Parish council (England)

This article is about the type of local authority in England. For the executive of a Church of England parish, see Parochial church council.
Map of civil parishes in England as of December 2021

A parish council is a civil local authority found in England, which is the lowest tier of local government.[1] Parish councils are elected corporate bodies, with variable tax raising powers, and they carry out beneficial public activities in geographical areas known as civil parishes. There are about 10,480 parish and town councils in England.[2] Parish councils may be known by different styles, they may resolve to call themselves a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, it may call itself a city council. However their powers and duties are the same whatever name they carry.[3][4]

Parish councils receive the majority of their funding by levying a precept upon the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) covered by the council.[5] In 2021-22 the amount raised by precept was £616 million.[6] Other funding may be obtained by local fund-raising or grants for specific activities. They can vary enormously in size, activities and circumstances; representing populations ranging from fewer than 100 (small rural hamlets) to up to 130,000 (Northampton Town Council). Most of them are small: around 80% represent populations of less than 2,500; Parish councils are made up of unpaid councillors who are elected to serve for four years: there are about 70,000 parish councillors country-wide.[7]

Not every civil parish has a parish council: smaller ones, typically those with fewer than 150 electors, often have parish meetings instead, which can fulfil many of the functions of a parish council. Alternatively, parishes with small populations may apply to be grouped together with one or more neighbouring parishes under a common parish council.[3][8]

Civil parish councils were formed in England under the reforming Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) to take over local oversight of civic duties in rural towns and villages from the vestry committee. Parish councils are generically referred to as "local councils" to distinguish them from "principal councils" (e.g. district councils, county councils, unitary authorities or London borough councils) and most are affiliated via County Associations to the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), which represents their interests at a national level.[9][7]

  1. ^ "Create a Council: Background". National Association of Local Councils. Archived from the original on 2011-09-19.
  2. ^ "Census 2021 geographies - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  3. ^ a b Sandford, Mark (15 May 2015). "Parish and town councils: recent issues". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  4. ^ Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
  5. ^ "POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF PARISH COUNCILS" (PDF). Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  6. ^ NALC report - Briefing analysis of council tax levels of local precepting authorities. Pub NALC, May 2021
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference reviews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Local Government Act 1972. Section 11". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. ^ NALC home page on website