Join Swaton Parish Council and help make a difference in your village.
SWATON PARISH COUNCIL NEEDS YOU - 1 space left to fill on the parish council.
Make a difference to your community . . . being a Parish Councillor is the first base of local government, it’s interesting and gives you the opportunity to give something back to the community YOU LIVE IN. Contact Elaine Penketh, Alan Wilson or the clerk Shelagh McIntyre for more info.
Swaton Parish Council is a non-political council with no connections to a political party. If you do become a Parish Councillor you will have to sign up to the Code of Conduct.
What is a Parish Council?
A Parish Council is a local authority that makes decisions on behalf of the people in the parish and has an overall responsibility for the well-being of its local community.
It is the level government closest to the community, with the district and County Councils above it in the hierarchy. As it is the authority closest to the people, Parish Councils are invariably the first place people will go with concerns or ideas. For this reason, they are a vital part of any community.
A Parish Council’s work falls into three main categories:
• representing the local community
• delivering services to meet local needs
• striving to improve quality of life in the parish
What decisions do Parish Councils make?
Parish Councils make all kinds of decisions on issues that affect the local community. Probably the most common topics that Parish Councils get involved with are managing open spaces, planning matters (they are statutory consultees), helping local groups and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities. It’s true to say that on their own, Parish Councils have limited powers to make decisions. But they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions (such as the borough or unitary council, health authorities, police etc). In this respect Parish Councils are extremely useful. The organisations that make the final decisions know that a Parish Council gives the best reflection of how a community feels about something, and its views will be taken seriously.
Why become a Parish Councillor?
If you’ve never been to a Parish Council meeting before, you may be forgiven for thinking that Parish Councillors are a group of (probably older) people who meet now and then in a draughty village hall. If, however, you live in a community where something ‘big’ has happened, you’ll know that when people in the community need support and guidance, it is sometimes the Parish Council that is turned to.
By becoming a Parish Councillor, you become someone your community will look to for help, guidance and support a community leader with the power to influence decisions for the benefit of the people you serve.
Seeing your community change for the better, as a result of decisions you have helped make, is something that can give you a sense of achievement and pride.
Am I eligible to be a Parish Councillor?
You have to be:
• a British subject, or a citizen of the Commonwealth or the European Union
• over 18 years of age and additionally you have to be one of the following
• a local government elector for the council area for which you want to stand
• have during the whole of the 12 months occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the council area or within 3 miles of it for the whole period
• have during that same period had your principal or only place of work in the council area or within 3 miles of it for the whole period.
You cannot stand for election if you
• are subject of a bankruptcy restriction order or interim order.
• have, within five years before the day of the election, been convicted in the United Kingdom of any offence and have had a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of over three months without the option of a fine.
• you work for the council you want to become a councillor for (but you can work for other local authorities, including the principal authorities that represent the same area).
How much time does it take up?
Swaton Parish Council holds a statutory meeting every other month (usually the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September & November) in a full council meeting, to which members of the public are invited to attend but cannot speak during the formal PC meeting (see paragraph below).
Meetings may last around two hours, depending on the agenda set a week prior to the meeting.
Rarely, there may be the odd additional meeting to attend to deal with a specific subject such as an occasion like the Jubilee Celebrations or a village fund raiser but most of the time contact outside of a formal PC meeting is via email and decisions ratified at formal meetings. In addition to regular meetings, a new councillor is expected to attend an introduction training course for a day (possibly half a day or evening) and possibly may be asked to attend other relevant training to their role or meetings representing the council, for example acting as a representative on an outside body (e.g. if Highways popped here to discuss potholes), or community activities (like the Jubilee) or helping develop a new project for the community (such as the new mini library). Such meetings are so infrequent and, in all honesty, so rare that we’ll guarantee a Parish Council role will never take over your life.
How long does a Parish Councillor serve for?
Parish Councils hold an election for Councillors every 4 years. Co-options can take place between elections when vacancies occur. At the end of the 4-year term, all Councillors are elected/re-elected for a further 4 years term. The regular Council meetings are statutory meetings, governed by the LG Act 1927. Councillors are required by law to attend, and indeed are summoned to attend. Apologies for absence must be notified in advance, and are approved by the Council meeting. Additional meetings may be arranged from time to time to deal with additional parish matters.
Parish Council Meeting . . . - come and join us
Swaton Parish Council has seats for 7 Councillors who stand for election every four years – currently there are only 6 councillors plus our amazing Clerk Shelagh McIntyre so we are looking for someone to join us and help shape & improve our community.
All meetings are advertised on the council notice boards and on our website at least 1 week prior to the meeting. You’ll see that the duties and functions of a Parish Council are many and varied and usually each councillor is assigned an area or responsibility such as Grant Funding, Street Lighting, Police Liaison, Pathways, Grass Cutting, Health and Safety etc.
Swaton Parish Council meets bi-monthly. The dates are usually set a year in advance so you can easily fit it in around work and holidays etc.
The meeting has a formal process to follow. All PC meetings are open to the public - there is an open forum at the start of the meeting (usually 7.30pm to 7.45pm) at which members of the public can raise their concerns and ask questions relating to the items on the agenda. Residents can bring to the attention of the Parish Council anything that concerns them, either directly or through the Clerk. If matters raised are not the responsibility of the council, the Clerk can bring them to the attention of the proper authority.
Once the meeting starts, the public are welcome to stay, but are normally not permitted to speak during the meeting. A meeting is formally closed and re-open.ed if a member of the public is asked / wants / needs to add comment during the PC’s meeting. Minutes are taken throughout the whole process and posted on the village notice board and on our village website - https//swaton.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/council-business
Don’t take our word for it! The best way to find out what it’s like to be a Parish Councillor is to talk to someone who’s doing it now.
Why not come along to a Parish Council meeting and have a listen at a live meeting, or speak to one of our Councillors and find out what they think of the job. You’ll probably know at least one or two on the PC you can speak to or you’ll find their email details under the Contact section at the bottom of the PC’s website - https://swaton.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/contact
PARISH COUNCIL & IT’S POWERS
Most of the powers held by a Parish and Town Council are discretionary, so it’s a case of it may do something rather than it must do something.
Parish and Town Councils have the right to ask for money from the District Council. This is known as The Precept and is collected as part of the council tax for that area. The precept is the Parish Council’s share of the council tax. The precept demand goes to the billing authority, the District Council, which collects the tax for the Parish Council.
Swaton Parish Council has a range of responsibilities which essentially relate to local matters, such as looking after services including Bus Shelters, Play Area, Litter Picking, Dog Control, Grass Cutting, Street Lighting, Pavements, Police Liaison etc. In bigger parishes they could have responsibility for Allotments, Cemeteries, War Memorials, Open Parks etc but Swaton is small and doesn’t have too many facilities under the PC. A Parish Councillor will be assigned a responsibility for one or two areas so the role is far from onerous, especially as Swaton is a small village.
Parish Councils are governed by the Local Government Act 1972 which outlines the legal requirements of Town and Parish Councils. They must adhere to GDPR, Finance and Auditing processes, Employment Law and regulatory processes regarding conduct before, during and after a meeting etc.