Northants CALC

The 63rd Annual General Meeting of the Northamptonshire County Association of Local Councils took place at Towcester Town Hall on Wednesday 20 October 2010.

On a bitterly cold evening more than sixty delegates attended the meeting, which was a combination of annual business, presentations and debate.

Mr Paul Blantern, Chief Executive of Northamptonshire County Council was elected as President for 2010/2011 and in his President’s Address gave an overview of the difficult circumstances facing the public sector. Mr Blantern said “28 – 31% of the money coming in to Northamptonshire is dissapearing” but described the situation as “a burning platform; a chance to innovate”. He added that the two most important things to do were to drive through prosperity and to make the most of the opportunities provided by the Localism and Big Society agendas.

For the second year in a row there was a contested election for County Committee, there being 20 candidates for 18 places. The succesful candidates (download full list) will hold their first meeting on 20 November. An especially warm welcome is extended to the four new members, Jane Austin (Moulton Parish Council), Kath Bonner-Dunham (Brackley Town Council), Richard Lewis (Rushden Town Council) and Tracy Sampson (Grange Park Parish Council).

The AGM then considered membership subscription rates for the year commencing 1 April 2010 and resolved to freeze the per council element of the subscription and increase the per elector element by 3%. The increase means that a parish council with an electorate of 1,000 would pay an additional £3.91 per year, which was felt to be acceptable even in the current economic climate.

The keynote speaker was local government author and legal expert Mr Paul Clayden. He presented an overview of legislation brought in over the last decade that has impacted parish and town councils – and it is a surprisingly long list! Freedom of Information, the Crime & Disorder Act, Best Value, the Code of Conduct, the Quality Parish Scheme, the Parish Basic Allowance, new audit regulations and the lighter touch regime, the Clean Neighbourhoods Act, the Power of Wellbeing and the introduction of Community Governnace Reviews has all happened in the last ten years or so. No wonder parishes feel that there are more demands placed upon them now than ten years ago! Mr Clayden went on to speculate on what the forthcoming Decentralisation & Localism Bill will mean for parish and town councils. He said “Parishes will have to watch very carefully – and I’m sure your county and national representative bodies will be doing just that”.

A motion put by Brackley Town Council received widespread support. It called for longer consultation deadlines to be given to parish and town councils for district, county and national consultations. It was noted that the recent consultation on council tax reforms had only been for six weeks, the majority of which had been over the summer holidays. The motion was easily carried and the County Committee will now consider what representations to make.

The evening was rounded off with the presentation of their Quality Parish Council certificate to Brixworth Parish Council and the announcement that Brackley Town Council had won the “Parish Power” photo competition with their montage of photos of the open spaces in Brackley under the management of the Town Council. Copies of the photos will be displayed at the Northants CALC offices in Litchborough.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears yesterday outlined plans to encourage new town and parish councils to be set up so that more decision-making powers are devolved to local people, and said she particularly wanted to see more set up in urban areas.

Recently passed legislation means that parish councils can now be established in London for the first time in 45 years.

Over £750,000 will be allocated to the National Association of Local Councils to help communities create new town and parish councils, particularly in urban areas including London, and to encourage both new and existing councils to work to meet the highest possible standards in service delivery and community engagement.

Working with organisations including the Local Government Association, the Society of Local Council Clerks and the Participatory Budgeting Unit, the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) will develop new good practice guidance on devolving decision-making, a revitalised National Training Strategy for town and parish councillors, and help for councillors to encourage greater community involvement.

New and existing councils that successfully meet approved standards will be recognised through NALC’s Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme – it is hoped that the number of Quality Councils could rise from around 650 today, to as many as 2,500 by April 2011.

There are currently 8,900 parish councils and 70,000 elected parish councillors in England, covering 90 per cent of the country. Although small in size, they perform key functions in their local communities, such as managing parks and allotments, maintaining community halls and investing in community transport projects.

Nineteen new parish and town councils were set up last year. However changes announced in February make it easier for principal authorities to respond to community demands for new parish councils, without seeking Government approval.

Parish councils have been a popular and effective way to represent the views of local people, particularly in rural areas. Now, Ms Blears is looking to parish, town and neighbourhood councils to repeat their success in England’s cities, representing people in densely-populated, urban areas – and, in recognition of the impact they can make, changes have been made so that, for the first time since 1963, parish councils can now be created in London.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said:

“I am delighted to be able to support the creation of more town and parish councils. As the smallest unit of electoral democracy, they play a vital and effective role in putting power in the hands of local people, to make the key decisions that affect their local communities.

“But while parish councils have been particularly popular and effective in representing local people’s views in rural areas, I would now like to see this success repeated in our towns and cities.

“I would also encourage all new and existing parish and town councils to strive to meet the highest possible standards in delivering local services and empowering communities, and aim to become Quality councils.

“Often, services are best delivered at the most local level, with local people, who are best placed to know what is right for their local area, having a real say.

“Parish councils have a proven track record of giving local people a voice on the issues that matter most to them – the funding I am announcing today will support communities to create more parish, town and neighbourhoods councils, and help existing authorities to raise their game and stand ready to take on the additional responsibilities to make a real difference to people’s lives.”

Sulgrave Parish Council became Northamptonshire’s 9th Quality council following a County Accreditation Panel meeting on 25th September 2008. Sulgrave is a parish of 310 electors in south Northamptonshire and the panel thought that the council was exceedingly well run and in particular made every effort to engage the electorate in their decision making processes. The council’s Chairman, Graham Roberts and Clerk, Christine Coles attended the Accreditation Panel meeting to answer questions on the application.  The panel had no hesitation in coming to their decision as it was evident from the submission that Sulgrave was indeed a Quality parish council.

For more on the Quality Parish Scheme visit the National Association web site.

The Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme was launched in 2003 following the Government’s Rural White Paper, 2000. The aim of the Scheme is to provide benchmark minimum standards for parish and town councils. The Scheme is supported by six National Stakeholders, the Commission for Rural Communities, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Local Government Association, the National Association of Local Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commissioned the University of Wales to review the Scheme in 2006 and their research helped the National Stakeholders to the Scheme to agree amendments that would help councils achieve ever higher levels of professionalism and help to cement their position as community leaders.In July 2008 the Scheme is changing to better reflect the increased professionalism of councils. There are three new tests but there are also a number of amendments to some of the existing tests.  See www.nalc.gov.uk for full details.