Parish council
Encyclopedia
A parish council is a type of local authority found in England which is the lowest, or first, tier of local government. They are elected bodies and have variable tax raising powers. Parish councils are responsible for areas known as civil parishes. They cover only part of England; corresponding to 35% of the population. There are currently no parish councils in Greater London
and before 2008 their creation was not permitted within a London borough
.
There are approximately 8,500 councils in England and the National Association of Local Councils
exists to provide support and lobby services. Not every civil parish has a parish council; smaller ones—typically with an electorate under 200—only instead have parish meeting
s. Alternatively, a parish with a small electorate may share a council with one or more neighbouring parishes, such an arrangement being variously known as a joint parish council, grouped parish council, common parish council or combined parish council. The powers of parish councils are fairly limited and in areas where they do not exist, they are exercised by district councils.
to take over local oversight of civic duties in rural town
s and village
s. Before this date a variety of groups based around ecclesiastical parishes had responsibility for these matters, in a system of local government that originated in the feudal system of the 8th century. Their areas of responsibility were known as civil parishes and they were grouped together to form rural district
s. Civil parishes existed in urban districts, but did not have parish councils.
Following the Local Government Act 1972
, many small towns which had previously formed municipal borough
s or urban district
s became "successor parish
es" within larger districts. Since the enactment of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997
, district and unitary councils may create a parish council for a new civil parish either through a review or in response to a petition. This has led to the creation of new parish councils at an increased rate, especially in large towns and cities which do not have a history of parish governance.
The timing of the election cycle is usually linked to that of the election of a district councillor for the ward containing the parish.
of councillors present and within 35 days of the election. If the parish council fails to fill the vacancies within this period, the district council may dissolve it and order fresh elections.
system.
If the number of vacancies on the parish council is such that there is no longer a quorum, the district council may temporarily appoint persons to bring the council up to strength in the interval prior to an election.
They may also provide the following subject to the consent of the county council
or unitary authority
of the area in which they lie:
s now have town council
s, whose powers are exactly the same as those of parish councils, although their chairmen are entitled to style themselves as "town mayor
". Similarly, a handful of parishes have been granted city status
by letters patent
: the council of such a parish is known as "city council" and the chairman is entitled to be known as the "city mayor".
Following the enactment of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
, a parish council has been able to alternatively style itself as a "village council", "neighbourhood council" or "community council".
, unitary
and London Borough
councils (collectively known as "principal councils"). This process is known as a "community governance review".
Principal councils have the power to make a community governance review at any time for all or part of their district. It is envisaged that such reviews will occur at intervals of between 10 and 15 years, and will take into account population changes, the need for well defined boundaries and the wishes of local inhabitants. Reviews may also be triggered by a petition of local government electors for an area. A petition is deemed valid where it is signed by a sufficient proportion of the electorate (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500).
At the end of the review process, which must be completed within 12 months, the principal council is empowered to issue a reorganisation order setting out the changes. This order may:
In order to abolish an existing parish council, the principal council must provide evidence that this in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Where a new parish is formed with 1,000 electors or more, a parish council must be formed. Where there are between 151 and 999 electors the principal council may recommend the establishment of either a parish council or parish meeting. Where there are 150 electors or less a parish council may not be formed.
Reviews come into effect on 1 April following the date the reorganisation order is made. Where a new parish council is created, elections to the new body will be held at the time of next council elections. In the intervening period the principal council appoint the parish council from among their own membership.
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
and before 2008 their creation was not permitted within a London borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
.
There are approximately 8,500 councils in England and the National Association of Local Councils
National Association of Local Councils
The National Association of Local Councils is an association of approximately 8,500 independently elected community, parish and town councils in England. The Head Office of the organisation is at 109 Great Russell Street in Bloomsbury, central London.The main duties of the NALC include lobbying...
exists to provide support and lobby services. Not every civil parish has a parish council; smaller ones—typically with an electorate under 200—only instead have parish meeting
Parish meeting
A parish meeting, in England, is a meeting to which all the electors in a civil parish are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of the parish council itself, with statutory powers, and electing a...
s. Alternatively, a parish with a small electorate may share a council with one or more neighbouring parishes, such an arrangement being variously known as a joint parish council, grouped parish council, common parish council or combined parish council. The powers of parish councils are fairly limited and in areas where they do not exist, they are exercised by district councils.
History
Parish councils were formed in England under the Local Government Act 1894Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...
to take over local oversight of civic duties in rural town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
s and village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s. Before this date a variety of groups based around ecclesiastical parishes had responsibility for these matters, in a system of local government that originated in the feudal system of the 8th century. Their areas of responsibility were known as civil parishes and they were grouped together to form rural district
Rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
s. Civil parishes existed in urban districts, but did not have parish councils.
Following the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, many small towns which had previously formed municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
s or urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
s became "successor parish
Successor parish
Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council created by the Local Government Act 1972 in England. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs that were abolished in 1974. Most successor parish councils exercised the right to...
es" within larger districts. Since the enactment of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997
Local Government and Rating Act 1997
The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 allows a community at the village, neighbourhood, town or similar level beneath a district or borough council to demand its own elected parish or town council. This right only applies to communities within England and outside of Greater London...
, district and unitary councils may create a parish council for a new civil parish either through a review or in response to a petition. This has led to the creation of new parish councils at an increased rate, especially in large towns and cities which do not have a history of parish governance.
