Agenda item

A revised Parish Charter has been prepared following engagement with our parish councils.  It is presented to Cabinet for adoption prior to an invitation for Full Council to endorse at its AGM in May 2018, and to the B&NES branch of ALCA to endorse at its AGM in September 2018.

The Monitoring Officer informed the meeting that those Councillors present who were also Parish and Town Councillors did not need to declare an interest in this item as this was a matter of public record.

Councillor Neil Butters made an ad hoc statement by welcoming the report and asked the Cabinet to recognise importance of informing and training of all Council staff that would be in working closely with Town and Parish Councils.  Councillor Butters also stressed the importance of cross-boundary work with neighbouring authorities.

Councillor Paul Myers introduced the report by thanking the Working Group of Parish representatives who had overseen the process of revising the Charter and the associated consultation.  The Group had met regularly since November 2016 and invited Cabinet Members and senior officers to their meetings to discuss views and experiences.  The adoption of the revised Parish Charter represents a significant milestone in the evolving relationship between Bath & North East Somerset Council and local Parish Councils.  The Charter contained a series of core principles and commitments on both sides.  The Charter set out additional useful information such as updated terms of reference for Parish Liaison and Parish Council functions and responsibilities.  Alongside the Charter there was a ‘Toolkit’ designed to be a working document offering practical information on structures, protocols and standards.  The Toolkit could be readily updated and changed and made available to other organisations including in non-parished areas.  Councillor Myers also said that the Charter had been subject to extensive consultation, with 43 parishes out of 51 responding.  The draft Charter was considered by the Communities, Transport and Environment Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel who recognised the importance of training and development to ensure that Council staff would have a good understanding of the Charter and the opportunities for partnership working with Parish Councils.

Councillor Paul Myers moved the recommendations.

Councillor Paul May seconded the motion by saying that since the Parish Charter was adopted in 1999, the context had changed significantly as a result of financial pressures but also due to new opportunities such as advances in digital technology and enhanced partnership arrangements.  As a result, the Parish Charter had been revised and a new, draft Charter was now ready for adoption.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed to:

2.1  Adopt the revised Parish Charter attached as Appendix 1 to the report, with the exception of the revised Terms of Reference for Parish Liaison which are for Council to determine.

2.2  Recommend that the Council’s AGM in May endorse the Parish Charter and that it reviews and adopts the revised Terms of Reference for Parish Liaison set out in Appendix 1 of the Charter document.

2.3  Agree that the implementation of the Charter be reviewed and evaluated in the first year of its operation in order to make any further refinements required as part of the Council’s Changing Together programme.

2.4  Acknowledge and thank the members of the Working Group for their contributions and the parish councils who responded to the consultation.