1. www.hertsdirect.org Hertfordshire County Council’s Relationship with Town and Parish Councils Background Briefing Jan Hayes-Griffin Assistant Director – Strategy & Communications

2. www.hertsdirect.org Town and Parish Councils First tier of local government Services that parish and town councils deliver include: –looking after community buildings, recreation grounds and parks –allotments –swimming baths Don’t receive funding from government – main source of funding is through council tax precept

3. www.hertsdirect.org Town and Parish Councils Around 8,500 parish councils in England – 35% of the country’s population currently lives in a parished area. Vary greatly in size 688 town and parish councils hold ‘quality parish status’

4. www.hertsdirect.org Localism Act 2011 General Power of Competence Neighbourhood Planning Community Rights to Challenge and Bid

5. www.hertsdirect.org

6. HCC’s relationship with T&PCs Engagement with individual councils varies across the county depending on local need, appetite and capacity. Primary relationship is through local county councillor

7. www.hertsdirect.org Areas of joint working Local highways matters Services for young people Countryside management Rights of Way Land management Consultation on service changes and planning issues

8. www.hertsdirect.org How would you describe your relationship with your County Council?

9. www.hertsdirect.org Examples of why relationships work well Officers keeping in close contact and responding to requests quickly Regular meetings with Highways Approachable, helpful County Councillor County Councillors using locality budget for initiatives in town / parish council

10. www.hertsdirect.org Examples of why relationships do not work so well “There sometimes remains a patronising attitude to parishes. The Parish Charter is only given lip service.” “County Council officers have little knowledge/ understanding of Parish Councils.” “They do not feel they have to enter into discussions with Towns and Parishes on issues that greatly affect our Town and its residents.”

11. www.hertsdirect.org How would you describe your relationship with your local County Councillor?

12. www.hertsdirect.org Reasons why relationships are felt to be good County councillor is : Accessible and responsive Will go out of their way to sort out problems Supportive of local projects Attends local meetings and is aware of local issues. Areas of close working include street lighting, the locality budget scheme, anti social behaviour, roads and salt bins.

13. www.hertsdirect.org How can County and Parish/Town Councillors work best together for their communities? Better consultation, engagement and joint working on local issues A service agreement that spells out what each party wants and can give to the relationship. On the Parish plan Parishes should have key contact at County level.

14. www.hertsdirect.org HCC’s Vision of Localism ‘ To shift power from the state (in the form of the County Council and its local partners) to individuals and families, both personally and also in geographic localities in which they live. It seeks to position councillors as an indispensable resource within active communities. It aims to ensure that residents are suitably informed to allow them to influence and shape local services and take a more active part in helping them help themselves.'

15. www.hertsdirect.org HCC’s Vision of Localism Focus is not on re-distributing power within different tiers of local government …. …rather enabling elected members across the tiers of local governance to bring their different contacts and spheres of influence to bear to broker solutions to local issues and needs.

16. www.hertsdirect.org T&PCs’ view of their role in localism Offering local services Inputting into decisions made about Parish Opportunity to serve the community more effectively To be the voice of the village To enable local communities to be central to the decisions that affect their community

17. www.hertsdirect.org T&PCs would like greater influence over … Libraries Highways Public transport Planning Housing Education

18. www.hertsdirect.org T&PCs’ views on localism 45% of T&PCs working towards meeting the requirements of the use the GPC or Quality Council status, 24% already meet these requirements. 56% indicated they were interested in neighbourhood planning, 31% were already working towards a neighbourhood plan. Some interest in managing further public assets including nature reserves, civic buildings, flower beds, playing fields

19. www.hertsdirect.org Possible areas of future HCC/ T&PC joint working Development of neighbourhood/ parish plans? Enhancement of council services?

20. www.hertsdirect.org Questions?