The Parish Council

The Parish Council forms the first tier of local government. As a statutory authority they have the power to provide many services and facilities. They are not answerable to Wychavon District Council and Worcestershire County Council who form the other two tiers.

Parish Councils are governed by laws which dictate that they may not spend money unless the matter is included on the agenda for a Parish Council meeting. They must make decisions in an open, accountable and transparent way. Their accounts are subject to internal and external auditing and must be made available to the public upon request.

Parish Councils are required to set a yearly budget which is funded by a precept. This forms part of your Council Tax. This is used to finance the work undertaken in the community on your behalf.

The Parish Council represents the grass roots views of their parishioners and influences the decisions made by others on the way our community is developed.

The Parish Council has to be informed / consulted on all Planning Applications within the Parish and  will also be consulted on Community and Planning strategies.

Conduct

Parish Councillors are required to adopt and sign up to the Code of Conduct. This code demands that they must:-

• Declare their interests in a Public Register.

• Not bring their Parish Council into disrepute.

• May express their view, on an item in which they have declared an interest, in the Public Question Time but they must leave the room if a decision needs to be reached.