Chapter 2 - What is a Quality Parish Council?
2.1 A Quality Parish Council:
- is representative of, and actively engages, all parts of its community, providing vision, identity and a sense of belonging;
- is effectively and properly managed;
- articulates the needs and wishes of its community;
- upholds high standards of conduct;
- is committed to work in partnership with principal local authorities and other public service agencies;
- in proportion to its size and skills, delivers local services on behalf of principal local authorities when this represents the best deal for the local community;
- works closely with voluntary groups in its community;
- provides leadership to the community through its work on parish plans; and
- working with its partners, acts as an information point for local services.
2.2 A Quality Parish Council will provide leadership in promoting an inclusive community through, for example, supporting community transport schemes and childcare provision and helping to develop youth activities and services for the elderly.
2.3 A Quality Parish Council will work with others, including the voluntary and community sector, to undertake services funded from its own resources to look after the parish environment and provide public facilities such as playgrounds. Quality Parish Councils, with the agreement of their principal local authorities, may take on the delivery of some services on their behalf, where this gives the local community the best deal.
2.4 Many parishes have or are considering developing Parish or Town Plans. A Quality Parish Council will wish to develop a Parish Plan in partnership with its local community. These plans, the preparation of which can be grant aided by the Countryside Agency, are designed to help rural communities have a greater say in their own affairs. They articulate the vision which local people have for the future of their village or town and can cover anything that is relevant to the people who live and work there, from social housing to places for children to play. They include an action plan with details of how to realise the objectives within the plan and are designed to address the needs of the entire community, including local businesses. Everyone in the community will have had an opportunity to contribute to the plan.
2.5 Ideally, Parish Plans should inform and feed into the Community Strategies developed by Local Strategic Partnerships as well as into the policies of the local planning authority’s local development plan.
2.6 Clearly, Quality Parish Councils will be in a better position than other parish councils to help realise the ambitions and goals contained within their parish and town plans. They will be in a better position to represent the views of local people and to ensure that principal local authorities and other service providers listen to and respond to the needs of local people. They may also be in a better position to take action and decisions more directly, including the delivery of some local services.
2.7 Finally, through being wired up through Information and Communications Technology (ICT), we would expect that many Quality Parish Councils will become the local access point for information about parish council and principal local authority services and further advice on these services.
Page last modified:
19 May, 2005
Page published: 7 November 2001