generate, a considerable income from rents and fees. A more enterprising council might consider running a business to generate funds an example of this being Swanley Council, Kent who own a seaside hotel and others who have invested in post offices.

Information

The Freedom of Information Act was introduced to encourage transparency and openness within local government. Most parish councils have taken a proactive approach to this act and produced a publications scheme outlining information which they make freely available and at what cost, (costs are to be limited to the cost of reproducing documents). This  is a commitment by a public authority to make certain information available, and a guide on how to get it. Many parish council routinely allow common document such as minutes and agendas to be viewed and downloaded free of charge from heir websites.  *All Wookey Parish Council minutes from 1999 to 2008 are on this site, see links on right of this page.