Parish council and parish meetings forms of governance - CGR

A parish council consists of no fewer than five elected parish councillors, including the chairperson.

It is common for elections to parish councils to be uncontested, and for members to be co-opted where the number of candidates is fewer than the number of seats available.

There are no elections to parish meetings. Parish meetings consist of the local government electors of a parish who appoint a chair at the annual meeting.

In areas where there is a parish council, the chair of the parish council chairs the parish meeting and the parish meeting is a vehicle for engagement and communication with those living in the parish.

Parish Councils must hold an annual meeting and at least three other meetings a year.

Legislation sets out the notice requirements for meetings and the recording of minutes.

In order to meet and take decisions at least one-third of the councillors, or three councillors, whichever is the greater must be present.

Most decisions are made by a majority vote of those councillors present at a meeting with the chair having a casting vote.

At a meeting of the parish council, members of the public may speak at the chair’s discretion.

A parish meeting must assemble annually between 1 March and 1 June and where there is no separate parish council it must meet on at least one other occasion in the year.

Legislation sets out the notice requirements for parish meetings. A meeting can be convened by six people on the electoral roll. Minutes are taken of meetings. Minutes have to be accepted by the meeting as a true record and then signed as being a true record by the chair.

Minutes are a public record of the meeting and the decisions made and should give the status of the meeting, the place and date. It is deemed good practice to produce minutes as quickly as possible after the meeting. They can be published on a website or notice board, or by provision of copies to members of the public.

Decisions are taken in the first instance by the majority of those present and voting. Only those on the electoral roll have the right to speak and vote.

The press and public have the same rights of admission to a parish meeting, as they have for a parish council meeting.

Agendas for parish meetings vary but a skeleton agenda is usually published ahead of the meeting, and often items are added up to and even during the meeting.
In summary, a parish meeting is a meeting of the people of the parish, while a parish council meeting is a meeting of the parish councillors.

Parish councils have the power to take a share of council tax bills (a precept) from their residents.

Parish councils generally receive the majority of their funding by levying a precept.

Parish councils hold a range of powers, found in various pieces of legislation.

A list of some of the more significant powers can be found on the parishcouncils.uk website.

They are also subject to legal requirements regarding the holding of meetings, Freedom of Information, and councillor conduct.

Many smaller parish councils make only limited use of their powers, whilst some larger town councils have substantial staff teams and may run a number of local facilities. We understand that the existing Parish Council does not provide any local services but is a statutory consultee in respect of any planning applications in its area.

The purpose of parish meetings is to discuss parish affairs which the parish meeting may wish to discuss, debate, and potentially influence. A parish meeting can therefore be an effective forum for the local government electors in a parish to discuss matters specific to the parish, regardless of whether there is a separate parish council.

Parish meetings are allowed to exercise functions such as administering allotments and they are the burial authority.