THE ‘QUALITY’ PARISH COUNCIL SCHEME – APPLICATION FORM
1 The main requirements or ‘Tests’ that a parish, town or city council [Footnote] must meet to be recognised as a Quality Parish council are listed below. You are asked to tick the relevant boxes and attach papers to this return as requested.
2 When completed, the Form should be passed to the relevant accreditation panel with a cheque made payable to the National Association of Local Councils. You may be asked further questions about the answers you have given, or to provide further supporting information. You will be notified if your application has been successful.
3 Copies of this document should be kept for record purposes and made available for inspection at any time.
INTRODUCTION
4 A Quality Parish council will be able to demonstrate that it is representative of, and actively engages with, all parts of its community and that it is properly managed.
5 So, in order to become a Quality Parish Council, a Parish Council must comply with certain ‘Tests’ to demonstrate the above in order to show that it has the capacity to take on the broader role envisaged:
- To have had at least 80% of seats filled by members elected at the last election [Footnote] or, where a parish council already has Quality Parish status and is reapplying for Quality Parish status (at the end of four years), to have had 100% of seats filled by members elected at the last election 16 .
- Have a qualified clerk;
- Have adopted a local Code of Conduct;
- Hold at least 6 Council meetings each year;
- Publish an Annual Report;
- Provide regular information to residents on parish council activities; and
- Produce properly prepared and audited accounts.
6 Parish councils inevitably deal with their duties and communicate with their electorates in different ways, depending on their size, resources and circumstances. What might be possible and appropriate for one parish may not be so for another. This form allows for these differences in approach by giving some flexibility in meeting the criteria in the Communications test where there is a selection of ways to show that the parish is representative of and engages with its community. Not all of these need be met, although we would encourage all parish councils to meet as many as they can.
14 Hereafter, reference to parish councils also includes town and city councils.
15 Where at an ordinary parish election an insufficient number of persons were validly nominated to fill vacancies, other people may be co-opted or appointed to fill remaining vacancies (see section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1985 and section 39 of the Representation of the People Act 1983).
16 For the purposes of a parish obtaining Quality Parish Status for a further period, any members who had been co-opted or appointed to the parish council rather than elected would need to retire at or before the last election (this would not prevent them standing for election) in order to enable all the seats to be filled by elected members. A vacant seat (whether remaining vacant or subsequently filled) shall not be taken into account for the purpose of the Quality Parish Status application where either it arises as a result of a validly nominated candidate for the last election being no longer able to stand at that election, or it arises after 100% of seats were filled by members elected at the last election.
| Electoral mandate | Number |
| 1. Number of seats | |
| 2. Number of Councillors that were nominated and stood at the last election | |
| 3. Number of co-opted members | |
| 4. Percentage of elected representatives [Footnote] | % |
Please attach latest electoral returns.
| Electoral mandate | Yes | No |
| 1. Does the Clerk hold an AQA Certificate in Local Council Administration? | ||
| Or (until 2007): | ||
| 2. The Certificate of Higher Education in Local Policy (or the earlier CertHE in Local Council Administration) awarded by the University of Gloucestershire? |
Please attach copies of Certificates and details of any other Qualifications or experience that
may be relevant.
| Meetings | Number | |
| 1. How many meetings did the parish hold in the 12 calendar months preceding this application? | ||
| Yes | No | |
| 2. Were they all open, or partly open, to the public? [Footnote] | ||
| 3. Does the parish council meet at least six times each year (including the Annual Meeting of the council)? | ||
| 4. Did all Councillors attend the meetings or give their apologies? | ||
| 5. Are Notices of Meetings publicly displayed at least 3 clear days before each Meeting? | ||
| 6. Are the Minutes of meetings published and available for inspection by any elector in the parish? | ||
| 7. Were they published within 2 months of the meeting being held? | ||
| 8. Was time set aside in each meeting for public participation? | ||
Please attach attendance records and Minutes of Meetings for last year.
| Communications – Mandatory | Yes | No |
| 1. Did you provide regular information to your electorate – in the form of a Newsletter or other publication – on all parish council activities over the last year? |
||
| 2. If you did so was it published four or more times in the year? | ||
| 3. Did it include a list of council members and officers with contact details? | ||
| 4. Did one edition include a synopsis of the Annual report (including a brief summary of the accounts)? |
||
| 5. Were they placed in readily available public sites such as Notice Boards or the Village Hall? |
||
| Communications – Discretionary | ||
| 1. Was the Annual Report sent to every household in the parish council area? | ||
| 2. Did the Annual Report include a summary of reports of council activities during the year? |
||
| 3. Have you a Parish Plan or contributed to a town or village plan? | ||
| 4. Do you provide an information/access point for details on local government services and parish council activities? |
||
| 5. Is the access point electronically linked to the district and county councils? | ||
| 6. Is information about local government services and parish council activities distributed to every household? |
||
| 7. Have you established links with voluntary and other community organisations in your area? |
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| 8. Has the parish council an e-mail address that is publicly available? | ||
| 9. Do you have a Website for the parish that provides a list of council members and officers with contact details and access to the Annual Report? |
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| 10. Do Councillors hold regular ‘surgeries’ for local residents (i.e. more than 6 times a year)? |
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| 11. Do you consult residents on planning matters? | ||
| 12. Do you keep the relevant principal authorities informed of parish council activities? |
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| 13. Do you publicise parish council activities in local libraries/shops/other public places? |
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| 14. Do you publicise the parish council activities in the local press? | ||
| 15. Do you ensure coverage of parish council activities in any district council publication? |
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| 16. Do you undertake Consultations/Questionnaires with the electorate on local issues affecting the parish council area? |
||
| 17. Do you provide Information leaflets/brochures on the work of the parish council? |
Please provide examples of the way information has been passed to your community –
Newsletters, magazines, articles in other local papers or district council publications, notice
boards, leaflets in public places etc – and of other ways that you consult with your local
community and make information available to them. Details of how local people access the
parish council and how you ensure that the parish represents the views of the electorate
should also be provided.