Elections and membership
The term of office of a parish councillor is four years, and councils are elected en bloc. The legislation provides that the number of elected members of a parish council shall not be less than five. In the case of larger parishes, they may be divided into parish wards, with separate elections for each ward.The timing of the election cycle is usually linked to that of the election of a district councillor for the ward containing the parish.
Uncontested elections
Where there are an equal number or fewer candidates than there are vacancies, all candidates are elected unopposed, and no poll is taken. Where there are fewer candidates than vacant seats, the parish council has the duty to coopt any person or persons to fill the vacancies. This power, however, may only be exercised if there is a quorumQuorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
of councillors present and within 35 days of the election. If the parish council fails to fill the vacancies within this period, the district council may dissolve it and order fresh elections.
Contested elections
Where there are more candidates than vacancies, a poll must be held. Undivided parishes, or multi-member parish wards, hold elections under the bloc votePlurality-at-large voting
Plurality-at-large voting is a non-proportional voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
system.
Casual vacancies
Where a vacancy occurs during the term of a parish council, it may be filled by either election or cooption. Elections only occur if, following the advertisement of the vacancy for 14 days, 10 electors send a written request to the returning officer. If no request is received, the parish council will be required to fill the vacancies by cooption.If the number of vacancies on the parish council is such that there is no longer a quorum, the district council may temporarily appoint persons to bring the council up to strength in the interval prior to an election.
Powers and duties
Parish councils have the power to precept (tax) their residents to support their operations and to carry out local projects. Although there is no limit to the amount that can be precepted, the money can only be raised for a limited number of purposes, defined in the 1894 Act and subsequent legislation.Powers to provide facilities
Parish councils have powers to provide some facilities themselves, or they can contribute towards their provision by others. There are large variations in the services provided by parishes, but they can include the following:- AllotmentAllotment (gardening)An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
s - Support and encouragement of arts and crafts
- Provision of village hallVillage hallIn the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
s - Recreation grounds, parks, children's play areas, playing fields and swimming baths
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Maintenance of closed churchyards
- Cleaning and drainage of ponds etc.
- Control of litter
- Public conveniences
- Creation and maintenance of footpaths and bridleways
- Provision of cycle and motorcycle parking
- Acquisition and maintenance of rights of way
- Public clocks
- War memorials
- Encouragement of tourism
They may also provide the following subject to the consent of the county council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
or unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
of the area in which they lie:
- Bus shelters
- Signposting of footpaths
- Lighting of footpaths
- Off-street car parks
- Provision, maintenance and protection of roadside verges
Representative powers
Parish councils must be notified by the district or county council of:- All planning applications in their areas
- Intention to provide a burial ground in the parish
- Proposals to carry out sewerage works
- Footpath and bridleway (more generally, 'rights of way') surveys
- Intention to make byelaws in relation to hackney carriageHackney carriageA hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...
s, music and dancing, promenades, sea shore and street naming
Miscellaneous powers
In some cases parish councils possess the following powers:- Withholding of consent to stop up unclassified highways and footpaths
- Consultation on appointment of managers of primary schools
- Trustees or appointing trustees of local charities
Alternative styles
In 1974, at the same time as the creation of successor parishes, the law was changed so that any parish council could pass a resolution to declare its area a "town", with the council known as a "town council". The majority of successor parishes, and a number of other small market townMarket town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
s now have town council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
s, whose powers are exactly the same as those of parish councils, although their chairmen are entitled to style themselves as "town mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
". Similarly, a handful of parishes have been granted city status
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
by letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
: the council of such a parish is known as "city council" and the chairman is entitled to be known as the "city mayor".
Following the enactment of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Act allows for the implementation of many provisions outlined in the Government white paper Strong and Prosperous Communities including changes to local government in England...
, a parish council has been able to alternatively style itself as a "village council", "neighbourhood council" or "community council".
Governance reviews
Since 13 February 2008 the power to create new parishes and parish councils, to alter parish boundaries, to dissolve parish councils and to abolish parishes has been devolved to districtNon-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
, unitary
Unitary authorities of England
Unitary authorities of England are areas where a single local authority is responsible for a variety of services for a district that elsewhere are administered separately by two councils...
and London Borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
councils (collectively known as "principal councils"). This process is known as a "community governance review".
Principal councils have the power to make a community governance review at any time for all or part of their district. It is envisaged that such reviews will occur at intervals of between 10 and 15 years, and will take into account population changes, the need for well defined boundaries and the wishes of local inhabitants. Reviews may also be triggered by a petition of local government electors for an area. A petition is deemed valid where it is signed by a sufficient proportion of the electorate (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500).
At the end of the review process, which must be completed within 12 months, the principal council is empowered to issue a reorganisation order setting out the changes. This order may:
- Create a new parish
- From all or part of an unparished area
- By the division of an existing parish or parishes
- By the merger of all or parts of existing parishes
- Alter the boundaries of existing parishes
- Group or ungroup parishes
- Give a name to a new parish
- Abolish an existing parish and dissolve its parish council
In order to abolish an existing parish council, the principal council must provide evidence that this in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Where a new parish is formed with 1,000 electors or more, a parish council must be formed. Where there are between 151 and 999 electors the principal council may recommend the establishment of either a parish council or parish meeting. Where there are 150 electors or less a parish council may not be formed.
Reviews come into effect on 1 April following the date the reorganisation order is made. Where a new parish council is created, elections to the new body will be held at the time of next council elections. In the intervening period the principal council appoint the parish council from among their own membership.