Coun Paul Bellenger: Parish Councils, are they a help or a burden?

By Greetland & Stainland Ward Councillor, Paul Bellenger, Liberal Democrat Group Leader

This is the amount that goes to your local parish council to be spent in the area in which you live, rather than into the Calderdale Council pot, to be spent anywhere within the borough. (Wherever you live, you will also see how much you are paying towards fire and police services across West Yorkshire).

Whether parish councils are a help or a burden is a debatable point for many people as they wonder what they get for their precept and how they can influence where money is spent within their parish.

This parish precept can certainly help to make improvements to your local area. Across the country, parish councils spend their funds on green spaces, parks, improving of pathways, allotments, festive lighting, plus many other things.

I suspect that there is scope for Calderdale Council and the local parishes to work together more closely to provide the services local people value.

However, the decision as to where your precept goes is down to the unpaid councillors who run the parish councils. Being relatively small, each parish council is well-placed to understand the wants and needs of its residents, but personally I would wish to see better consultation with residents – perhaps through questionnaires or online polls – as to where they would like to see their money spent.

So, the existence of a parish council could certainly help to improve an area, especially in areas where local authority budgets have been cut, which is pretty much everywhere.

However, this needs to be agreed through the decision-making processes of the parish councillors.

It has been known for people to become parish councillors to fuel their egos or to achieve personal goals. This is bad for democracy and should be stamped out within all councils. It is, however, difficult to remove those who abuse their positions within a council and usually can only be achieved by them resigning or being voted out at election time.

To me, bad apples should be removed as soon as possible to allow those who genuinely care about the community to carry on doing a fantastic job without the hindrance of egotistical, glory-hunting individuals.

Calderdale councillors must follow a code of conduct, based on the Nolan principles.

The same rules apply to parish councillors, but I feel that there is significant room for improvement in how these rules are followed and enforced.

I would like to see reforms that ensure there is more accountability and transparency within parish councils – and, indeed, all councils – and, of course, more consultation with the community as to what they would like to see their money spent on.

There are some very well-run parish councils out there that make a fantastic, positive, difference to the areas which they cover. They ensure that their precept is spent wisely, without double taxation, and on things that residents want and need, ensuring communities prosper and are welcoming places to live.