Governance, Policies and Procedures

Local Councils are statutory bodies which are set and controlled by law.   This means there are certain rules and procedures which a Council must follow.

The term Local Council is used universally to describe Parish Councils, Town Councils, Neighbourhood and Community Councils.  Local Councils are the first tier of local government.   For further information have a look at the National Association of Local Council website.

Councils have legal powers which determine what they can (have the power to do) and cannot do.   The regulations which determine the duties Councils must do and what powers it is able to do  in order to carry out its functions are set out by Acts of Parliament.

When a Councillor is elected or co-opted to join the Council they must sign a register of interests   You can view Councillor’s register of interest for this Council via the link Councillors register of interests » East Suffolk Council. 

The Council is a corporate body and therefore the decisions ‘it’ makes are made collectively.  The key responsibility of a Parish Councillor is to serve the community it represents.  Councillors must abide by the Code of Conduct (available on this website). 

In addition administrative statutory duties which the Council must adhere to (such as the appointment of a Chairman, Responsible Finance Officer (RFO), independent internal auditor and adoption of the Code of Conduct. The Council must comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Data Protection Act 2018  (and GDPR) and the Equality Act 2010.  As with any other employer the Council must comply with employment law.

In June 2011, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published a list of legal duties placed on local authorities.   To view the list the link below https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-local-government-statutory-duties-summary-of-response