Parish Council

What is a Parish Council?

It is a statutory local authority set up under the Local Government Act 1972. It operates in the area of a defined civil parish or group of parishes.

In Hertfordshire there are three tiers of local government – Hertfordshire County Council, District Councils and Town/Parish Councils. Elections to parish councils are held every four years.

Parish Councils are an essential part of the structure of local democracy and have a vital role in acting on behalf of the communities they represent. They -

• give views, on behalf of the community, on planning applications and other proposals that affect the parish
  
• undertake projects and schemes that benefit local residents
  
• work in partnership with other bodies to achieve benefits for the parish
  
• alert relevant authorities to problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken
  
• help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities.

What powers do Town and Parish Councils have?

They have a wide range of powers which essentially relate to local matters, such as looking after community buildings, open space, allotments, play areas, street lighting, bus shelters, car parks and much more.

The Council also has the power to raise money through taxation, the precept. 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.

The Government introduced the Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme in 2003 with the aim of encouraging Councils, on behalf of their communities, to have a greater say in the running and improvement of local services.

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Other local representatives

Member of Parliament
Oliver Heald MP (Conservative)
Elected MP for North East Hertfordshire in May 2010.

Contact

By post:
Oliver Heald
The House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

By email:
healdo@parliament.uk

By telephone:
01763 247 640

Web pages:
www.oliverheald.com

County Councillor
Bryan Hammond (Conservative)
Hertford Rural Division
For further information, click here

District Councillor
Ken Crofton(Conservative)
East Hertfordshire District, Walkern Ward
For further information, click here

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Eastern Region
Andrew Duff - Liberal Democrat
David Campbell Bannerman - UK Independence Party
Geoffrey Van Orden -Conservative
John Agnew - UK Independence Party
Richard Howitt - Labour
Robert Sturdy - Conservative
Vicky Ford -Conservative

For full details of MEPs, click here

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