All you need to know about parish councils

About Parish Councils

• Parish councils are the grassroots level of local government.
• An alternative name they can have is Town Council. With Town councils the Chairman is named the Town Mayor.

Councillors

• The number of councillors is fixed by the District Council and these are normally elected every four years to coincide with District Council elections.

Meetings

• A parish council must meet annually and at least three other times throughout the year.
• They can meet at any time of day but the annual meeting must be at 6pm if no other time has been set. Meetings must not take part in licensed premises unless no other suitable room is available free of charge or at reasonable cost.
• The council must ensure that a notice of the time and place of the meeting is affixed in some conspicous place in the locality at least three clear days (not including the days of issue and meeting) before the meeting.

Public Participation

• Many parish councils set aside a period of time when the public can ask questions or make statements. This is normally held at the beginning of the meeting and is usually the only time when speaking by the public is permitted.

Employees

• A parish council may employ people as it feels necessary. In the majority of cases there is only one employee which is normally known as the 'Clerk to the Council'. This is the 'responsible officer' who will deal with all of the administration requirements and financial affairs of the council.

Parish Meetings

• Not to be confused with a meeting of a Parish Council, every parish has a parish meeting which consists of all of the registered Local Government electors for that parish.
• The purpose of the parish meeting is to discuss parish affairs and exercise any statutory functions conferred upon it.

Meetings

• A parish meeting must assemble annually between 1 March and 1 June and, where there is no separate parish council, on at least one other occasion during the year.
• At its annual assembly the meeting must elect a chairman, who continues in office until their successor is elected or they resign from office by delivering a written notice to that effect to the meeting.
• Where there is a separate parish council the Chairman of the parish council will must preside over the meeting.

Finance and Property

• A parish meeting may precept the district council for the funds necessary to cover its expenses. If there is a separate parish council then this will cover the expenses of the meeting.
• The accounts of a parish meeting are subject to audit in the same way as those of parish councils and the chairman is the responsible officer.
• A parish meeting is not a body corporate and therefore cannot own property or sue or be sued. However, where there is no separate parish council, there exists in law a puppet corporation known as the 'Parish Trustees'. It consists of the chairman of the parish meeting and the proper officer of the district council. The trustees must act in accordance with the directions and interests of the parish meeting.