| Annual Reports | Yes | No |
| 1. Was the last Annual Report completed and published by 30th June of the following year? |
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| 2. Was the Annual report made available for inspection by any elector in the parish council area? |
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| 3. Was it made publicly available by being placed at the offices of the principal authorities and local libraries? |
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| 4. Did the Annual Report include a list of council members and officers with contact details? |
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| 5. Did it include a summary of the Accounts of the parish council? | ||
| 6. Did it include a Chairman’s overview of the Councils’ achievements? |
| Accounts | Yes | No |
| 1. Was the latest available statement of accounts prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations and did the statement receive an unqualified opinion from the external auditor? |
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| 2. Has the parish council provided proper opportunity for the exercise of electors’ rights in accordance with the Accounts and Audit Regulations? |
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| 3. Were the latest available statements of accounts published within 9 months of the end of the accounting period? |
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| 4. Has the parish council maintained an adequate system of internal control having regard to relevant guidance such as that contained within the NALC/SLCC Practitioners’ Guide? |
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| 5. Do you have an adequate and effective system of internal audit of your accounting records and of your system of internal control in accordance with the Accounts and Audit Regulations and having regard to relevant guidance such as that contained within the NALC/SLCC Practitioners’ Guide or CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Internal Audit? |
Please provide a copy of the latest audited statement of accounts, or, for parishes with annual
income or expenditure below £500,000, the audited Annual Return. Please also supply all
internal audit reports for the last year.
| Ethical Framework | Yes | No |
| Have the parish council resolved to adopt a local Code of Conduct (as opposed to the code being applied in the absence of adoption)? |
Please attach a copy of the Code and date of its adoption.
OTHER
These issues do not form part of the assessment but will be of interest to the Panel and act as an aid to understanding your capabilities and the role you currently play in your local community. It also has the benefit of gathering data on parish council activities, which will be useful when considering the effectiveness of the Quality Parish Scheme in the future, and any improvements that might be made.
| Yes | No | |
| 1. Has the Clerk attended any training courses in the last year? | ||
| 2. Have any Councillors attended Training courses/briefings in the last year? |
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| 3. Do you own a Village Hall? | ||
| 4. Do you manage [Footnote] a Village Hall that you also own? | ||
| 5. Do you manage a Village Hall that you do not own? | ||
| 6. What was the average number of Councillors in attendance at parish council meetings over the preceding 12 calendar months? |
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| Which of the following services is your parish council currently involved with: | ||
| Do you provide and/or equip buildings for use of clubs having athletic, social or educational objectives (Community Centres) or for Conference facilities? |
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| Do you provide and manage any recreation grounds, public walks, boating pools or other open spaces? |
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| Do you work on local youth projects? | ||
| Are you involved in any community transport schemes? | ||
| Do you contribute to crime prevention measures in your area? | ||
| Do you provide or maintain Bus Shelters or other roadside seats? | ||
| Do you provide lighting or traffic signs for roads and public places? | ||
| Do you repair and maintain public footpaths and bridle-ways and road side verges? |
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| Do you provide parking places for vehicles, bicycles and motor-cycles? | ||
| Have you been involved in traffic calming measures? | ||
| Have you made any Bye Laws? | ||
| Do you regulate or maintain any Commons and/or common pastures, ponds or ditches? |
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| Do you promote Lotteries? | ||
| Do you participate in Tourism activities? | ||
| Do you provide or maintain allotment gardens? | ||
| Do you maintain or contribute towards expenses of Burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria, closed churchyards, monuments and memorials (including war memorials)? |
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| Are there any other functions that the parish is discharging on behalf of principal authorities (please provide details)? |
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Signed _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Chairman/Mayor of the Parish/Town Council of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
14 Hereafter, reference to parish councils also includes town and city councils. [Return to text]
15 Where at an ordinary parish election an insufficient number of persons were validly nominated to fill
vacancies, other people may be co-opted or appointed to fill remaining vacancies (see section 21 of the
Representation of the People Act 1985 and section 39 of the Representation of the People Act 1983). [Return to text]
16 For the purposes of a parish obtaining Quality Parish Status for a further period, any members who
had been co-opted or appointed to the parish council rather than elected would need to retire at or
before the last election (this would not prevent them standing for election) in order to enable all the
seats to be filled by elected members. A vacant seat (whether remaining vacant or subsequently filled)
shall not be taken into account for the purpose of the Quality Parish Status application where either it
arises as a result of a validly nominated candidate for the last election being no longer able to stand
at that election, or it arises after 100% of seats were filled by members elected at the last election.. [Return to text]
17 Box 2 expressed as a percentage of Box 1. [Return to text]
18 If no please explain the necessity for closed meetings and how many such meetings there were. [Return to text]
19 i.e. deal with the day-to-day running of the hall. [Return to text]
Page last modified:
19 May, 2005
Page published: 7 November 2001