What is a Parish Council?

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A parish council is a statutory local authority, established under the Local Government Act 1972. It is made up of councillors elected by the electors of the parish, every four years.

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Decision making

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Probably the most common topics that parish councils get involved with are planning matters (they are statutory consultees), crime prevention, managing open spaces and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities. most common topics that parish councils get involved with are planning matters (they are statutory consultees), crime prevention, managing open spaces and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities.

On their own, parish councils have limited powers to make decisions.

However, they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions and, in this respect, parish councils are extremely powerful.

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Parish councils are responsible for managing their own budgets. They are financed through the precept, an amount of money calculated as an estimate for the coming financial year and collected as part of your Council Tax. This money is used to improve facilities and services for local people. Parish councils can also apply for other funding, such as grants and awards.

 

Parish councils actively encourage input from residents on what the community needs, so that they can budget for that activity.

 

Parish councils have a range of powers and duties in relation to the communities they serve.

Information about the role of a parish councillor and guidance on standing for election can be found on the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) website which provides these publications:

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• All about local councils

• It takes all sorts: Local councils:represent your community, make a difference

• The Localism Act, which came into force in 2011, passes more power to communities and encourages those communities to become more self-reliant. Community rights powers are a cornerstone of this legislation.

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Precept

The precept is the parish council's share of the council tax. The precept demand goes to the billing authority, the District Council, which collects the tax for the Parish Council. The 'Precept' is converted into an amount per Council Tax Band that is added onto the Council Tax bill. for further information please see:

 

https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/rte.aspx?id=1429&Area=Highclere

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The work of the parish council is detailed in the Minutes of the meetings which are available on this website.