What the Parish Council can and can't do

Many people are vague about what the Parish Council can and can’t do. The mandate granted to the Parish Council boils down to 3 rules:

• The Council must do what Parliament requires it to do.
• The Council may do only what Parliament says it may do.
• The Council must not do anything unless it has a legal power to act, granted by Parliament.

What must a Parish Council do?

The Council has the duty to ensure that all the rules for the administration of the Council are followed. The Council must:

• Appoint a Chairman.
• Appoint a Clerk.
• Appoint a Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) to manage the finances in a sound and professional manner.(Haxey Parish Council RFO is the Clerk.)
• Appoint an independent and competent internal auditor.

Councillors have to follow a code of conduct detailed by Parliament.

A major responsibility of the Parish Council is to comment on planning applications in the Parish, submitted to North Lincolnshire Council – the Principal Authority. The Parish Council also has contact and dialogue with North Lincolnshire Council on other matters such as highways, footpaths, illegal parking, the structure plan, long term planning, fly-tipping, dog fouling and indirectly through the Police about speeding, local crime and Neighbourhood Watch.

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