The Functions of a Parish Council?
Introduction
Section 11 of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 allows a community at the village, neighbourhood, town or similar level beneath a district or borough council to demand its own elected parish or town council. Parish councils are the most locally elected body within the English system of local government.
"Parish" is an old English word that means a local territory or catchment area, and in ancient times played a very important role in the lives of people, from providing them with a sense of communal identity through to how they were governed. A parish had two principal functions: firstly to act as a civil unit which was responsible for the collection of taxes and tithes, the dispensing of justice and the raising of armies; secondly it was an ecclesiastical institution served by a local church or chapel, with a priest or similar clergyman tending to the spiritual needs of local people.
By the late 19th Century, the two functions of civil and ecclesiastical parish were formally split in law. The civil parish went on to develop into what we call the parish or town council today (PC). The ecclesiastical parish or Parochial Church Council (PCC) is now an entirely separate body, usually with entirely different borders to their civil counterparts, and with the proliferation of different churches most people today will live in several different such religious parishes.
The statutory powers of parish and town councils
From 1889 and onwards, when civil parishes were officially created, a patchwork of legislation has developed the parish council and the powers it enjoys. Consequently, there are many anomalies concerning the powers of parish councils, such as they have a right to appoint representation to the governing body of any primary school they are served by, but not any secondary school. The powers of parish councils continue to change, and the 1997 Act, which provided the right of communities to demand a parish council, also gave them new powers concerning transport and crime prevention. In the Rural White Paper of 2001, the Government also proposed to give parishes a more general power to serve the interests of their communities, similar to the new power of environmental, social and economic well being that local authorities now have.
| Function | Powers& Duties | StatutoryProvisions |
| Allotments | Powers to provide allotments. Duty to provide allotment gardens if demanded unsatisfied | Small Holding & Allotments Act 1908, ss. 23, 26, and 42 |
| Baths and Washhouses | Power to provide public baths and washhouses | Public Health At 1936, Ss 221, 222, 223 and 227 |
| Burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria | Power to acquire and maintain
Power to provide Power to agree to maintain monuments and memorials Power to contribute towards expenses of cemeteries |
Open Spaces Act 1906, Ss 9 and 10; Local Government Act 1972, s. 214;
Parish Councils and Burial Authorities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970, s. 1 Local Government Act 1972, s. 215(6) |
| Bus Shelters | Power to provide and maintain shelters* | Local Government (Miscellaneous Provision) Act 1953, s. 4 |
| Bye Laws | Power to make bye-laws in regard to pleasure grounds, Cycle Parks Baths and Washhouses
Open spaces and burial grounds Mortuaries and post-mortem rooms |
PublicHealth Act 1875, s. 164 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, s.57(7) Public Health Act 1936, s.223 Open Spaces Act 1906, s.15 Public Health Act 1936, s.198 |
| Clocks | PoweR to provide public clocks* | Parish Councils Act 1957, s.2 |
| Closed Churchyards | Powers as to maintenance | Local Government Act 1972, s.215 |
| Commons and common pastures | Powers in relation to enclosure, as to regulation and management, and as to providing common pasture | Enclosure Act 1845;Local Government Act 1894, s.8(4);Smallholdings and Allotments Act 1908, s.34 |
| Conference facilities | Power to provide and encourage the use of facilities | Local Government Act 1972, s.144 |
| Community centres | Power to provide and equip buildings for use of clubs having athletic, social or educational objectives* | Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s.19 |
| Crime prevention | Powers to spend money on various crime prevention measures* | Local Government and Rating Act 1997, s.31 |
| Drainage | Power to deal with ponds and ditches | Public Health Act 1936, s.260 |
| Education | Right to appoint school governors* | Education (No.2) Act 1986, s.4 |
| Entertainment and the arts | Provision of entertainment and support of the arts | Local Government Act 1972, s.145 |
| Gifts | Power to accept | Local Government Act 1972, s.139 |
| Highways | Power to repair and maintain public footpaths and bridle-ways
Power to light roads and public places* Provision of litter bins Power to provide parking places for vehicles, bicycles and motor-cycles Power to enter into agreement as to dedication and widening Power to provide roadside seats and shelters, and omnibus shelters* Consent of parish council required for ending maintenance of highway at public expense, or for stopping up or diversion of highway Power to complain to district council as to protection of rights of way and roadside wastes* Power to provide traffic signs and other notices Power to plant trees etc. and to maintain roadside verges* |
Highways Act 1980, ss.43,50
Parish Councils Act 1957, s.3; Highways Act 1980, s.301 Litter Act 1983, ss.5,6 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, ss.57,63 Highways Act 1980, ss.30,72 Parish Councils Act 1957, s.1 Highways Act 1980, ss.47,116 Highways Act 1980, s.130 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, s.72 Highways Act 1980, s.96 |
| Investments | Power to participate in schemes of collective investment | Trustee Investments Act 1961, s.11 |
| Land | Power to acquire by agreement, to appropriate, to dispose of*
Power to accept gifts of land |
Local Government Act 1972, ss.124, 126, 127
Local government Act 1972, s.139 |
| Litter | Provision of receptacles | Litter Act 1983, ss.5,6 |
| Lotteries | Powers to promote | Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976, s.7 |
| Mortuaries and post mortem rooms | Powers to provide mortuaries and post mortem rooms | Public Health Act 1936, s.198 |
| Nuisances | Power to deal with offensive ditches | Public Health Act 1936, s.260 |
| Open spaces | Power to acquire land and maintain* | Public health Act 1875, s.164 Open Spaces Act 1906, ss.9 and 10 |
| Parish Property and documents | Powers to direct as to their custody* | Local Government Act 1972, s.226 |
| Public buildings and village hall | Power to provide buildings for offices and for public meetings and assemblies* | Local Government Act 1972, s.133 |
| Public Conveniences | Power to provide | Public Health Act 1936, s.87 |
| Recreation | Power to acquire land for or to provide recreation grounds, public
walks, pleasure grounds and open spaces and to manage and control them*
Power to provide gymnasiums, playing fields, holiday camps Provision of boating pools |
Public Health Act 1875, s.164
Local Government Act 1972, Sched.14 para.27 Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1890 s.44 Open Spaces Act 1906, ss.9 and 10 Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, s.19 Public Health Act 1961, s.54 |
| Town and Country Planning | Right to be notified of and make recommndations on planning applications* | Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Sched.1, para.8 |
| Tourism | Power to contribute to organisations encouraging | Local Government Act 1972, s.144 |
| Traffic Calming | Powers to contribute financially to traffic calming schemes* | Local Government and Rating Act 1997, s.30 |
| Transport | Powersto spend money on community transport schemes | Local Government and Rating Act 1997, s.26-29 |
| War memorials | Power to maintain, repairs, protect and adapt war memorials* | War Memorials (Local Authorities' Powers) Act 1923, s.1; as extended by Local Government Act 1948, s.133 |
| Water Supply | Power to utilise well, spring or stream and to provide facilities for obtaining water therefrom | Public Health Act 1936, s.125 |
* Denotes actions/responsibilities currently undertaken by The Stukeleys Parish Council.
