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Delegation to Town and Parish Councils - Current Activity
As part of the unitary council implementation programme, we want to strengthen our direct relationship with each town and parish council, building on initiatives such as the Parish Steward scheme.
We will be offering councils the opportunity to work with us in providing local services, through delegation of responsibility and funding. A draft schedule of appropriate services has been drawn up based on the 1996 Wiltshire Charter for Local Councils and the 2003 guidelines for Quality Councils. The schedule is given below. It is in no way prescriptive or exhaustive – many opportunities will come to light as the programme develops.
Objective
The overall objective of the project is to encourage the delegation of key local services to town and parish councils (T&PCs) according to local needs.
Phases
Phase 1 (to end of 2008)
- Initial consultation with town and parish councils about aspirations – bilateral discussions, forums of T&PCs and Meet & Greet sessions
- Analysing the appetite for delegations
- Refining the menu of delegable services – in conjunction with T&PCs and service departments in the existing County and District Councils
- Developing criteria (see below)
- Developing mechanisms for their delivery (see below).
Phase 2 (from 2009)
- Implementing delegations during the first years of Wiltshire Council
Schedule of Services
Some functions that might be considered for delegation to town and parish councils are given below. This list is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive:
- Allotments (those owned currently by district councils as appropriate)
- Control of markets
- Issue of bus and rail passes and other transport voucher schemes (e.g. taxi vouchers)
- Litter collection and litter control measures
- Maintenance of open spaces, verges, footways and footpaths
- Noise and nuisance abatement
- Off-street car parking
- Public conveniences
- Recycling provisions
- Road safety measures
- Some aspects of leisure and tourism provision (e.g. bowling greens, playing fields, issue of leisure permits)
- Street cleaning
- Street lighting (other than principal routes) and furniture
- Street naming
- Taxi, street trading and public entertainment licensing
The Case for Delegation
Factors that support the case for delegation include:
- Existing Town/Parish Plans
- Opportunities for more localised employment
- More precise monitoring of quality
- Opportunities to work in partnership with other parishes or local organisations
Criteria
Outline, draft criteria could be
| Meeting needs | Can the council show that the proposed standards and method of service delivery meet local needs? |
| Value for money | Does the delegation demonstrate value for money compared to the existing situation vis-à-vis economies of scale? Perhaps the town/parish council can deliver a service cheaper? |
| Adequate financial arrangements | Have realistic funding profiles and safeguards against double taxation been put in place? |
| Equity | Will the delegation of a service disproportionately skew the balance of services in a Community Area? |
| Capacity and capability | Does the council have, or plan to have, adequate staff capacity, knowledge and skills to deliver, or manage the service |
| Attitude to liability | To what degree is the council prepared to take on liability, e.g. recruitment and employment of staff, insurance, funding of legal challenges |
Methodologies
Typical models for delegation are shown below. Not all will be appropriate to all local councils:
| Delegate full service with its associated asset | Transfer both freehold (with or without covenants) and management. |
| Delegate the service but without its associated asset | WC retains freehold but transfers the management of whole or part |
| Transfer service/asset to third party | e.g. to a Development Trust |
| Transfer operational tasking of service | WC retains ownership and liability but gives ‘receiving’ council power to direct service operation (as in the Parish Steward scheme) |
| Augmented service | ‘Receiving’ council receives (and funds) an uplift on the current service; at marginal cost; using current labour and equipment; to receiving council’s specification |
| Delegate to cluster of parishes | Cluster takes on service as in all models above; one local council (perhaps the Town Council in a Community Area) acts as head agent and manages the service on behalf of the others |
Powers of Town & Parish Councils
- In the majority of cases there is no legal bar to town or parish councils taking on services or managing assets
- Those councils who have earned Quality Council status have slightly enhanced powers, i.e. those associated with social, economic or environmental well-being. Whilst this is not a criteria for delegation, we would very much encourage councils to become Quality Councils.
- The Charter between Principal Authorities and Town/Parish Councils was drawn up in 1996. In the light of these potential delegations, it will be revisited in the next year.
Key Points
It is emphasised that:
- Funding will follow any delegations, where appropriate. There is no question of parishes having to precept to deliver any services currently provided by the County or District Councils.
- There is absolutely no compulsion to take on services.
- Some smaller parishes may not want to consider taking on services on their own. However, there may well be potential for delegations to clusters of parishes, either ad-hoc or on a Community Area basis.
- We are conducting a scoping exercise at present – assessing the appetite across the County. Negotiations will take some time and we do not see any delegations this financial year.
Returns from towns and parishes
All 256 town and parish clerks have been invited to reply to me showing, in note form only:
- those services that their councils would definitely like to take on
- those that they are not sure about
- those that they definitely do not want to take on
Many factors relating to services and their delivery need to be understood before actual decisions can be made, not least the current cost. However, these will take time to ascertain and all that is needed at this stage is an indication. Replies will not be binding on either party but they will be very useful pointers. Returns will be analysed, service departments engaged to provide initial data on a case-by-case basis and T&PCs will be invited to enter preliminary negotiations as appropriate.
Whereas returns were requested for 1 July, there is no strict deadline, and we will be engaging with T&PCs throughout the summer and autumn. This is certainly not the only window of opportunity.
Of over 50 replies received to date, the main areas of interest are:
- The majority of towns are expressing a strong appetite for transfer of ownership of open spaces, play areas, sports facilities (not leisure centres) and allotments (where appropriate) – all with delegated maintenance and cleaning services
- Some towns wish to take on public toilets and car parks – again with associated delegated services
- The majority of rural parishes do not wish to take on any assets or services
- Some parishes have expressed an interest in working in clusters either within the framework of Community Areas or on an ad-hoc basis, particularly grass-cutting
- Many parishes and some towns are enthusiastic about extending the Parish Steward model
17 July 2008
Richard Munro
Project Manager
Delegation to Town and Parish Councils
Towards One Council
County Hall
Trowbridge
BA14 8JN
Mobile: 07824 599665