Issue details

To agree the content of the proposed Parish Charter for South Cambridgeshire and to receive guidance on paragraphs 17, 21, 22 and 23.

The proposed Parish Charter is aimed at further promoting and developing co-operation between Town and Parish Councils and the County and District Councils in Cambridgeshire.  South Cambridgeshire District Council and its parishes would sign this specific version.

The Rural White Paper in 2000 introduced the concept of Quality Town and Parish Councils and in June 2003 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister introduced guidance on the Quality Town and Parish Council Scheme that included a model charter.  The framework for the proposed charter is based on the Cheshire Charter, which was developed from this model.

The Government’s 10-year vision for local government re-affirms the importance of Parish Councils in local service provision.  The Local Government White Paper, Strong and Prosperous Communities (October 2006) encourages councils to develop neighbourhood charters, setting out local priorities and standards to manage services at the neighbourhood level.  The proposed charter will act as evidence of the local authority’s commitment to work together with parishes.

The report was referred to the Portfolio Holder by Cabinet in July 2007.