| HOME |
According to The Hutchinson Family Encyclopedia a parish council is the:
| Lowest, neighbourhood, unit of local government in England and Wales, based on church parishes. They developed as units for local government with the introduction of the Poor Law in the 17th century. In Wales and Scotland they are commonly called community councils. In England approximately 8,200 out of the 10,000 parishes have elected councils. There are 730 community councils in Wales and about 1,000 in Scotland, which, unlike their English and Welsh counterparts, do not have statutory powers. |
Parish councils provide and maintain monuments, playing fields, footpaths, and churchyards, administer local charities, may impose a limited local rate, are elected every four years, and function in parishes of 200 or more electors. Parish councils were established by the Local Government Act 1894, but most of their legal powers were abolished by the 1972 Local Government Act.
(© Copyright Helicon Publishing Ltd 2000)
A parish council [1] has formed the ‘grass roots’ tier of civil government since 1894. It acts as the voice of its local community, passing parishioners’ opinions and views on to higher levels of government and other bodies. Its powers are defined and granted by acts of Parliament.
A parish council’s expenditure must be made in accordance with the acts of Parliament. Its accounts must be made public to parishioners and they are strictly audited by government-appointed auditors. A parish council may be concerned with ‘parochial charities’; charities ‘the benefits of which are ... confined to the inhabitants of the parish’. Parish councils may spend additional money (up to £3.50 per elector) on other items and initiatives for ‘any purpose which in its opinion is of direct benefit to its area or to the inhabitants’ [2].
Parish councils have limited tax raising powers and have the ‘general power to make byelaws for the good rule and government of its area’ [3] (click here for a full listing of the main areas where a parish council may legally act).
The next level of local government above parish councils is the district authority or council – in our case this is Mendip District Council. The district council has responsibility for areas such as local planning, education, highways, environmental services, and housing.
The next tier of local governance, the last before national government, is the county council – Somerset County Council in our case. County council’s responsibilities include education, highways, and waste disposal.
You can get a better idea of what Norton St Philip Parish Council does for you by regularly reading the News section of this web site – or, better still, by attending the meetings!
Notes:
[1] According to Local Council Administration (Charles Arnold-Baker, Longcross Press, 1989), a parish council (or any local council) is a ‘body corporate with perpetual succession and a name’. This means that it is a legal entity which is distinct from its members (either as individuals or collectively), similar to the way a limited company is a legal entity separate from its directors. Its assets and liabilities and ‘lawful acts’ are therefore its own and not those of its members. The council remains in existence from the moment of its creation until its lawful dissolution, even if its membership is so low that can no longer act because it is unable form a quorum. (Back)
[2] What can Local Councils Do?, published by the National Association of Local Councils, 1996. (Back)
[3] What can Local Councils Do?, published by the National Association of Local Councils, 1996. (Back)
| HOME |
Page last updated on 12 April 2002.