Agenda item

Considered –

The report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Legal and Democratic Services providing Members with an update on the arrangements in place in Democratic Services to support Parish and Town Councils.

Following the creation of the Unitary Authority in April 2023 North Yorkshire Council (NYC) now has a number of responsibilities in relation to Parish and Town Councils in the North Yorkshire area.

Parish and Town Councils are separate legal entities to North Yorkshire Council and as such are responsible for their own general governance.

A summary of the work underway was given identifying the following key points.

·       There are currently 731 Parishes within North Yorkshire of differing and varying sizes and make up

·       The responsibilities of North Yorkshire Council in relation to Parish and Town Councils, are to maintain Parish Council details (such as details of the clerk and Members of the council), publish Councillors’ registers of interests on the website, make temporary appointments to the council, make recommendations to North Yorkshire Council regarding community governance reviews and to consider and handle any complaints in relation to a breach of the relevant Code of Conduct for Members

·       North Yorkshire Council has no jurisdiction to consider other complaints about a Parish Council

·       Where concerns are raised regarding the day-to-day management of the Parish Council these should be referred to Chair of the Parish Council or the Clerk

·       A recent restructure in Democratic Services has created three Democratic Services Area Teams based on the Area Constituency Committee (ACC) Boundaries across the County

1.     The East Team covers Scarborough and Whitby and Thirsk and Malton ACC areas

2.     The West Team covers Skipton and Ripon and Richmond ACC areas

3.     The Central Team covers Harrogate and Knaresborough and Selby and Ainsty ACC areas

·       The Local Area Support Team will also support Parish and Town Councils with democratic support

·       There is also support for Parish and Town Councils within the wider North Yorkshire Council structure with the Localities Team having a Parish Liaison and Local Devolution Manager and Officers.

There then followed a discussion raising the following points;

Working together with Parish and Town Councils could only be beneficial and identify opportunities for them through devolution and working with the YLCA, parish liaison and some of the networks already created, i.e., Forest and Dale Community Partnership.

Trying to avoid situations where Parish Councils had no clerk, temporary clerks or temporary appointments was key and supporting Council’s where this situation arose was important.

It was noted that some parishes seemed to have recurring issues with recruiting and retaining Councillors and look to the divisional Member for support.  Clerks were able to clerk and support more than one Parish Council.

The YLCA has a locum clerk list for reference:- existing clerks can add themselves to this list should they wish to do so.

It was asked if any type of Service Level Agreement was in place. There is no SLA but there is a Parish Charter and a Parish Portal in place to support Parish and Town Councils and signposting clerks to the YLCA is useful for them. The work taking place between Democratic Services and the Localities teams will also support and strengthen the relationship.

Resolved –

That the Committee notes the report.