Transparency
About the Council
Mickleton Parish Council is first-tier local government (i.e. closest to the people), followed by Cotswold District Council and then Gloucestershire County Council.
Mickleton Parish Council is first-tier local government (i.e. closest to the people), followed by Cotswold District Council and then Gloucestershire County Council. Parish councils were created in law and can only act within the law by exercising their powers and functions which have been conferred on them by Acts of Parliament.
Mickleton Parish Council is responsible for setting the annual Precept (its share of the Council Tax), rents a parish council Office from the King George’s Hall, contributes to local maintenance, maintains a watching brief on local roads, public rights of way and trees in public places, responds to planning consultations, liaises with appropriate local and national organisations as well as the district and county councils, supports local charities and endeavours to respond to matters raised by parishioners.
Mickleton Parish Council employs a part-time clerk/responsible finance officer.
We aim to deliver and coordinate services to meet local needs and strive to improve the quality of life in the parish.
What’s under our remit?
- Burial grounds, cemetery and churchyards
- General spending – parish councils can spend a limited amount of money on anything they deem of benefit to the community
- Gifts – parish councils may accept gifts
- Legal proceedings – power to prosecute and defend any legal proceedings in the interests of the community, power to take part in any public enquiry
- Litter – provision of litter bins and support for any anti-litter campaigns
- Planning – the parish councils is notified of any planning applications for the area
- Recreation – provision of recreation grounds, public walkways, open spaces, village greens, playing fields
How is a parish council funded?
The council is funded by an annual payment or precept from the county council. The parish council prepares a budget for each year which will cover all necessary expenditure and asks the county council for this money in the form of the Precept. This precept is collected by the county via the council tax and paid to parish councils in two six-monthly sums.
Parish council meetings
Mickleton Parish Council usually meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 7.30pm, in King George’s Village Hall, with the exception of December.
Agendas and minutes are posted on this website and the parish council noticeboards. If you would like to discuss local issues, please come to one of our meetings or contact one of your parish councillors via email or telephone.
Agendas
The agenda sets out the business of each meeting. This ensures that councillors and the public know what issues will be discussed and voted on. A council cannot lawfully make decisions on anything that is not on the agenda.
The clerk must display a signed agenda, in a public place, at least three clear days before an ordinary meeting and send a copy to all members of the council.
Attendance at meetings
In order for meetings to be quorate one third of council members, or three, whichever is greater, must be present. A councillor is disqualified if she/he does not attend a meeting for six consecutive months and his/her long-term absence has not been agreed upon by a full parish council meeting.
- Attendance and apologies, with reasons for absence, must be recorded.
- If a councillor is late or leaves early, a record must be made as this could affect quorum, etc.
Parish council meetings must be open to the public and press. However, they may be excluded for part of the meeting if the council resolves that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest, or for other special reasons stated in the resolution.
Decision-making
All matters coming before a council must be decided upon by a majority of councillors present and voting. Councillors are there to consider the information gathered and make a group decision on all matters. No individual Councillor is responsible for any single decision.
- Each resolution must be either approved, rejected or actioned.
- Each councillor has one vote and must vote in person.
- Councillors who have been disqualified by declaring a prejudicial interest will not vote
- In addition, the chair has the casting vote if it is required.
Public Time
A council meeting is not a public meeting but a meeting conducted in public.
There is no requirement in law to provide a public forum, but this council welcomes the opportunity to offer this facility.
Mickleton Parish Council meets and makes its decisions in public and is committed to community engagement. We therefore invite members of the public, the police and county and district councillors to attend meetings and contribute within the public forum. At each meeting we aim to allow 15 minutes of public time to hear the views of the community. Those attending council meetings can stay for as long as they want.
The public are asked to respect the fact that this is a meeting to conduct council business and interruptions during council business are not permitted. Members of the public must not take part unless invited to speak by the chairman.
There may be occasions when the public are excluded due to the confidential nature of discussions.
Before the meeting
Where possible, members of the public should submit their questions/statements to the clerk in good time before the next scheduled meeting to ensure they are considered. This enables the clerk to bring any relevant information to the meeting or research the issue in advance to enable a response to the query at the meeting. Questions may be submitted in writing, by email or by telephone.
Guide to public participation
If a member of the public knows they wish to speak at a meeting they can notify the chairman prior to the start of the meeting.
Members of the public are able to raise issues of concern, although only items on the agenda will definitely be considered during the allocated public forum.
Note: The council is only allowed to take decisions committing the council on topics that are publicised on the agenda.
Issues raised which are not matters on the agenda will be only addressed at the meeting if the matter is straightforward in nature and capable of being answered by the chairman or clerk. Otherwise, the matter will be noted and carried forward.
A maximum of five minutes is permitted for a member of the public to speak and only one person may speak on any agenda item. If several people want to speak on the same item, try to get together in advance to choose the best person to speak for you all. Two people may speak if opposing views are being expressed, i.e. one for and one against a particular matter. This ensures that as many of the public as possible have an opportunity to speak.
Please note:
- Supplementary comments or questions are solely at the discretion of the chairman.
- No question may be repeated within a six-month period.
- The chairman has the right to say that any question or statement is inappropriate and will not be answered
Matters carried forward
Issues or questions raised on the day of the parish council meeting that are not addressed at the meeting may be:
- formally referred to the relevant representatives/working group
- placed on the agenda for consideration and debated at the next parish council meeting
- responded to by the clerk after the meeting
- simply noted
Minutes
Concise minutes must be kept of all proceedings of a council meeting. The agenda and the minutes must tally up. The pages must be numbered and after they have been approved, signed by the chairman. Minutes are only legal evidence after they have been signed
A brief record of topics raised by members of the public will be included within the minutes at the meeting. Please note that members of the public do not have the right to force items onto the council agenda or insist how matters are recorded in the minutes.