Background
The
Rural White Paper - ‘Our Countryside, The Future, A Fair Deal for Rural
England’ (published in 2000) - indicated that the Government wanted parish
and town councils to give local leadership at the heart of local governance. In
other words the Government saw an important role for parish and town councils
in representing local people and improving both the quality and range of local
services.
The
Government’s support has continued with its localism agenda and the Local Government
& Public Involvement in Health Act which continue to show that the
Government wants local councils to show to their residents that they are
capable of operating in an ethical way and that they are able to represent
their interests effectively.
In June 2003, following an
extensive period of consultation, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
(ODPM) published ‘The Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme; The Quality
Scheme Explained’. The first edition of this guidance was published in October
2004. Both of these documents have been superseded by this booklet.
Parish and town councils of
whatever size and whether rural or urban, are encouraged and able to work
towards achieving Quality status. This is illustrated by the broad range of
sizes of some of the current Quality councils, ranging from the 280 electors in
Pertenhall & Swineshead Parish Council in
Bedfordshire to some 72,000
in Weston-super-Mare Town Council in Avon.
Quality Parish or Town
Councils are expected to:
• be representative of and
actively involve all parts of their community
• be effectively and
properly managed, with members and officers upholding a high standard of
conduct
• work closely with
voluntary and community sector groups, and articulate the community’s needs and
wishes through effective communications, which might include the production of
parish plans or other similar documents
and
• work in partnership with
other local authorities and agencies and, depending on their size, be able to
deliver local services which give the best deal for the local community
The Benefits of Quality Status
In
addition to being able to demonstrate to local communities that minimum
standards have been met, Quality councils will also be in a better position to
influence the decision making process and/or take on additional services and
areas of responsibility from their principal local authorities.
Who
benefits?
The
benefits of this scheme affect three groups:
1.
the community
2.
the parish or town council itself
3.
the principal local authority
1. The community:
• more responsive services -
the Quality council will be capable of solving local problems without recourse
to the principal authority
• real contact and
discussions with its Quality council
• a local access point
providing information on services
• a council which is more
accountable, visible, representative and provides community leadership
2. Benefits to the parish
or town council itself:
• greater credibility in the
eyes of the local community, voluntary and private sectors, and principal local
authorities
• greater civic pride
• more representative of the
local community
• better ability to
articulate the needs and wishes of the local community
• more will be achieved by
working in partnership with other organisations
• ability to demonstrate
that it is effectively and properly managed, which will instil greater
confidence in the community
• can deliver more local
services - if the council wishes to
• greater involvement by the
voluntary and community sector and by principal local authorities (e.g.
developing community led plans, market town health checks etc.)
• a better informed
community
• a well trained clerk,
through the Certificate in Local Council Administration (or University of
Gloucestershire qualification in Local Policy)
3. Principal Authority
benefits
• reassurance that the
Quality council has been independently assessed and is therefore capable of
working together with the principal authority to deliver services on their
behalf or in partnership
• reliable evidence of the
competence of the Quality council, through the four year re-assessment process
• proof that the Quality
council is willing and able to be fully involved in local issues (this will be
particularly valuable when implementing new initiatives)
• stronger partnership
working, with the town or parish council bringing their local perspective and
experience to the table. Quality councils should be more innovative and
pro-active, and will want to share their ideas and experiences
• increased confidence that
the Quality council is representative, competent, well managed, and thus capable
of taking on and sustaining an enhanced role.