Agenda item

A report is attached on the Parish Charter.

Councillor Judith Chubb-Whittle, Vice-Chair ALCA [Avon Local Councils Association] & Chair of Stanton Drew Parish Council addressed the Panel, a summary of her statement is set out below.

ALCA represents 124 Parish and Town Councils and Parish Meetings (Local Councils) in the West of England region. They support the work of the 1,234 local councillors, who serve an electorate of over 440,000 local residents.

ALCA is part of NALC, the National Association of Local Councils, which works closely with Government, DCLG, Society of Local Council Clerks, (SLCC) the professional body for all clerks of Town, Parish or Community councils and with other national bodies. It is currently working with the DCLG on a Parish Councils Bill, which will be considered as part of emerging government legislation.

ALCA is responsible for administering DCLG transparency grants and Public Works loans, on behalf of HM Treasury, for the area.  It also administers the Quality Council Award Schemes for the area.

We welcome the recognition by Louise Fradd of the importance of Parish Liaison meetings in the close working of BANES Councillors and Officers with ALCA Parish & Town Councillors and their Clerks.

We look forward to working closely with BANES representatives in reviewing the Parish Charter making it a robust and progressive agreement fit for the foreseeable future.

Rosemary Naish addressed the Panel, a summary of her statement is set out below.

In this authority ALCA represent 47 of the 51 town & parish councils and meetings within B&NES. Town & parish councils provide services to 52% of the electorate of B&NES, this year our income from precepts is £2.25million, all those councils are employers, employing parish clerks, responsible financial officers, groundsmen, street sweepers, etc.

The range of service we provide include children’s playgrounds, parks, upkeep of cemeteries, street sweeping, broadband, managing village halls, swimming pools, allotments and other community faculties.

Some of these services are provided independently of B&NES, some working with B&NES, so we consider the Parish Charter a very important document and we welcome the opportunity to review it and bring it up to date.

As Andy Thomas has said the parishes were consulted 6 years ago, with a response rate of 53%, so this is quite out of date now, so we have already started consulting the local councils and will be able to bring that information, which must inform the review, to the table by the end of the summer.

We look forward to working with B&NES officers on this important document that in its updated form will make our working relationship more effective and efficient.

The Chair asked if the Parish representatives on the working group to undertake the review would Councillors or Clerks.

Rosemary Naish replied that she thought it should be both.

The Strategic Manager for Communities replied that this should be possible.

Councillor Neil Butters commented that advanced notification of the review is welcome. He said there was a need for a robust document to be produced.

The Strategic Manager for Communities replied that the need for good practice was important and to use the time available for the review effectively.

Councillor Brian Simmons suggested that a conference of B&NES & Parish Councillors be held to clarify their roles.

Councillor Jonathan Carr asked if they found the support that they receive from the Council was enough and did they find officers accessible.

Rosemary Naish replied that the support was good but on occasions it was not always easy to gather information.

The Strategic Manager for Communities said that a survey of Parish Clerks had been carried out to find out what information they would like to be more aware of. He added that approaching the Council through Council Connect is the preferred approach as this allows for monitoring to see what enquiries are being received via email and phone. He added that additions would be made to the website in response to reflect enquiries of a similar nature.

Councillor Jonathan Carr asked how would the Council contact Parishes in the future.

The Strategic Manager for Communities replied that he would seek advice directly from the Parishes on the best way forward. He added that the Connecting Communities Area Forums and Parish Liaison Meetings were key ways in which parishes were engaged with

Judith Chubb-Whittle wished to encourage all B&NES Councillors to attend a Parish Liaison Meeting.

The Chair asked for a report to be submitted to the Panel following the review of the Parish Charter.

The Panel RESOLVED to:

(i)  Note the arrangements for the review of the Parish Charter set out in the report.

(ii)  Receive an update report when further work on the review has been undertaken.