Community Governance Review - Mid Suffolk District Council

There are no current electoral arrangements currently under review.

Published Orders

Copies of published orders are available for inspection by appointment at Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, IP1 2BX.

What is a Community Governance Review?

A community governance review is a legal process that provides an opportunity for principal councils to review and make changes to community governance within their areas. It involves consulting those living in the area and other interested parties and making sure they have a say in how their local communities are represented.

The Review can consider one or more of the following options:

Creating, merging, altering or abolishing parishes
The naming of parishes and the style of new parishes and the creation of town councils
The electoral arrangements for parishes (for instance, the ordinary year of election; council size; the number of councillors to be elected to the council, and parish warding)
Grouping parishes under a common parish council or de-grouping parishes
Consider other types of local arrangements, including parish meetings

The Review cannot:

change the number of councillors on Mid Suffolk District Council
change the amount of money that a parish council raises through council tax (known as ‘precept’)

It is good practice to carry out a Community Governance Review every 10-15 years. However, as the principal authority, Mid Suffolk District Council may schedule a review in response to a reasonable request from an individual, group or parish or following the receipt of a valid petition containing the sufficient number of signatures required to trigger a review.

Community Governance Review considerations

Legislation requires that the council must ensure that community governance within the area:

reflects the identities and interests of the communities in the area
be effective and convenient and takes into account any other arrangements for the purpose of community representation or engagement in the area

In considering proposals for change, the council will take the following into account:

a strong, inclusive community and voluntary sector
a sense of civic values, responsibility and pride
a sense of place – a place with a ‘positive’ feeling for people and local distinctiveness
reflective of the identities and interests of the community in that area
the impact of community governance arrangements on community cohesion
the size, population and boundaries of a local community or parish

Parish councils

Parish and Town councils are the first level of local government.

Mid Suffolk hosts 95 Parish Councils and 20 Parish Meetings.

Parish councils have relatively few statutory functions (things they have to do). The statutory functions are, for example, the holding of meetings, the management of its finances and the preparation of annual accounts. A parish council employs staff, owns and manages premises, and provides services.

How do Parish Councils operate?

Residents of the parished area elect parish councillors. They represent residents and their interests and councillors will make most of the decisions about what a parish council does in meetings. Although the public has a right to attend meetings of a parish council and its committees, it is the councillors who collectively make decisions about council business and what services or facilities it provides.

How are they funded?

The parish council must carefully budget for the expenditure it will have to pay in the next financial year. A parish council may generate income from money from rents from premises that it leases or licences for use by others, or from the services or facilities it provides, for example sports facilities, off-street carparks. It may also receive grants for certain projects. The main source of income derives from the precept levied on the residents in its area. The precept is incorporated into a local resident’s council tax bill.

What do they do?

Although parish councils have few statutory functions or duties, there are many things they can do if they choose. What they choose to do will depend on the needs of the local community they serve. They have the discretion to exercise a range of statutory powers related to the provision or support of certain services or facilities which benefit their area, and/or the residents that live there. Examples might include sports facilities, allotments, local youth projects, bus shelters, litter bins, off street carparks, community centres, parks and open spaces, community transport schemes, neighbourhood planning, crime reduction measures, street lighting, festivals and fetes, traffic calming measures and tourism activities.

Is there a difference between a town and parish council?

No, they both have the same statutory powers and can provide the same services. The only differences are that a town council has decided that it should be known as a town council instead of a parish council, and a town council usually has a mayor. Since 2007 the alternative terms community, neighbourhood or village council can also be adopted, but there is also no difference in their powers.